Choosing a career is as important as making the right choice for a career. Just before you are able to choose a career, you may be needing the help of a counsellor to put you through the process of career counselling.
This article will let you in on what exactly that career counselling is, the salary expectation, and the degrees needed to emerge one.
See the table of contents below to get an overview.
What Is Career Counselling?
Basically, career counselling is the training someone receives around issues bothering his or her career.
Nowadays, the introduction of more career opportunities has made it difficult for a number of persons to be at a fix when it is that time in their life to choose a career for themselves.
For fear of making very wrong career choices, these individuals resort to seeking the help of a career counsellor to put them through the process of picking a career for themselves.
While you’re still in this process, you are made to focus on understanding yourself better and all there is to work trends.
Who Is a Career Counsellor?
This person is one who has the knowledge it takes to hold your hands through all of your career decisions.
All the things you need to think about and the right tips you need to apply, it is the career counsellor who helps u uncover them.
A career counsellor asks a plethora of personal, professional and academic questions before he provides the client with various options that would be most ideal.
Increasingly, employers give more importance to the interest of their clients rather than their qualifications. Career counsellors also use orderly adaptability tests to examine the relationship of a particular person to a particular career path.
Once career counsellors help their clients find the most suitable career paths, they generally work on preparing them for the job. Mock interviews and job entry tests may be conducted to facilitate this.
You may also like to read this: CCB Welfare and Scholarship Scheme Online Application, India
What Does a Career Counsellor Do? Job Description
There are basic skills a career counsellor must possess to carry out his job roles effectively. It is the skills they possess that help them in no small way to give their clients a perfect professional guide.
These skills are: critical thinking, ability to listen, critical thinking, and researching.
Also, besides coaching people into making the right career choices, the duties of a career counsellor include:
However, it is important to note that being through the process doesn’t guarantee the fact that you will get a job. It is simply getting you in the know of your passion and career goals.
Pros and Cons of Career Counselling
Pros
This is a lucrative profession no doubt, especially when the sense of fulfillment you feel by just helping someone through an important phase is breathtaking.
It opens more paths to other lucrative courses such as psychological counselling.
Related Article: Can I Get a PhD Without Masters?
Cons
This job can get really boring at some point due to the repetition of questions from a series of persons who wish for a certain career path.
While a lot of persons leave without reaching a final decision, some persons also contribute to making it more difficult by being indecisive.
However, the escape route reserved for the career counsellor here is patience so he’s able to provide the necessary guidance needed for a brilliant choice.
How Much Does a Career Counsellor Earn?
How much a career counsellor earns is dependent on the specific setup they find themselves in. Counsellors who are independent have a fixed amount they charge their clients while those who either work in colleges or employment firms are at the mercy of a fixed annual salary.
According to PlanCareer, career counselors enjoy the perks that come with a full-time job such as paid vacays, health insurance and bonuses.
Also, Glassdoor.com posits that the average annual pay for experts in this field is about $37,736 while research according to Indeed.com shows that they earn $40,224 annually.
Furthermore, BLS says that career counsellors as of May 2014, made an annual average salary of $56,040 with the top 10 percent of the profession making an average salary of $86,610.
Is This Career Path Competitive?
To a large extent, there is a considerable level of competition in this field. The available job spaces are sought-after and the most qualified career counsellors are chosen over their inexperienced counterparts.
People who read this also read: Best Online College Programs In Ontario | Certificate, Cost
What are the Educational Requirements to Become a Career Counselor?
While there may not be any necessary qualifications to becoming a career counsellor; a bachelor’s degree in fields as psychology, counselling, or vocational psychology gives you a background knowledge to work as one.
For lack of on-the-job training by most jobs, it is expedient that you have some kind of understanding in this field and one method of certification is to undertake the National Board for Certified Counselors (USA) course in career counselling.
Such a qualification would give you an edge over others.
However, to be open to greater job opportunities and higher earnings, you can decide to go for graduate degree programs in career counselling.
For the different phases of educational degree you intend to acquire before practising, the duration differ.
The table below gives you a clearer picture of what I mean.
| Counseling Educational Track | Education Requirements | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Work | Bachelor’s Degree | 4 Years |
| Graduate Work | Master’s Degree | 5-6 Years |
| PhD or Doctoral Work | Doctorate in Counselling | 7-8 Years |
Licensing
You can officially practise only after you get a state-issued certification which varies according to state.
Also, criminal background checks are required of you before the endorsement to be a practising career counsellor.
To be eligible for licensing, you must have a master’s degree in counselling and up to 2,000 – 3,000 hours of clinical experience.
However, you may have no need to undergo this before gaining employment
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course, it is and this is primarily because it aids job seekers find their right attitude towards getting a befitting job and greatly affecting the employability rate of citizens.
Besides giving their clients ready assistance, the job descriptions of a career counsellor include:
Determining the next steps towards achieving your career goals, assessing and evaluating your interests, tutoring job search procedures, and creating a trained network.
A career counsellor can work in high schools, colleges, social services agencies, and private firms.
With effective communication and listening skills, one can be a good career counsellor.
Conclusion
It is nice that you know what career counselling i s all about through this article. Bearing your career advancement in mind, our words were carefully chosen to suit your needs.
So, the skills and possible steps you need to take to become a successful career counsellor is here in this article.
References
We Also Recommend
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.
1 comment
Comments are closed.