Explore by Career/Community and Social Service
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
- Median pay
- $65,140
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +3.5%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Master's degree
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
What they do
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
- Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
- Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
- Provide students with information on topics such as college degree programs and admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, trade and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.
Majors that lead here
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.