Educational, Guidance, & Career Counselors & Advisors

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Academic Advisor, Career Counselor, Guidance Counselor, School Counselor

What they do:
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
On the job, you would:
  • Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
  • Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss children's progress, resolve behavioral, academic, and other problems, and to determine priorities for students and their resource needs.
  • Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.

Knowledge

Health

  • therapy and counseling

Math and Science

  • psychology
  • sociology and anthropology

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Skills

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • talking to others

Social

  • understanding people's reactions
  • looking for ways to help people

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Concern for Others
  • Integrity
  • Cooperation
  • Dependability
  • Self Control
  • Social Orientation

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software

  • Blackboard software
  • Microsoft Access Hot Technology

Analytical or scientific software

  • ACT WorkKeys
  • Counseling software

Computer based training software

  • Moodle
  • Schoology

Education

Education: (rated 5 of 5)
master's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors.