What do they do?

Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.

Also known as:

Academic Advisor, Academic Counselor, Admissions Counselor, Adult School Counselor, Advisor, Articulation Officer, Career Consultant, Career Counselor, Career Services Coordinator, Career Technical Counselor, College Counselor, Counselor, Elementary School Counselor, Guidance Counselor, High School Counselor, High School Guidance Counselor, International Student Counselor, Internship Coordinator, Job Coach, School Adjustment Counselor, School Counselor, School Guidance Counselor, Student Advisor, Student Development Advisor, Student Services Coordinator, Student Services Counselor, Student Success Counselor, Student Support Counselor, Teacher Advisor, Transition Advisor, Vocational Counselor, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors is projected to grow 5 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment in VA

No Data Available
  • 5.1%

    Change

    Ranks #14 in job growth rate
    590

    Job Openings

    Ranks #21 in net job growth

Best colleges for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Search

Colleges with the most graduates that become Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Search

Looking for colleges that offer a specific major? Use the College Match Tool to find your best-matched schools and discover your estimated Net Price!

Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Master's degree  (61%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (21%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (5%)
  • Some college, no degree  (5%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (4%)
  • Associate's degree  (3%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (1%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Select Type of Degree:

People in this career often have these skills:

  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
  • Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
  • Evaluate potential problems in home or work environments of clients.
  • Counsel clients regarding interpersonal issues.
  • Counsel clients regarding educational or vocational issues.
  • Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
  • Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
  • Write reports or evaluations.
  • Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
  • Lead classes or community events.
  • Develop educational programs.
  • Refer individuals to educational or work programs.
  • Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
  • Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
  • Plan programs to address community mental wellness needs.
  • Present social services program information to the public.
  • Assess individual or community needs for educational or social services.
  • Refer clients to community or social service programs.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to develop education or assistance programs.
  • Develop educational policies.
  • Maintain professional social services knowledge.
  • Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
  • Advise others on social or educational issues.
  • Promote educational institutions or programs.
  • Develop working relationships with others to facilitate program activities.
  • Assist clients in handling details of daily life.
  • Train staff members in social services skills.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

careeronestop logo Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Join thousands of students and parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.