Counseling Careers Presuppose Stability And Opportunity

By Author: Bimol Bee
Total Articles: 868
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The job of counselor is listed in the eighth most sought after U.S. job candidates, enjoying a median annual salary of between $35,000 and $45,000 per year. This tendency shows that scientific knowledge and passionate human interaction can become one of the best career opportunities nowadays. Counseling is a specific sphere which combines in itself different categories. The main peculiarity of counselors is that they manage emotional and physical challenges of people every day. Here some common subjects of counseling are listed:

addictions and substance abuse
family, parenting, and marital problems
suicidal tendencies
stress management
self-esteem issues
aging and mental and emotional health

Usually you can find counseling specialists in hospitals, medical facilities, schools, or clinics.

They can work in different companies or to be self-employed. A lot of them decided to keep researching in this field, some of counselors become teachers, training young generation to work for people who need support or assistance.

How Important the Profession Is
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If you come to the decision to make counseling your profession, it will be useful to look no further than at a 2006 National College Health Assessment survey. It will show you that 35 percent of students felt depressed and more than 10 percent of them were considered suicide. Very soon with such tendencies the numbers of counselors shall be much more that exist nowadays. With the statistics of American College Counseling Association 91.5 percent of counseling school directors which are working with students noticed an increasing tendency of psychological problems in students’ life. It is common knowledge that a professional counselor is required almost for every age and every social category.

Number of Counselors

According to the official information from Bureau of Labor Statistics, counselors obtained about 635,000 positions in 2006. The employment of counselors will potentially grow by 21 percent for all specialties till 2016. The most important will be such counseling spheres as substance abuse and behavioral disorders which are considered to grow at 34 percent. Mental health, marriage and family therapy suppose to grow at 30 percent.

Being the most required sphere, annual salaries will be depended on experience and specialization.

These are the general salaries of counselors in 2007:

Substance abuse and behavioral disorder: $35,580
Mental health counselors: $36,000
Marriage and family therapists: $43,600
Educational, vocational, and school counselors: $49,450

How to Become a Counselor

If you would like to become a professional counselor you need to start to obtain a valuable education in counseling which meets the requirements of standards established by federal governments. An undergraduate degree can be also considered as the first step of studying e.g. psychology or similar specializations. As soon as you start to work in this field you will have an opportunity to chose the sphere you would prefer the most such as elementary or secondary school counseling, rehabilitation counseling, or career counseling. To sum up, certification with the National Board to certify counselors is also very important detail to plan your career.

counseling careers