How Do I Become A Guidance Counselor?

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When you want to be a guidance counselor, it is important for you to have a genuine passion for people. You should enjoy helping people solidify their educational plans. One of your other tasks may be to provide a person with advice about his or her career plan. You may need to meet with students to help them figure out how to proceed in the college application process. A guidance counselor plays an important role in the development of students. Guidance counselors help students cope with difficult family issues. Guidance counselors also help students learn how to stay focused on school amidst family hardship. Maybe you have wondered, “How do I become a guidance counselor?” When you want to become a guidance counselor, it is important for you to pursue an education plan that focuses on psychology and leadership.

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What’s it like to be a guidance counselor?

As a guidance counselor, you will continually have to review the files of students. You will need to make sure that students are receiving all of the credits that they need in order to graduate. You will also need to be conscious of the social environment of a high school. It will be important for you to pay attention to the social lives of students. You will want to make sure that no students are being bullied. It will be essential for you to meet with students who are victims of bullies in the school. You will also need to pay attention to the emotional health of students who are experiencing the divorce of their parents. You will need to meet with these students and make sure that they are completing all of their homework and studying for exams. A guidance counselor plays an important role in ensuring that students stay focused on school.

Education Requirements

To become a guidance counselor, one should try to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. It is important for a guidance counselor to obtain any type of certification that may be required by a school or state. A guidance counselor can also distinguish one’s self in the profession by obtaining a teaching certificate. A teaching certificate will allow a guidance counselor to teach a course or two that a school may need to have filled. If a substitute teacher needs to be hired, then a guidance counselor can readily fill the position. A guidance counselor will also be able to increase his or her salary by having additional certifications.

Salary & How to Get a Job

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of a guidance counselor is about $53,000 a year. When a person wants to become a guidance counselor, he or she should simply apply for positions at local high schools. It is important for a person to explore all of the open positions that may be at private schools too. A private school may provide a person with a greater salary than would be possible in a public high school.

References:
1. http://www.ehow.com/how_5368487_become-school-guidance-counselor.html
2. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Community-and-Social-Service/School-and-career-counselors.htm