Almost half of all counseling positions can be found in the healthcare and social service fields. Another 25% of all counseling jobs are through schools and state and local government positions. A number of people who are becoming counselors today are considering beginning their own practices. Some counselors have regular employment and private clients that they are available to assist after hours.
For someone to become a licensed counselor, he or she needs a minimum of a master’s degree. There are certain required tests and courses that will have to be completed and successfully passed before someone is allowed to begin working as a counselor. Certification in different areas of counseling is also available. Counselors are trained to assist certain groups of people with their problems.
While it is possible to specialize in a number of different areas, most counselors will choose an area of specialization and then get additional experience in some of the closely related areas to the one they work in. As a counselor, it is your duty to assist your clients with any problems that they may have that fall into your area of expertise. Since problems can occur in many different life areas counselors need to have a broad understanding of how to deal with many different types of circumstances.
School counselor jobs are very popular and there are many openings for qualified candidates in every state. These counseling jobs are available for high school and middle school counselor jobs as well as qualified candidates who are looking for employment as elementary school counselors.
Even though all of these counseling jobs involve schools and children, the qualifications and skills for each of these positions are all different. Every counselor is trained and educated so that they will be able to effectively help people with all types of problems, but they specialize in certain areas so that they are best able to assist a certain group of clients.
In elementary school, the counselors do far less academic counseling and instead they spend more time observing the children and finding ways to help them improve or adapt in an academic setting. They are also alert and are expected to help if the children are having family or personal difficulties. Many times the counselor will be useful in helping create educational plans for children who have special needs or have learning disabilities.
In middle school, the counselors will work with students to improve grades as well as behaviors. They are often involved in helping adolescents deal with peer influence and counseling concerning addictive substances and drugs is part of a middle school counselor’s life. These people will intercede on behalf of the students and will be an advocate for them when needed.
They will work with students to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and help them consider the best classes to take in school. Testing is an important part of children’s lives at this age and the school counselor helps children understand the necessity of taking different tests and they help them understand what the results are showing.
As a high school counselor the job shifts focus slightly and helping students stay in school and get into college are two of the biggest challenges. These counselors often have a large number of students for whom they are responsible. They offer counseling on an individual basis as well as in group settings and help students who are dealing with problems at home, in class or with peers. You can find a wide variety of different counseling positions listed at online job centers like CounselingCrossing.
There are some other counseling positions available to qualified candidates and these include group home counseling jobs. With these positions, the counselor will work in a group setting to offer help and personal guidance to individuals that are living together in a group home.
These could be halfway houses, orphanages or even in homes for children or teens with behavioral problems. These positions will all require a great deal of professional education and personal skills to effectively deal with the problems of the clients. Home counseling jobs can be searched for online with companies like Counseling Crossing, which lists jobs throughout the nation.
There are many other needs for counselors, and these involve marital and family counseling, drug and substance abuse counseling, job and vocational counseling, and there are even jobs available that need people to fill summer counseling jobs. With a summer counseling job, even college students with only one or two years of college can apply and be hired. These are jobs that require residing at a summer camp for the duration of the summer program and working with a group of children. You will combine mentoring with actual guidance, advice, and support to make the camp experience a rewarding time for both you and your group.
