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Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
Other titles employers use
Academic Advisor · Academic Counselor · Admissions Counselor · Career Counselor · College Counselor · Elementary School Counselor · Guidance Counselor · School Counselor
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
- Prepares you for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to helping, organizing and persuading work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Subjects to know
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Therapy and Counseling
- Education and Training
- Psychology
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Written Comprehension
- Written Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.4 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 2.3 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 5.0 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 2.2 | Little of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a master's degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A four-year degree 56%
- A master's degree 41%
- A two-year degree 3%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Word processing software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Web page creation and editing software
- Project management software
- Presentation software
- Electronic mail software
- Graphics or photo imaging software
- Spreadsheet software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 48,400
- Job openings each year
- 3,710
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 10.5%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 48,400 | 3,710 | 10.5% |
| Texas | 35,810 | 2,820 | 14.9% |
| New York | 31,990 | 540 | 20.4% |
| Florida | 24,990 | 1,960 | 14.4% |
| Illinois | 14,510 | 1,080 | 6.1% |
| Georgia | 12,190 | 950 | 12.4% |
| Ohio | 11,800 | 870 | 4.7% |
| Missouri | 9,370 | 700 | 6.2% |
| Colorado | 9,300 | 750 | 18.3% |
| North Carolina | 8,640 | 670 | 11.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 8,380 | 610 | 3.7% |
| Maryland | 8,290 | 660 | 15.5% |
| New Jersey | 8,230 | 610 | 6.7% |
| Virginia | 8,080 | 590 | 5.1% |
| Michigan | 7,630 | 560 | 4.7% |
| Washington | 7,460 | 710 | 17.3% |
| Tennessee | 6,890 | 560 | 20.7% |
| South Carolina | 6,840 | 540 | 14.0% |
| Arizona | 6,720 | 510 | 8.9% |
| Utah | 5,800 | 490 | 29.2% |
| Indiana | 5,700 | 430 | 6.7% |
| Alabama | 5,550 | 430 | 10.8% |
| Wisconsin | 5,450 | 410 | 8.8% |
| Louisiana | 5,260 | 400 | 8.5% |
| Oklahoma | 4,860 | 360 | 6.3% |
| Kentucky | 4,800 | 360 | 6.0% |
| Minnesota | 4,150 | 310 | 6.7% |
| Iowa | 4,080 | 320 | 12.1% |
| Massachusetts | 3,650 | 280 | 13.0% |
| Connecticut | 3,410 | 260 | 9.3% |
| Mississippi | 3,080 | 240 | 9.6% |
| Oregon | 2,880 | 220 | 7.1% |
| Kansas | 2,760 | 210 | 7.4% |
| New Hampshire | 2,490 | 190 | 7.8% |
| Arkansas | 2,250 | 170 | 4.7% |
| Nebraska | 2,150 | 160 | 3.9% |
| District of Columbia | 2,120 | 160 | 9.8% |
| Nevada | 2,040 | 150 | 10.3% |
| New Mexico | 1,970 | 150 | 11.3% |
| Idaho | 1,870 | 150 | 19.9% |
| Maine | 1,710 | 120 | 1.8% |
| Delaware | 1,700 | 130 | 14.9% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,280 | 100 | 14.3% |
| Rhode Island | 1,100 | 80 | 5.8% |
| West Virginia | 1,100 | 80 | 6.8% |
| South Dakota | 990 | 70 | 10.0% |
| Vermont | 980 | 70 | 8.9% |
| North Dakota | 770 | 60 | 6.9% |
| Wyoming | 740 | 60 | 15.6% |
| Montana | 730 | 60 | 9.0% |
| Alaska | 460 | 30 | 2.2% |
| Virgin Islands | 60 | 10 | −14.3% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Western Governors University
- Degrees each year
- 828
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Degrees each year
- 537
- Admit rate
- 57%
- Annual cost after aid
- $7,000
University of Maryland Global Campus
- Degrees each year
- 369
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- —
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
- Degrees each year
- 357
- Admit rate
- 65%
- Annual cost after aid
- $18,000
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
- Degrees each year
- 330
- Admit rate
- 77%
- Annual cost after aid
- $15,000
Cornell University
- Degrees each year
- 273
- Admit rate
- 8%
- Annual cost after aid
- $7,000
University of Arizona
- Degrees each year
- 250
- Admit rate
- 86%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
- Degrees each year
- 239
- Admit rate
- 54%
- Annual cost after aid
- $26,000
Compare every college offering student counseling and personnel services