Career Counseling: A Varied Profession

Answer 1

Career counseling is a growing profession that provides a variety of work environments, including self-employment. Career counselors work with individuals to assist in the process of identifying strengths, exploring careers, goal-setting and job searching. Career counseling work with teens, young adults, college-aged students, career changers, adults and displaced workers. Some of the careers related to this field are career coaches, school counselors, college administrators and employment counselors.

At heart, career counselors are helpers; they are typically drawn to the field because of the opportunity to impact the lives of others. Career counselors regularly practice active listening, can effectively educate others and are motivational. Because of the changing nature of the world of work, career counselors are often active learners and are able to keep up with the job market and changing careers. The variety in the field of career counseling means that professionals have a wide range of skills. In addition to one-on-one work with clients, career counselors may lead presentations, work with employers, visit workplaces, organize events and teach classes.

Career counselors are employed in a variety of settings, and these professionals can be found working in government, education, business and private practice. Career counselors may work in colleges to help students choose a major and gain employment during and after college. Some career counselors work with special populations, such as disabled individuals, unemployed workers or veterans. Other career counselors work for large corporations or organizations helping employees grow and develop within the environment. In addition, some career counselors are self-employed; they work in private practice with a set of clients, much in the same way that a mental health counselor would.

Education and training varies within the career counseling field. In the past decade, some colleges have begun to offer graduate degrees in career counseling, often as a concentration within a more general counseling degree. Most career counselors have a graduate degree, which may be in counseling, psychology, education, college administration, community development or human resources. A number of certification programs exist for aspiring career counselors, including the Global Career Development Facilitator. Other career counseling professionals receive training and certifications on specific areas of the field, such as career assessments.