Counselor Jobs

The number of counselor jobs and career opportunities available, as with all disciplines in the field of psychology, increases with the education level of the prospective job hunter. Most professionals working as counselors in one capacity or another will have at least a master's degree in counseling, psychology or in some cases education. That said, there are still career opportunities available for professionals with bachelor degrees, but they are not as plentiful and competition will be higher.

Counseling is one of the largest subspecialties within the field of psychology. While psychology focuses on treating psychiatric illness, counselor jobs tend to focus more on clients' day to day concerns. Counselors help their clients manage everyday stresses, and focus on therapeutic treatments to manage a variety of situations. These stressful situations might involve professional, marital, emotional, social or health-related problems.

Counselor jobs can be found in a variety of settings, such as group practices, career or educational counseling centers or hospitals. Counselors might work as vocational assessment professionals. These practitioners help people with a variety of work related issues, such as deciding on a career, managing work stress, being more productive at work and the major transition of changing careers. The counseling professional often works in rehabilitation, assisting people with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive and emotional disabilities to achieve their goals. These goals can be related to personal, career or independent living goals, brought out in the most integrated setting possible. For example, a counselor might choose to become involved with addiction problems, marriage issues or grief counseling. There are counseling specialties for almost every area of professional and personal development.

One of the largest groups of counselor jobs is that of a school counselor. On a daily basis, school counselors are involved in character education, violence prevention, career planning and much more. They work with parents, administration and educators to help children reach their full potential by managing issues that affect them day to day. School counselors assist students to focus on personal, social and academic career development so that they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as adults.

Outside of that, a variety of counselor jobs exist in a non-medical or educational environment. Counselors could put their knowledge base and counseling skills to work in a corporate environment. Their particular skill-set makes them excellent HR managers, professional development trainers, social workers, child advocates, public relations agents and probation officers.