Guidance or school counselors have a heavy responsibility on their shoulders. They must support students in succeeding academically, emotionally, and socially. We are not just talking about career counseling, though this does come under their area of purview.
Counselors will support students in managing personal challenges that might be affecting their school performance and social interactions. As per the American School Counselor Association, the country is currently facing shortages of these skilled professionals.
Demand for guidance counselors is high and will continue to increase. If you wish to pursue this career path, now is the best time to do so. In this article, we will discuss the six easy steps involved in becoming a school guidance counselor.
Have you ever dreamed of impacting a child’s life? Now could be your opportunity to achieve that! Keep reading to understand the six steps in detail.
Pursue a Bachelor’s Program
For practically any career out there, having a relevant Bachelor’s degree is imperative. It is often perceived as the basic program that a student must pursue, especially if they wish to be a guidance counselor.
A Bachelor’s degree communicates the student’s commitment to gathering knowledge and enhancing their expertise. It is the first step towards gaining specialized information and a competitive edge in the job market.
Therefore, begin your path by obtaining a Bachelor’s degree. Ideally, you should choose fields like social work, behavioral studies, or education for the undergraduate years. With that, you can take up classes that teach about mental health foundations, education systems, and student services. The additional sessions are important in light of the advanced degree needed for school counseling.
Earn a Master’s Degree
The second step involved in becoming a guidance counselor one day would be pursuing an advanced or Master’s level course. For instance – if you chose social work for your undergraduate studies, the next course would be a master’s in social work.
In case you wish to learn at your own pace or fast-track the process, MSW advanced standing programs are offered on a part or full-time basis. These may even be available online, so you can learn the way you wish.
According to Cleveland State University, such programs cover an array of areas like human aspirations and needs, economic justice, discrimination, oppression, and more. This will equip you to understand individual students closely based on their unique life experiences and learning patterns.
Complete an Internship
Usually, your Bachelor’s and Master’s courses should oblige you to participate in meaningful internship opportunities. These will provide you with practical, real-world experience in guidance counseling.
Over and above those, you can pursue more independent internships, should you get the chance. In any case, they will serve as opportunities to apply your theoretical knowledge to real-world situations. There were an estimated 1.64 million unpaid and 4.1 million paid internships in 2023.
These did include all fields but there would be many corresponding to your desired job role. Depending on the internship, you may find yourself counseling students individually or in small groups.
You may even be asked to review the school’s data to understand whether the counseling program is leading to students’ overall development. Other roles to work on during internships include setting up interest inventories, conducting guidance activities, and implementing the counseling curriculum.
Appear for Your State’s Required Examinations
Once the two relevant degrees and an internship are under your belt, it’s time to aim at earning your certification. This would mark the first major step in career progression because the certificate will prove your competence in the field.
To get the school or guidance counselor certificate, you may have to review your state’s requirements. There may be a set number of clinical hours you should have practiced before pursuing a certification. Additionally, you may need to take state-specific exams. Remember, this is just the beginning of your journey.
The same holds in the case of getting a license. Once the required certification and licensure are with you, it’s now time to proceed further. You may apply for the position of guidance counselor in public, private, or parochial schools.
Gain Additional Certifications
Now, let’s clarify that up until now, your career path has just begun. After the relevant degrees, hands-on training, and certification, you have officially established yourself as a school counselor.
Keep in mind that your journey doesn’t end here. You are now free to choose among additional certifications, including those offered by the American School Counselor Association. Some examples would be those on bullying, trauma, mental health, cultural competency, and college admissions.
We would suggest not skipping this step because you may discover novel knowledge not shared during your study years. Such diverse certifications will prepare you to take up a variety of school counseling responsibilities.
Continue Education
The best thing about learning is that it is an ever-evolving ongoing process. Based on your state’s requirements, you may have to maintain your licensure or certification with the help of continued education and personal development.
This is good as it may help you stay up-to-date with recent changes in the field of education and school counseling. It may also become a great opportunity to grow your professional network as you get to know other industry colleagues better.
Furthermore, continued education is a great way to help a lot more students, even those facing unique problems. It may allow you to stay informed about the best practices involved in working with diverse age groups. Finally, you will be able to uphold professional accountability and industry standards. Certain licensing bodies even mandate continuous education for membership renewals.
Even in this article’s beginning, we discussed the acute shortage of school counselors across the US. Let’s expand a bit on that – nearly 8 million students do not have access to a guidance counselor.
What’s even more shocking is that this shortage is affecting the mental health of students of color the most. It’s time to embrace diversity, and inclusivity, and charter a better path on helpless students’ behalf. Are you ready to take up this challenge? If anything, we can assure you that it will be one thrilling ride.
