How To Become An Academic Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an academic counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

An Academic Counselor is a counselor that works at a tertiary institution that provides educational and career guidance to students. They assist students in planning their schedules, picking courses, and determining the best education method for various students. They work with a specific group of students as defined by the institution and meet one-on-one with each student. Also, they keep track of the student's advancement.

As an academic counselor, you would work closely with professors and other administrators and stay updated on program changes. The requirements vary by state and place of employment. However, institutions hire applicants with at least a bachelor's degree program in counseling, education, or a related field. Some employers require that academic advisors have at least two years of experience in the educational system. Academic counselors must be willing to help others. They must also have strong communication skills and interpersonal skills. The average salary of an Academic Counselor is $41,075.

ScoreAcademic CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,454

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.0

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 64.58%

male 35.42%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an academic counselor

Explore academic counselor education requirements

Most common academic counselor degrees

Bachelor's

65.7 %

Master's

25.9 %

Associate

4.4 %

Start to develop specific academic counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Aid	8.98%
Academic Support	8.04%
Student Services	7.90%
Professional Development	6.42%
Student Athletes	5.29%

Complete relevant academic counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New academic counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an academic counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real academic counselor resumes.

Research academic counselor duties and responsibilities

Utilize Salesforce to manage advertising programs for business owners.
Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
Test PeopleSoft upgrades and provide suggestions.
Tutor introductory biology, chemistry, psychology and remedial mathematics.

Prepare your academic counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your academic counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an academic counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Academic Counselor Resume templates

Build a professional Academic Counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Academic Counselor resume.

Apply for academic counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an academic counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do academic counselors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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Academic Counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

I love working in a university setting; I love working with people, and especially, students!

Cons

The current university student population is lacking in personal responsibility and critical thinking/problem solving. Some of them need constant hand-holding.