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

What is an adult school counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

The average adult school counselor salary is $51,207. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become an adult school counselor. Adult school counselors with a Pastoral Counseling Certification certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an adult school counselor?

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University

Counseling Services (school counseling concentration) and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (we have a CMHC concentration and a Dance Movement Therapy concentration in this program). The general advice I would give to graduates starting positions in the counseling field would be to understand the critical importance of the work of helping professionals. Counselors optimally provide a safe space for clients to discuss their fears, worries, anxieties, joys, traumas, insecurities, accomplishments, etc. This ability to be an empathic, listening, accepting presence will be even more crucial for clients in our current situation.

ScoreAdult School CounselorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,207

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.9

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 4.56%

Black or African American 11.43%

Hispanic or Latino 15.39%

Unknown 4.56%

White 63.21%

Gender

female 68.93%

male 31.07%

Age - 37

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 - 37

Stress level

9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an adult school counselor

Explore adult school counselor education requirements

Most common adult school counselor degrees

Bachelor's

57.5 %

Master's

25.6 %

Associate

9.1 %

Start to develop specific adult school counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	24.29%
Substance Abuse	22.17%
Community Resources	14.58%
Group Therapy	10.43%
Discharge Planning	3.37%

Complete relevant adult school counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New adult school 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 adult school counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real adult school counselor resumes.

Research adult school counselor duties and responsibilities

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Organize and lead regular youth and college bible studies, teaching about prayer and promoting spirituality.

Prepare your adult school counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your adult school 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 adult school 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 adult school counselor resume templates

Build a professional adult school 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 adult school counselor resume.

Apply for adult school counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an adult school 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 adult school counselors rate their job?

-/5

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Adult school counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Cons

The insane amount of paperwork, the insurance/agency politics, the high expectations, the low amount of support. Burnout is very concerning for a profession where people in the frontline are the ones trying to make a difference. Individuals who work in this field need to have an incentive to keep pushing. I’m sorry but a kind heart and good intentions are not enough to sustain this type of career.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019