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What is a career development counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Lisa Wallace
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a career development counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.46 an hour? That's $46,715 a year! 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 a career development counselor?

Lisa WallaceLisa Wallace LinkedIn profile

Director of Career Services, Rocky Mountain College

Stay in a learning mode.
ScoreCareer Development CounselorUS Average
Salary
3.6

Avg. Salary $46,715

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 59.26%

male 40.74%

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

Career development counselor career paths

Key steps to become a career development counselor

  1. Explore career development counselor education requirements

    Most common career development counselor degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.4 %

    Master's

    18.6 %

    Associate

    8.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific career development counselor skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Social Work20.98%
    Rehabilitation12.27%
    Community Resources11.67%
    Mental Health11.02%
    Career Development7.93%
  3. Complete relevant career development counselor training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New career development 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 a career development counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real career development counselor resumes.
  4. Research career development counselor duties and responsibilities

    • Manage cases of clients who are moving from government support income (TANF) to non-supplement income.
    • Provide information to individuals on matters pertaining to social security, veterans administration, and uniform service health benefits program.
    • Provide case management services to TANF clients and/or unemploy individuals.
    • Perform system conversion from Quickbooks to Yardi accounting and property management software.
  5. Prepare your career development counselor resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your career development 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 a career development 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 career development counselor resume templates

    Build a professional career development 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 career development counselor resume.
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
    Career Development Counselor Resume
  6. Apply for career development counselor jobs

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

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

How did you land your first career development counselor job

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Are you a career development counselor?

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Average career development counselor salary

The average career development counselor salary in the United States is $46,715 per year or $22 per hour. Career development counselor salaries range between $33,000 and $65,000 per year.

Average career development counselor salary
$46,715 Yearly
$22.46 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do career development counselors rate their job?

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Career development counselor reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

Helping people find their own paths, incorporating values and interests. I love it when people identify what they really want and get excited about working towards it.

Cons

I'm in private practice so there's always some task that needs doing: bookkeeping, marketing, etc. It's a lot but it's not unbearable.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Cons

Sometimes having to deal with difficult personalities


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019
Pros

Guiding students toward rewarding careers.

Cons

I am employed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Career Development Advisors are paid much lower than Corporate Relations Managers even though we do similar jobs


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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