How To Become A College Adviser: What It Is and Career Path

What is a college adviser and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Crisanne Blackie,

William Hill

A college advisor is a type of counselor who works with students, usually at the institutional level. They are liable for helping students choose a major and a minor and assuring that students meet all the requirements to graduate with a degree in that field.

To become a successful college advisor, you need to have explicit knowledge and hands-on experience providing counseling and guidance. When hiring for this job, colleges and universities typically look for a minimum academic qualification of a bachelor's degree. However, most employers prefer a master's degree alongside additional certifications and experience.

According to BLS, an average college advisor's salary is $61,000 per year. Nonetheless, this figure can vary significantly depending on your experience, skills, or organizational setting.

What general advice would you give to a college adviser?

Crisanne Blackie

Director of Career Center, University of Maine

A first job is always exciting, so make the most of this experience by being willing to excel at your responsibilities, take the initiative, be curious and ask questions, be ready to learn, and do your very best. Networking with your fellow employees will help you to meet the staff and learn about the organizational culture. If you are working remotely, make sure you understand the expectations and implement your time management skills. If you are searching for a position, be open to all opportunities; consider an internship, project, or volunteer position to expand your skills. Your college or university's career center is typically still available to you after you graduate and continue to use its services for extra assistance.

ScoreCollege AdviserUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,038

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 60.83%

male 39.17%

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 a college adviser

Explore college adviser education requirements

Most common college adviser degrees

Bachelor's

69.4 %

Master's

16.5 %

Associate

7.5 %

Start to develop specific college adviser skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Aid Applications	15.56%
Colleges	12.72%
Professional Development	11.14%
FAFSA	6.53%
Admissions Process	5.84%

Complete relevant college adviser training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New college advisers 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 college adviser based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real college adviser resumes.

Research college adviser duties and responsibilities

Manage presentations, assemblies, and club meetings to offer services and emphasize the necessity of post-secondary study.
Help interview, evaluate, select and mentor AmeriCorps applicants.
Communicate with graduating seniors on a regular basis over the summer by phone, Facebook and in person.
Utilize a CRM database (Salesforce) to update student contacts and to help leadership team to better support students.

Prepare your college adviser resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your college adviser 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 college adviser resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable college adviser resume templates

Build a professional college adviser 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 college adviser resume.