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

What is an education counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

Educational counselors, often called school counselors, advise students on academic issues, mental health, personal problems, and social challenges. If they counsel in a secondary school setting, they help students understand the college admission process and requirements and find schools best suited for them.

For students who do not stick to a traditional 4-year college, educational counselors offer advice on other post-secondary options, such as attending a vocational school, directly entering the workforce, or joining the military.

Because counseling is such a general field, your education, licensure, and certification requirements will vary depending upon the grade level you choose and state of residence. You will need to complete a bachelor's degree in psychology, education, or a related field at the very minimum.

What general advice would you give to an Education 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.

ScoreEducation CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,465

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 66.65%

male 33.35%

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 education counselor

Explore education counselor education requirements

Most common education counselor degrees

Bachelor's

62.6 %

Master's

20.3 %

Associate

8.9 %

Start to develop specific education counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Mental Health	10.89%
Crisis Intervention	10.26%
Financial Aid	6.23%
Behavioral Problems	6.17%
Applied Behavior Analysis	5.15%

Complete relevant education counselor training and internships

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

Research education counselor duties and responsibilities

Provide consultation and in-service to teachers, administrators and parents regarding IEP's, guidance and counseling practices and programs.
Collaborate as member of IEP teams, with school and district representatives and families, to identify specific student needs areas.
Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Participate in special education meetings as administrator, coordinate state testing and assist with RTI identifications.

Prepare your education counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your education 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 education 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 Education Counselor Resume templates

Build a professional Education 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 Education Counselor resume.

Apply for education counselor jobs

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

-/5

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Education Counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Cons

The over documentation required by DHS that robs the quality time needed in intervention and treatment. This lopsided demand makes the term “best practices” mere bureaucratic lip service without the means to actually deliver quality hands on services.

Pros

Change agent when people are stuck and need support in the process of restoration. One on one and group processing is powerful.