How To Become A Junior Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a junior counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

The average junior counselor salary is $24,086. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a junior counselor. Junior counselors with a OSHA Safety Certificate certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 28,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a junior 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.

ScoreJunior CounselorUS Average

Salary

1.9

Avg. Salary $24,086

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 5.08%

Black or African American 12.99%

Hispanic or Latino 15.23%

Unknown 5.63%

White 60.40%

Gender

female 56.89%

male 43.11%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a junior counselor

Explore junior counselor education requirements

Most common junior counselor degrees

Bachelor's

56.9 %

High School Diploma

20.2 %

Associate

12.3 %

Start to develop specific junior counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Child Care	58.27%
CPR	13.39%
Role Model	5.78%
Art Projects	2.90%
Mathematics	2.55%

Complete relevant junior counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New junior 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 junior counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real junior counselor resumes.

Research junior counselor duties and responsibilities

Guide and nurture campers by accompanying them to and assisting with camp activities, and lead hiking and canoe trips
Enhance safety on the field and in the pool with first-aid and CPR certifications.
Improve the flow of church services by using PowerPoint to assist a pastor speaking to a large congregation.
Assist in developing leadership skills and oversee a variety of after-school activities.

Prepare your junior counselor resume

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

Build a professional junior 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 junior counselor resume.

Apply for junior counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a junior 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 junior counselors rate their job?

-/5

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Junior 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.