Primary Counselor Overview
Working as a Primary Counselor
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a primary counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.86 an hour? That's $45,460 a year!
What Does a Primary Counselor Do
There are certain skills that many primary counselors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, emotional skills and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a primary counselor, we found that a lot of resumes listed 20.7% of primary counselors included treatment plans, while 11.0% of resumes included group therapy, and 10.2% of resumes included crisis intervention. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the primary counselor job title. But what industry to start with? Most primary counselors actually find jobs in the health care and non profits industries.
How To Become a Primary Counselor
If you're interested in becoming a primary counselor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 31.3% of primary counselors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 48.0% of primary counselors have master's degrees. Even though most primary counselors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a primary counselor. When we researched the most common majors for a primary counselor, we found that they most commonly earn master's degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on primary counselor resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a primary counselor. In fact, many primary counselor jobs require experience in a role such as counselor. Meanwhile, many primary counselors also have previous career experience in roles such as internship or case manager.
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Primary Counselor Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a primary counselor can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as therapist, progress to a title such as case manager and then eventually end up with the title director of social services.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Primary Counselor
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp Primary Counselor II Primary Counselor II | Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp | 03/17/2017 03/17/2017 | $47,00803/17/2017 $47,008 |
Argus Community Inc. Primary Counselor Primary Counselor | Argus Community Inc. Argus Community Inc. | 03/15/2017 03/15/2017 | $43,50003/15/2017 $43,500 |
Argus Community Inc. Primary Counselor Primary Counselor | Argus Community Inc. Argus Community Inc. | 03/15/2014 03/15/2014 | $35,00003/15/2014 $35,000 |
Argus Community Inc. Primary Counselor Primary Counselor | Argus Community Inc. Argus Community Inc. | 03/15/2014 03/15/2014 | $35,00003/15/2014 $35,000 |
Clinic for Education, Treatment and Prevention of Primary Counselor Primary Counselor | Clinic for Education, Treatment and Prevention of Clinic for Education, Treatment and Prevention of | 04/14/2012 04/14/2012 | $27,00004/14/2012 $27,000 |
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Top Colleges for Primary Counselors
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Public
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Public
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Public
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
6. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Public
7. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Public
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Top Skills For a Primary Counselor
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.7% of primary counselors listed treatment plans on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and emotional skills are important as well.
- Treatment Plans, 20.7%
- Group Therapy, 11.0%
- Crisis Intervention, 10.2%
- Mental Health, 9.0%
- Psychosocial Assessments, 6.7%
- Other Skills, 42.4% See All Primary Counselor Skills
How Do Primary Counselor Rate Their Jobs?
Top Primary Counselor Employers
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