School counseling internship vs guidance counselor

The differences between school counseling interns and guidance counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a guidance counselor has an average salary of $48,154, which is higher than the $38,525 average annual salary of a school counseling internship.

The top three skills for a school counseling internship include crisis intervention, mental health and IEP. The most important skills for a guidance counselor are crisis intervention, community resources, and mental health.

School counseling internship vs guidance counselor overview

	School Counseling Internship	Guidance Counselor
Yearly salary	$38,525	$48,154
Hourly rate	$18.52	$23.15
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	69,348	75,740
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a school counseling internship do?

A school counseling internship is a student program where an intern is assigned to help school counselors deal with students' social and emotional development or educational needs. School counseling interns must aid their school counselors in developing a comprehensive school counseling program and adjusting schedules for their students. They help maintain student records and monitor their students' graduation status while guiding all students on caseload. School counseling interns also organize school-to-career guidance activities or bi-annual interactive training sessions for faculty members.

What does a guidance counselor do?

The primary role of a Guidance Counselor is to help students develop skills for success, both in academics and social development. They also develop and implement educational and counseling plans with modern methods of teaching and mentoring.

School counseling internship vs guidance counselor salary

School counseling interns and guidance counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Counseling Internship	Guidance Counselor
Average salary	$38,525	$48,154
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $62,000	Between $36,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	Burlingame, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	HP	Poly Prep Country Day School
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between school counseling internship and guidance counselor education

There are a few differences between a school counseling internship and a guidance counselor in terms of educational background:

	School Counseling Internship	Guidance Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Psychology	School Counseling
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

School counseling internship vs guidance counselor demographics

Here are the differences between school counseling interns' and guidance counselors' demographics:

	School Counseling Internship	Guidance Counselor
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7%	Male, 31.3% Female, 68.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between school counseling internship and guidance counselor duties and responsibilities

School counseling internship example responsibilities.

Manage open houses, recruitment, and conduct interviews for GED student enrollment.
Draft memoranda, subpoenas and demands for arbitration.
Attend parent/teacher conferences, PLT, SST, and student service meetings.
Assist in the billing office to include filing of insurance claims, corrections and appeals.
Provide prevention education, individual and small group counseling, and crisis management and intervention grades k-12.
Serve as a team member in special education and academic performance meetings (PPT , 504, SST, SAM).

Guidance counselor example responsibilities.

Utilize Salesforce to manage advertising programs for business owners.
Administer TACHS, PSAT, and other statewide examinations.
Provide individual counseling to students upon their request, SST referrals, or that of a teacher.
Utilize RTI for curriculum design and to identify students in need of extra academic & behavioral support.
Contribute to IEP manifestation meetings with students-parents-teachers.
Complete student educational assessments for upcoming IEP meetings.

School counseling internship vs guidance counselor skills

Common school counseling internship skills

Crisis Intervention, 12%
Mental Health, 9%
IEP, 9%
Group Therapy, 8%
Professional Development, 5%
Conflict Resolution, 4%

Common guidance counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 10%
Community Resources, 5%
Mental Health, 5%
Professional Development, 4%
Financial Aid, 4%
Conflict Resolution, 4%

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School Counseling Internship
School Counseling Internship vs Guidance Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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