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

What is a school guidance counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Everyone knows what a School Guidance Counselor is, including people who were homeschooled or never went to school at all. They are the designated school staff who talk to the troubled youth in teen movies, offering kind yet stern words of encouragement. The character on screen might seem relaxed, but there's actually a lot that goes into being a School Guidance Counselor.

Most employers require their School Guidance Counselors to have Bachelor's degrees -- preferably in counseling, psychology, or education. In fact, a considerable percentage of School Guidance Counselors in the U.S. hold Master's degrees. Prior experience in teaching or a teaching certificate is also a huge plus for many schools looking for new hires.

On average, School Guidance Counselors in the United States make a yearly salary of roughly about $43,000. The states of Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut offer more competitive rates, often offering salaries of $50,000 a year or more.

What general advice would you give to a school guidance counselor?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreSchool Guidance CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,562

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 75.28%

male 24.72%

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 school guidance counselor

Explore school guidance counselor education requirements

Most common school guidance counselor degrees

Bachelor's

47.7 %

Master's

44.9 %

Associate

3.3 %

Start to develop specific school guidance counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Crisis Intervention	7.16%
Community Agencies	6.59%
Professional Development	6.09%
Financial Aid	5.07%
Career Planning	4.17%

Complete relevant school guidance counselor training and internships

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

Research school guidance counselor duties and responsibilities

Participate in IEP's staff meetings, parent meetings and individual student counseling.
Attend and participate in IEP meetings, truancy elimination meetings, children s clinic meetings, and parent meetings.
Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
Collaborate with peers in leadership capacity at recreational summer camp leading, coordinating and organizing daily activities and weekly field trips.

Prepare your school guidance counselor resume

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

Build a professional school guidance 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 school guidance counselor resume.