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What is a student advisor and how to become one
Student advising builds a strong relationship. It's the key to a student being successful in school or college. If a student isn't doing academically well and struggles to make the right academic, degree, or course decisions, they may need an expert student advisor. A student advisor is not just the person who calls you in if you're getting bad grades or hands you a schedule. Their influence is greater than that.
Student advisors advocate for students progressing through their higher education. They help them in a wide range of ways as they explore their career choices. Helping students with attendance problems, school adjustment, academic skills, scheduling, and timetables are all a part of their job. Student advisors guide students on their educational goals and learning processes to support their development and growth.
Schools, colleges, and universities employ student advisors to help students perform better in their academic life. A typical professional academic advisor earns $19.16 per hour, on average. Earn at least a bachelor's degree in psychology or business to get hired as a student advisor.
What general advice would you give to a student advisor?
Tamara Tranter
Senior Director, The USA Hockey Foundation
Avg. Salary $41,418
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
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%
Genderfemale 61.76%
male 38.24%
Age - 41American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 41Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Student advisor career paths
Key steps to become a student advisor
Explore student advisor education requirements
Start to develop specific student advisor skills
Skills Percentages Customer Service 16.17% Student Services 6.83% International Student 6.31% Support Services 5.35% Financial Aid 4.76% Complete relevant student advisor training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New student advisors 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 student advisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real student advisor resumes.Research student advisor duties and responsibilities
- Plan events, manage email and marketing advertisements via Facebook, answer phone calls.
- Lead efforts facilitate recruitment and educational benefits for new and current student veterans at VCU.
- Manage UAFS's F-1/J-1 student visa SEVIS compliance as DSO/ARO, ensuring all documentation is in order prior to students arriving.
- Run training sessions and tutorials for students and faculty for the various services and programs offer by WestLaw.
Prepare your student advisor resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student advisor 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 student advisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable student advisor resume templates
Build a professional student advisor 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 student advisor resume.
Apply for student advisor jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a student advisor 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 did you land your first student advisor job
Are you a student advisor?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average student advisor salary
The average student advisor salary in the United States is $41,418 per year or $20 per hour. Student advisor salaries range between $31,000 and $53,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do student advisors rate their job?
Student advisor reviews
The interaction with students, the progress of the students and the opportunities to develop programs.
The very hectic schedule and the multi-tasking that never ends.
Teaching Experience and CAREER COUNSELOR
Degree is not only required but Experience and Convincing Power is more important & useful than Degrees
Working closely with students and assisting them with resources.
The pay. I feel that I don't get paid nearly enough for the amount of work that I do and my responsibilities. I'm expected to be a counselor, security guard, nurse, baby sitter, IT, etc.
Updated January 8, 2025
