Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
What is a student services counselor and how to become one
As a student services counselor, you work in a school or university to counsel students about their academic progress and future opportunities. As a liaison between students, parents, guardians, teachers, and administrators, you play an integral role in the success of students within the school building and in the outside world.
Your main job as a student services counselor requires you to discuss student progress with parents and teachers to determine the priorities for students; learning needs. You counsel students about academic procedures and help them to resolve academic, social, or behavioral problems. You also try to identify signs of domestic abuse or other critical problems and to report and mediate with the student.
You encourage students to seek out and utilize additional resources and assistance when they need it, and you sometimes provide group programs and vocational education. You work to prepare students for later education experiences, and you encourage them to explore learning opportunities and provide research and information on programs.
For a career as a student services counselor, you need a bachelor's degree in education or another related field and a master's degree in counseling. You must possess excellent written and oral communication skills. You also have deep knowledge of college academic procedures. In this role, you can make an average salary of $49,000 per year.
What general advice would you give to a student services counselor?
Crisanne Blackie
Director of Career Center, University of Maine
Avg. Salary $41,175
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 66.06%
male 33.94%
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 services counselor career paths
Key steps to become a student services counselor
Explore student services counselor education requirements
Start to develop specific student services counselor skills
Skills Percentages Customer Service 17.84% Financial Aid 11.06% Student Services 10.40% Social Work 6.87% Rehabilitation 6.75% Complete relevant student services counselor training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New student services 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 student services counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real student services counselor resumes.Research student services counselor duties and responsibilities
- Assist in all aspects of the FAFSA, insuring that every eligible student apply accurately.
- Verify FAFSA applications for accuracy.
- Plan retention and recruitment opportunities for students, prospective employers and alumni through interdepartmental and professional cooperative efforts.
- Create, construct and maintain a student info PowerPoint presentation.
Prepare your student services counselor resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student services 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 student services 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 student services counselor resume templates
Build a professional student services 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 student services counselor resume.
Apply for student services counselor jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a student services 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 did you land your first student services counselor job
Are you a student services counselor?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average student services counselor salary
The average student services counselor salary in the United States is $41,175 per year or $20 per hour. Student services counselor salaries range between $27,000 and $60,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do student services counselors rate their job?
Student services counselor reviews
Teaching Experience and CAREER COUNSELOR
Degree is not only required but Experience and Convincing Power is more important & useful than Degrees
Helping people find their own paths, incorporating values and interests. I love it when people identify what they really want and get excited about working towards it.
I'm in private practice so there's always some task that needs doing: bookkeeping, marketing, etc. It's a lot but it's not unbearable.
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
