Additional Information
School counselors must get licensed or certified through their state's
board of education. This requires continuing education credits -- usually
a master's degree. Depending on the state, the degree can be in education,
counseling, related behavioral sciences or a related human service field.
"A master's degree is required in all but nine states. Experience teaching
is not required, but it's not unusual for this career path," says Eric Sparks.
He is a school counselor and president of the American School Counselor Association.
"I think in order to be an effective counselor, you need to have some life
experiences both inside and outside of education," advises school counselor
Rod Kitt.
"A combination of work/life experience in addition to the appropriate educational
training sets a person up to be a more effective counselor.
"In order to get a step up on the competition, try to obtain a wide range
of experiences, and look to move into the counseling role when that has been
accomplished."
School counselor Sylvia Slater advises those interested in the career to
make sure they're interested in education, teaching and kids -- not just counseling.
"A school setting has many demands, and knowledge of classroom teaching
and the stressors that go with that and teaching experiences are important
to one's role as a counselor," says Slater.