All careers

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.

What you’d do

  • Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
  • Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
  • Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
  • Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
  • Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
  • Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
  • Refer students to outside counseling services.
  • Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.

Skills that matter

  • Active Listening
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Speaking
  • Service Orientation
  • Critical Thinking
  • Reading Comprehension

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Academic Advisor
  • Career Counselor
  • Guidance Counselor
  • School Counselor
  • Academic Counselor
  • Admissions Counselor
See all careers
  • Rehabilitation Counselors

    Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • School Psychologists

    Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Instructional Coordinators

    Develop instructional material, coordinate educational content, and incorporate current technology into instruction in order to provide…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Education Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses pertaining to education, such as counseling, curriculum, guidance, instruction, teacher education, and teaching English as a…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Child, Family, and School Social Workers

    Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize…

    Considerable preparation: most need a four-year bachelor's degree

  • Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten

    Teach academic, social, and life skills to kindergarten students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.

    Considerable preparation: most need a four-year bachelor's degree