Becoming a College Counselor

Have you ever thought of what our counselors have to do to become college counselors? I would have never thought that any one of my counselors actually had to do so much to be where they were. I had a counselor once tell me to go online and figure out the answers to all of my questions. This of course was not at CSUN. I thought it would be a good idea to show all of you what the requirements are to become a college counselor.

Job Description
Counselor - Higher Ed.
Offers professional counseling to students on a variety of matters. Other responsibilities include developing and evaluating programs, coordinating outreach activities, and vocational testing and assessment. May counsel individuals or groups. Requires at least a master's degree in clinical/counseling psychology and 4-6 years experience. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to department head.
The typical salary of this position in the United States today is $47,239.
I got this info from: http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_ED03000058.html

This website is a list of other websites that would serve as a resource for people who want to be college counselors:

http://www.collegecounseling.org/resources/links.html

What you need: Bachelor of Science in Psychology (B.S. Psych) - Psychology Applied in Helping Professions
You can also apply to Walden University and obtain this degree at this website:
http://www.classesusa.com/af/featuredschools/waldendm/form.cfm;jsessionid=B6BA1152C85A108C661B6D22247B0910?nopopup&interestsnum=3&interest2num=2


CSUN’s page for course requirements to become a college counselor:
http://www.csun.edu/edpsy/ccss.html

After reading this, I hope you have a better understanding of college counselors. They had to learn a lot to be in their position, so if you need help, you can go to them. They can serve as a great resource for college students today.

-Kourtney