The average salary for a counselor with a bachelor’s degree is $40,000.
However, this salary can vary based on the location and type of counseling you do. For example, if you work in an urban area with a large population, your salary is likely to be higher than if you worked in a rural area with fewer people.
Similarly, if you are working as a mental health counselor or marriage therapist, your salary will be higher than if you were working as a family counselor or school counselor.
The average annual salary for a counselor with a bachelor’s degree is $43,000. The highest-paying industries for this group are the following:
- Healthcare and social assistance (median annual salary: $36,000)
- Educational services (median annual salary: $34,000)
- Public administration (median annual salary: $33,000)
- Arts, entertainment and recreation (median annual salary: $32,000)
Counselor Salary With Bachelor’s
A school counselor is a professional who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school counseling program.
Contents
1 Academic, career, college, and social-emotional interventions and services
2 History, school counselor-to-student ratios, and mandates
2.1 Armenia
2.2 Australia
2.3 Austria
2.4 Bahamas
2.5 Belgium
2.6 Bhutan
2.7 Botswana
2.8 Brazil
2.9 Canada
2.10 China
2.11 Costa Rica
2.12 Croatia
2.13 Cyprus
2.14 Czech Republic
2.15 Denmark
2.16 Egypt
2.17 Estonia
2.18 Finland
2.19 France
2.20 Gambia
2.21 Georgia
2.22 Germany
2.23 Ghana
2.24 Greece
2.25 Netherlands
2.26 Hong Kong
2.27 Iceland
2.28 India
2.29 Indonesia
2.30 Iran
2.31 Ireland
2.32 Israel
2.33 Italy
2.34 Japan
2.35 Jordan
2.36 Latvia
2.37 Lebanon
2.38 Lithuania
2.39 Macau
2.40 Malaysia
2.41 Malta
2.42 Nepal
2.43 New Zealand
2.44 Nigeria
2.45 Norway
2.46 Oman
2.47 Philippines
2.48 Poland
2.49 Portugal
2.50 Romania
2.51 Rwanda
2.52 Saudi Arabia
2.53 Serbia
2.54 Singapore
2.55 Slovakia
2.56 South Korea
2.57 Spain
2.58 St. Kitts
2.59 Sweden
2.60 Switzerland
2.61 Syria
2.62 Taiwan
2.63 Tanzania
2.64 Thailand
2.65 Trinidad and Tobago
2.66 Turkey
2.67 Uganda
2.68 United Arab Emirates
2.69 United Kingdom
2.70 United States
2.71 Venezuela
2.72 Vietnam
3 Roles, school counseling programs, ethics, and school counseling professional associations
3.1 Elementary school counseling
3.2 Middle school counseling
3.3 High school counseling
4 Education credentials, certification, and accreditation
4.1 Canada
4.2 China
4.3 Korea
4.4 Philippines
4.5 Taiwan
4.6 United States
5 Job growth and earnings
6 Notable school counselors
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Evidence- and research-based school counseling articles, books, DVDs
9 External links
Academic, career, college, and social-emotional interventions and services
The four main school counseling program interventions include school counseling curriculum classroom lessons and annual academic, career/college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional planning for every student; and group and individual counseling for some students.[1] School counseling is an integral part of the education system in countries representing over half of the world’s population and in other countries it is emerging as a critical support for elementary, middle, and high school learning, post-secondary options, and social-emotional/mental health.[2]
In the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific, some countries with no formal school counseling programs use teachers or psychologists to do school counseling emphasizing career development.[3]
Countries vary in how a school counseling program and services are provided based on economics (funding for schools and school counseling programs), social capital (independent versus public schools), and school counselor certification and credentialing movements in education departments, professional associations, and local, state/province, and national legislation.[3] School counseling is established in 62 countries and emerging in another seven.[2]
An international scoping project on school-based counseling showed school counseling is mandatory in 39 countries, 32 USA states, one Australian state, three German states, two countries in the United Kingdom, and three provinces in Canada.[2] The largest accreditation body for Counselor Education/School Counseling programs is the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).[4] International Counselor Education programs are accredited through a CACREP affiliate, the International Registry of Counselor Education Programs (IRCEP).
In some countries, school counseling is provided by school counseling specialists (for example, Botswana, China, Finland, Israel, Malta, Nigeria, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey, United States). In other cases, school counseling is provided by classroom teachers who either have such duties added to their typical teaching load or teach only a limited load that also includes school counseling activities (India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Zambia).[3] The IAEVG focuses on career development with some international school counseling articles and conference presentations.[3] Both the IAEVG and the Vanguard of Counsellors promote school counseling internationally.[3]
History, school counselor-to-student ratios, and mandates
Some school counselors use bibliotherapy, i.e., books and other media, to help students in individual and group counseling and classroom counseling lessons.
Armenia
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet Psychologists of Armenia and the government developed the School Counselor position in Armenian Schools.
Australia
While national policy supports school counseling, only one Australian state requires it. The school counselor-to-student ratio ranges from 1:850 in the Australian Capital Territory to 1:18,000 in Tasmania.[2] School counselors play an integral part in the Australian schooling system; they provide support to teachers, parents, and students. Their roles include counseling students and assisting parents/guardians to make informed decisions about their child’s education for learning and behavioral issues. School counselors assist schools and parents/guardians in assessing disabilities and they collaborate with outside agencies to provide the best support for schools, teachers, students, and parents.[5]
Austria
Austria mandates school counseling at the high school level.[2]
Bahamas
The Bahamas mandate school counseling.[2]
Belgium
Although not mandated, some school counseling occurs in schools and community centers in three regions of the country.[2]
Bhutan
Bhutan mandates a school counseling program for all schools. All schools have full-time school guidance counselors.[2]
Botswana
Botswana mandates school counseling.[2]
Brazil
School counselors in Brazil have large caseloads.[citation needed]
Canada
The roots of school counseling stemmed from a response to the conditions created by the industrial revolution in the early 1900s.[6] Originally, school counseling was often referred to as vocational guidance, where the goal of the profession was to help individuals find their path in a time where individuals previous ways of making a living had been displaced.[6] As people moved towards industrialized cities, counseling was required to help students navigate these new vocations. With a great discrepancy between the rich and the poor, vocational counseling was initiated to help support disadvantaged students.[6] After World War II, vocational guidance began to shift towards a new movement of counseling, which provided a theoretical backing.[6] As the role of school counselors progressed into the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s there has become more uncertainty as to what the role entails.[6] This role confusion continues into the 21st century, where there is a lack of clear consensus between counselors, other teachers, administration, students and parents on what school counselors should be prioritizing.[7]
Throughout Canada, the emerging trend among school counseling programs is to provide a comprehensive and cohesive approach.[8] These programs address the personal, social, educational and career development of students.[8][9] A comprehensive program consists of four components, including developmental school counseling classroom lessons, individual student planning, responsive services, and school and community support.
Developmental School Counseling lessons involve small group and class presentations about valuable life skills, which is generally supported through classroom curriculum.[8]
Individual student planning involves assessing students abilities, providing advice on goals and planning transitions to work and school.[8]
Responsive services includes counseling with students, consulting with parents and teachers, and referrals to outside agencies.
Support from the school and community includes such things as professional development, community outreach and program management.[8]
The process to become a school counselor varies drastically across each province, with some requiring a graduate level degree in counseling while others require a teaching certification or both. Some provinces also require registration with the relevant provincial College of Registered Psychotherapists.[10] These differences highlight the vast range of expertise required within the role of a school counselor. Regardless of the professional requirements, all school counselors are expected to advise students within the realm of mental health support, course choices, special education and career planning.[11] The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, Canada’s leading association for counseling and psychotherapy, is working towards alignment among the provinces through partnership and collaboration between provinces.[12] Recent conferences share information on the differences and similarities within each province and how progress is being made to ensure proper regulations are in place at a national level.[10]
In the province of Ontario, Canada, school counselors are found in both elementary and secondary settings, to varying degrees. The Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolis in the country, has school counselors in 31% of elementary schools, however the remainder of the province averages 6%.[9] Additionally, the elementary schools that have a school counselor are scheduled for an average of 1.5 days per week.[9] These counselors are generally classroom teachers for the remainder of the time. In secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, the average ratio of students to school counselors is 396:1.[9] In 10% of Ontario schools, this average increases to 826:1.[9] There is concern among administration that these staffing levels are not sufficient to meet the needs of students.[9] This has been proven in recent articles appearing in the news featuring student stories of frustration as they prepare for graduation without the support they expected from school counselors.[13] Considering the extensive expectations placed on school counselors,[11] future research needs to address whether or not they can be met within one profession while effectively equipping students with support and information.
School counselors reported in 2004 at a conference in Winnipeg on issues such as budget cuts, lack of clarity about school counselor roles, high student-to-school counselor ratios, especially in elementary schools, and how using a comprehensive school counseling model helped clarify school counselor roles with teachers and administrators and strengthened the profession.[14] More than 15 years later, the profession is continuing to evolve and meet the changing needs of 21st century students in Canada.
China
China has put substantial financial resources into school counseling with strong growth in urban areas but less than 1% of rural students receive it; China does not mandate school counseling.[2]
In China,[15] Thomason & Qiong discussed the main influences on school counseling as Chinese philosophers Confucius and Lao-Tzu, who provided early models of child and adult development[16] who influenced the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.[17]
Only 15% of high school students are admitted to college in China, so entrance exams are fiercely competitive. Students entering university graduate at a rate of 99%.[18] Much pressure is put on children and adolescents to study and attend college. This pressure is a central focus of school counseling in China. An additional stressor is that there are not enough places for students to attend college, and over one-third of college graduates cannot find jobs,[19] so career and employment counseling and development are also central in school counseling.
In China, there is a stigma related to social-emotional and mental health issues; therefore, even though most universities and many (urban) primary and secondary schools have school counselors, many students are reluctant to seek counseling for issues such as anxiety and depression. There is no national system of certifying school counselors. Most are trained in Western-developed cognitive methods including REBT, Rogerian, Family Systems, Behavior Modification, and Object Relations.[15] School counselors also recommend Chinese methods such as qigong (deep breathing) and acupuncture, as well as music therapy.[15][20] Chinese school counselors work within a traditional Chinese worldview of a community and family-based system that lessens the focus on the individual. In Hong Kong, Hui (2000) discussed work moving toward comprehensive school counseling programs and eliminating the older remediation-style model.[21]
