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Career and Employment Counselors: Job Description, Education, Skills and Duties, Earnings and Outlook

Submitted by: paula

Job Overview Career and Employment Counselors are also called the vocational counselors. These professionals are counselors specific to people who are seeking help in making decisions with regards to their career and how to be employed to their desired job. As career counselors, they provide credible advice to individuals from different ages, to groups of different ages and profiles about careers, opportunities, occupations, career planning, career development strategies and decision making. Indeed, being in this position means fulfilling noble job of directing the soon to be professionals to their choice of work and to the career or job that suits their personality, ability and interests.

Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required

A high school diploma is the minimum requirement to be able to work in a career and employment counseling field. However, for most jobs in this industry a higher educational attainment is required as they may be involved in counseling a high profile professionals as well. Courses that are preferred to be taken include a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Sociology as well as Business courses. Post graduate and post masters degrees also offer subjects in career and vocational counseling which are frequently named as programs called the  Advanced Graduate Specialists programs or Certificate of Advanced Study programs.

Skills and Abilities

Listening skills is very important in playing the role of a career and employment conselor. They should have developed the skills in data gathering and test administration and interpretation. A good communication and interpersonal skills are very helpful in doing the actual counseling sessions. Lastly, honesty and a genuine concern to people must be present as they will be a very big factor in directing their client's life and career plans in the future.

Duties

Vocational counselors or certified career counselors assist their clients in making the most appropriate decisions for their plans in life in general and for their specific career directions. They administer evaluative tests on personality and job compatibility and interpret them accordingly.

They discuss the results with their clients taking consideration letting them be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities that they have as of the moment given their present profile. They conduct open forum and counseling sessions so as to identify the life and career goals, and match them with their respective profile and available and attainable career options and opportunities for them.

Job Outlook and Earnings

The range of salary for a career and employment counselor starts off from 26.260 U.S dollars to roughly around 45,570 U.S. dollars per annum. Others who are in the higher end of the payscale may revieve in income of around 72,390 U.S. dollars per annum which may come from the salary as well as from the professional fees that they collect on a freelance basis. The employment in this industry is expected to grow faster than the average for the other professions as more and more people are seeking for career satisfaction and progress.

Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.

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Word Count: 522 Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 Time: 6:17 PM


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