In collecting advice from experts in the counseling field, here are some of the things that were said:
“A growing field in vocational assessment and counseling is the rehabilitation area. Take a good look at it.”
-Olie Ahlquist, Past President, National Employment Counselors Association
“It is often found that people looking for a job do not know what that job entails. I'd recommend that you talk to a rehabilitation counselor or a counselor in any other field that you are considering entering and watch one at work, if possible.”
-Les Blankenship, Vocational Rehabilitation Program Specialist, Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education
“Counseling and student affairs offer many career possibilities other than in the elementary and secondary school; learn about them and try to explore them all. College students should seek out work experiences in student affairs.”
-William A. Bryan, Past President, American College Personnel Association
“Student affairs workers who like their jobs say they enjoy the environment of an institution of higher education, enjoy working with people, and enjoy the variety of contacts with students and faculty members.”
-Jon Dalton, Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs, Northern Illinois University
“With regard to sex education and counseling, first seek an education in counseling, psychology, or social work; and then, after accumulating years of experience, you can try to specialize in human sexuality.”
-Tom Gertz, Past President, American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists
“If you are considering counseling as a career, ask yourself first how important freedom of choice for the individual is to you; if it's not of major importance, reconsider your career choice.”
-Ken Hoyt, Kansas State University
“Counseling will be on the cutting edge of assisting students to cope with the stress of the modern age so that they can fulfill their academic potential. With excellent training in all the new counseling skills, you will have many options, but you'll have to be skilled at working with families and the special concerns of today's young people: substance abuse, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, suicide, and all the others.”
-Dorothy Jenkins, Past President, American School Counselor Association
“Student affairs in community colleges is very competitive and has no clear career ladder, but it is full of challenges and rewards.”
-John Keyser, President, Clackamas Community College
“The end result of rehabilitation in the private sector is to return the client to gainful employment. This requires that the counselor must develop close relations with employers; and to do that means you must understand business so that you can match their clients with individual employers. A counselor must also understand the legal system, because rehabilitation services are often delivered as a legal benefit within the insurance system.”
-Richard LaFon, Past Executive Director, National Association of Rehabilitation Professionals in the Private Sector
“In a field like financial aid or student personnel, generally you must be ready for change, which is both the drawback and the satisfaction of the job.”
-Dennis Martin, Director of Financial Aid, Washington University
“Growth in social support occupations such as rehabilitation and other counseling fields will be very strong if our society continues to develop along the lines of one person having several careers in a lifetime. The need for experts who can identify how a person's skills and aptitudes will fit new occupations could be substantial.”
-Frederick E. Menz, The University of Wisconsin-Stout
“Explore; start early, meet people through professional organizations, talk to them, and gain work experience.”
-Fred Otte, Georgia State University
“If you are thinking about becoming a pastoral counselor, first ask if you wish to serve people in the ministry, then ask if you wish to serve the ministry as a counselor.”
-Duane Parker, Executive Director, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
“A career decision begins with self-assessment. Learn about the occupation but learn also about your own needs and values. Volunteer experiences and talking to professional counselors about their work should help you learn if you'll find potential satisfaction in the work.”
-Bill K. Richardson, North Texas State University
“Every year, the responsibilities of school counselors grow, in keeping with their general mandate of promoting academic success for all students; we now deal with suicide prevention, child abuse, study skills, substance abuse, test-taking techniques, stress, anxiety, and drop-out and truancy prevention. This combination should make the demand for well-trained school counselors rise in the coming years. At the same time, the number of people being trained for educational settings is declining.”
-Dr. Dorothy Thomas, Past President, American School Counselor Association
“School counselors in the future will probably have larger caseloads, making it more important than ever that you develop your skills as a consultant so that you can work with parents, teachers, and other school professionals in order to serve the students.”
-Jean A. Thompson, Past President, American Counseling Association and American School Counselor Association
“If you like to work with people, the satisfaction of counseling is great. The lengthening education and continuing education requirements should be considered, however; they will make it more difficult to become a counselor but might also increase the salaries and prestige of the profession in the long run.”
-Edwin A. Whitfield, Director of School Guidance, State of Ohio
“You should seek to be highly competent and especially well trained in a variety of counseling techniques because of the changes now taking place in the delivery of, and payment for mental health services.”
-Richard R. Wilmarth, Chairperson, National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors
“The need for assessing an individual's skills and matching employers with employees will continue to be met in some way by our society, although the agencies that now utilize employment counselors may change.”
-Gaynelle Wilson, Past President, National Employment Counselors Association
“If you are considering becoming a rehabilitation counselor, try to enter an undergraduate rehabilitation feeder program, it can save a semester or more at the graduate level.”
-George Wright, The University of Wisconsin, Madison
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