Sometimes a
rewarding career can mean more than just financial success; there are
many jobs where personal satisfaction far outweighs the quest for the
almighty dollar. If you like to help people work out problems and plan
for the future, perhaps you should consider a job as a counselor or
social worker.
The main job of a counselor is to help people make informed
personal, family, social, career and educational decisions, or deal with
specific problems or concerns in these areas. The four main types of
counselors are: school and college counselors, college career
counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and employment counselors.
Social service workers (sometimes known as human services workers)
often help people by working for various organizations such as
government agencies, halfway houses, health agencies, group homes and
prisons.
School and College
Counselors
Help students identify abilities and interests, develop
academic plans, and explore career options.
High school counselors
advise students on choosing a major, admissions requirements, taking entrance
exams, financial aid programs, and on applicable vocational and technical
training.
Help students cope with social problems.
The work
setting may be one-on-one, in small groups, or even a classroom.
Often
consult with parents, teachers and school administrators when trying to solve
problems that students are having.
Elementary school counselors are
mostly involved with social and personal counseling, and observe children at
play and in the classroom.
College Career Counselors
Help
future graduates and alumni with job-seeking strategies.
Sometimes help
create professional resumes, or conduct mock-interviews to help students become
more comfortable in the interviewing situation.
May also be involved in
the creation and promotion of job fairs and other recruiting events to help
student job placement efforts.
Rehabilitation
Counselors
Mainly deal with the impact of disabilities on peoples'
lives.
Evaluate strengths and limitations of clients in order to provide
personal and vocational counseling.
Confer with physicians, therapists
and employers to develop a rehabilitation/training program so clients can
become employable and eventually live independently.
Employment
Counselors
Evaluate clients' education, training, job history,
interests, skills and personal traits and apply them to a job
search.
Develop job-seeking skills.
Provide assistance in
locating and applying for jobs.
Social Workers
Often
involved in helping solve the social problems of our cities.
May
investigate, evaluate, and attempt to rectify reported cases of abuse, neglect,
endangerment, illness or domestic disputes.
Can intervene if necessary
and provide counseling and referral services to individuals and
families.
Sometimes act as career counselors and financial advisors,
assisting clients with their housing, health care, employment, or money
management problems.
Often work for publicly funded agencies, but
increasing opportunities available in the private sector (drug rehab, family
counseling, etc.).
Eligibility workers evaluate clients for financial
aid or public assistance.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Counselors
and social workers generally work one-on-one with people, but group counseling
is also becoming more common.
Most counselors are employed in schools
but some work at job and career centers, social service agencies, correctional
facilities, and residential care facilities.
Some health maintenance
organizations and insurance companies also employ counselors, due to recent
laws allowing counselors to receive payments from insurance companies, and laws
requiring employers to provide rehabilitation for some laid off or out-placed
employees.
JOB OUTLOOK
Employee "burn-out" is especially
common among the more stressful social service agency
assignments.
Depends primarily on government spending, but the demand is
increasing.
Growth expected in family care social workers, especially
concerning children or the elderly.
Increasing growth for human service
workers in publicly funded halfway houses, prisons, corporate employee
assistance programs, health agencies and hospitals.
A 40 percent growth
rate is expected through the next ten years.
Private sector will
increase employment with more corporate programs, and in areas like private
practice marriage and family counseling, drug rehabs
etc.
SALARY
Education and vocational counselors averaged
between $17,800 to $51,900 in 1992. The average salary for school counselors
was $40,400.
Counselors in private practice in cities tend to make more
than small-town school counselors.
Human services workers salary ranges
around $18,000 with experience or education.
Beginning salaries for
position in social work average $25,000 (with a Master's degree in Social
Work). The average for mid-level employees is around
$30,000.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Eligibility workers at
some agencies like the Department of Public Social Services need only an A.A.
degree or three years of specialized job experience.
For advancement, an
advanced degree is usually necessary in most fields.
Social service
caseworkers need a degree in social work, although many employees like public
assistance workers, parole officers and probation officers do not necessarily
need a degree.
Foreign language skills are very helpful and may give you
an edge if seeking social work in large hospitals and similar
organizations.
Work/study programs are often available to earn a degree
while working.
Teaching experience is frequently needed to work as a
school counselor.
CONTACTS/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
American
School Counselor Association
801 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone (703) 683-ASCA (2722)
FAX (703) 683-1619
Toll Free: 1-800-306-4722
Email: ascaoffice@aol.com
American
Association for Counseling and Development
5999 Stevenson Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22304
703-823-9800 or 800-545-2223
American Association on Mental
Retardation
444 N. Capitol St., NW, Suite 846
Washington, DC
20001
800-424-3688 or 202-387-1968
Child Welfare League of
America
440 First St., NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20001-2085
202-638-2952
Council on Social Work
Education
1600 Duke St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-3421
703-683-8080
National Association of
Social Workers
750 First St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-408-8600
National Employment Listing Service
Sam Houston State
University
Criminal Justice Center
Huntsville, TX 77341-2296
409-294-1692
(Provides monthly listing of job openings in all areas of law
enforcement and corrections; also social work).
Other Internet
Social Work and Counseling Resources:
California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists' (CAMFT) Home Page
Latino
Social Worker Organization
The
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and its
California chapter
The New Social
Worker
socialservice.com -- a career site
created for social service professionals.
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