How To Become an Education Counselor

Education counselors work with students from all levels, that is from elementary to graduate school. They offer advice to students concerning personal and development matters as well as career and academic goals. Being an education counselor can be challenging especially if you are working on student social development. This profession comes with great motivation, especially when seeing the accomplishments students have made.
There is a big difference between the degree programs meant for school counselors willing to work with K-12 students compared to postsecondary counselors who are often referred to as advisors.
Below is a guideline of how to become an Education Counselor:
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
To become an education counselor you are required to have at least a graduate certificate, what is required of them is to have a bachelors degree. Other social sciences like psychology may be very useful. Some countries demand teaching certifications as well as experience, students will have to enroll in educational courses and go through a teaching experience so as to attain qualifications required to teach elementary school. To qualify for teaching at the high school level, a student is required to undertake a degree program in various fields like biology, English or history together with other applicable education courses and experiences.
Gain Teaching Certification and Teaching Experience
In most of the states, its a must for an education counsellor to be a holder of a teaching certificate and have adequate experience in the field of teaching. These qualifications keep on changing from one state to the next but in most cases doing well in the examination and holding at least a bachelors degree. Teaching certification aspirants are required to have done a teacher preparation program as well as student teaching experience.
Earn a Master’s Degree
To become an education counselor you should have a master degree in the field of counseling as this is the minimum educational requirement. Counseling courses are diversified and usually involve various education techniques as well as research methods. These programs require a minimum of two years to get done with the training and also include a year for internships.
Obtain State-Issued License or Certification
These terms tend to vary based on the state a counselor works. In most states its a requirement for counselors to be holders of state-issued credentials which are often referred to as a certification. Conditions for being issued with state credentials tend to vary, but the majority of states demand counselors to be holders of a masters degree, have the required teaching experience and pass in the examination and also present documents of the places they attended their internships.
Continue Education
Most states demand education counselors to take the required courses or workshops so as to maintain their certification. Apart from postgraduate certifications which can be acquired by joining colleges and universities, education counselors have the opportunity to join professional groups as well as associations which offer various education opportunities which are not only aimed at maintaining credentials but also providing a platform for counselors to advance their education.