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Master's in Counseling - Career Resources

Master’s in Counseling -- Career Resources

What can I do with a master’s degree in counseling?

A master's degree in counseling psychology provides training for students who wish to work in private practice, universities and community colleges, industry, mental health and mental retardation centers, rehabilitation settings and hospitals. In many states, master's-level practitioners are required to work under the supervision of a licensed doctoral-level psychologist. With additional course work, graduates of the program may meet requirements for licensure as professional counselors or marriage and family therapists. (http://www.unt.edu/pais/grad/gmcpsy.htm)

Counseling Job-Related Titles
Private Counselor Psychologist Psychotherapist	Social worker Crisis Intervention Case Worker	Correctional Caseworker Hospice Care	Probation Officer School counselor

Bureau of Labor Statistics Information

• A master’s degree generally is required to become a licensed counselor.
• Job opportunities for counselors should be very good because job openings are expected to exceed the number of graduates from counseling programs.
• The health care and social assistance industry employs about 47 percent of counselors, and state and local government employ about 11 percent.

(http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos067.htm)

Specialties in counseling

• Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors help people who have problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders.
• Rehabilitation counselors help people deal with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities.
• Mental health counselors work with individuals, families, and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health.
• Marriage and family therapists apply family systems theory, principals and techniques to individuals, families, and couples to resolve emotional conflicts.

Counseling Job Search/Listings Websites

Psych job listings in geocities (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/5353/classes/psychjobs/)

Social Service.com (http://www.socialservice.com/)

Federal Jobs (http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/)

Jobs with the US Department of Health & Human Services (http://www.dhhs.gov/jobs/index.html)

Jobs with the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (http://www.hud.gov/jobs/index.cfm)

The Corporation for National & Community Service (includes Americorp) (http://www.nationalservice.org/)

Professional Associations, Organizations, and List-servs

ACA - American Counseling Association (www.counseling.org)

TCA - Texas Counseling Association (www.txca.org)

EARLY REGISTRATION!!!!!!

10 Top Reasons to go to Grad School

1. Advance Your Career ----> Most professionals, especially doctors, engineers and scientists, need PhDs. Others that used to get by with BAs now need at least a master's degree.
2. Do Your Personal Best ----> Grad school is a great place to test your metal.
3. Joy of Learning ----> Grad school can give more of what you love to do, and gives you the opportunity to become an expert in your field.
4. Be Paid to Learn ----> As a grad student, you get paid to work as a teaching assistant or research assistant, which usually pays three times more than minimum wage and includes some benefits and vacation pay. What's more, you get the inside track on how your professors evaluate students' work.
5. Rite of Passage ----> After four years as a lowly undergrad, you finally earn some respect, and you can call your professors by their first name. You're part of the hood, literally.
6. Place of Refuge ----> Grad school is a good place to park yourself while you figure out what you want to be when you grow up. It also gives you a respectable excuse not to work.
7. Expand Your Mind ----> There's no better place than grad school for a complete mental workout.
8. Earn Prestige ----> A graduate degree will open doors to not only a myriad of professions, but also to the inner circle: the more letters trailing your name, the closer you get to the inner sanctum.
9. Build Your Network ----> Grad school will give you the opportunity to meet many people with diverse knowledge and experiences, many of them famous. Not only do you get to rub shoulders with the best and brightest, but you also get to establish valuable contacts that will serve you well in your future career.
10. Expand Your Horizon ----> Grad school gives you the opportunity to live and work with people all over the world.

GradSource.com

Why Go To Grad School?

Many people return to school after working for a few years in order to advance in their current career, and many others are returning for a career change.

Many professions require the education of a graduate degree perhaps for state licensing requirements or accreditation. If you want to manage others or start your own business, a graduate degree can prepare you for the demands of the modern work place.

Graduate work gives you the opportunity to obtain specialized training in an area or field of your interest. You will be instructed by professors who have either worked in these fields or have conducted some kind of related research.

Additionally, the same students in the program will be just as passionate about the subject you study as you are, helping you gain confidence through peer interaction.

A graduate degree is more prestigious than an undergraduate degree, and most companies and institutions realize this when they seek new employees. A graduate degree is a great achievement that increases job satisfaction and self-confidence.

Graduate students have more networking opportunities and receive knowledge and training that would take years or connot be learned on the job.

Those with master's degrees or doctoral degrees will earn significantly higher salaries than those with a bachelor's degree. Holders of a graduate degree end up being better compensated for their education than if they had stopped at the undergraduate level.

If you have a graduate degree, you are likely to start your career at a higher level and continue to advance your career at a faster rate.

Going On To Grad School

If you have a clear sense of your career direction, and if an advanced degree is required for entry into that field, then applying to graduate school makes perfect sense. Law, medicine, and college or university teaching, for example, are areas in which education beyond the bachelor's degree level is required.

For most college graduates, however, the decision to continue their education will not be as clear-cut. If you're unsure of your career goals, this can present a real problem at the graduate level, where you are expected to have clearly defined interests leading to an area of specialization.

A convincing argument can be made that working in an area related to your interests before pursuing graduate study can lead to a more effective experience in graduate school. First, related work experience will help you clarify career goals. You will learn what it takes to be successful in a given profession and can then assess your abilities accordingly; this knowledge should help you decide on an area of specialization. Second, the perspective, learning, and maturity acquired from practical experience can be applied to the theoretical concepts promoted in your studies and should increase your understanding of them. Finally, work experience can sometimes enhance your application credentials by offsetting mediocre grades or test scores. In the case of some competitive professional schools, admissions committees may be as interested in your work background as your "numbers."

read the rest of the article in Job Choices 2010, available in the Graduate Enrollment Office at the University of North Texas at Dallas.
Jane E. Levy. "Going on to Grad School." Job Choices 2010 p.51