Counseling undergraduate programs prepare you to work in a variety of settings and train you to offer advice or support to individuals, couples, families, or large groups. A key element to your education will be learning how to handle challenging situations, how to guide others, and how to communicate effectively.
Your undergrad coursework will be shaped by the specific type of counseling you plan to provide. There are many ... exciting career options for counselors including working in the areas of education, family and marriage, geriatrics, substance abuse, mental health, and career advisement or training
As a prospective counselor, a bachelor degree will likely be the first part of your career preparation. While education and training requirements vary according to location and field, most counselors need to meet licensing requirements that include obtaining a master degree. Some school guidance counselors may also be required to have their teaching certification. Since requirements can differ widely, it is best to check on the requirements for your specialty and in your state as soon as you decide which area of counseling you plan to specialize in.
Bachelor degree programs in counseling are often housed within a college's psychology, sociology, or education department. Since it is truly an interdisciplinary field, you will likely be required to take courses from all three of those curriculum areas as well as classes that prepare you for interpersonal communication and others that train you to understand and conduct scientific research. Additional coursework may be based on your specialty area; so if you plan to be a high school guidance counselor you might take courses on adolescent development and secondary education.
Before you begin an undergraduate degree program in counseling, it is important to consider the qualities that a good counselor needs. First and foremost, you should be committed to helping others. Counseling people through problems can be emotionally and physically draining; you'll need to love the reward of helping others in order to shoulder those challenges. In addition, being able to communicate one-on-one or with large groups is important. It is also useful if you feel comfortable working with scientific research that might be used to help clients.
Those traits, plus a quality education, can put you on the path for a successful career as a counselor. In general, career opportunities are expected to increase for counselors, but the potential growth depends on your area of expertise. Career-related counseling, for instance, is one area where demand has been growing as our culture offers more encouragement to professionals to switch careers, a practice that was less common in previous generations.
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