Community and Social Service
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$64,330USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$30.93USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $45,020 | $21.65 |
| 25th | $51,270 | $24.65 |
| 50th · Median | $64,330 | $30.93 |
| 75th | $82,870 | $39.84 |
| 90th | $104,770 | $50.37 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Academic AdvisorAcademic CounselorAdmissions CounselorAdult School CounselorAdvisorArticulation OfficerAssessment SpecialistCareer AdvisorCareer CoachCareer ConsultantCareer CoordinatorCareer Counselor
Expand more title examples (48)
Career DeveloperCareer Development ConsultantCareer Development CounselorCareer Development FacilitatorCareer Development SpecialistCareer Guidance CounselorCareer Services CoordinatorCareer Technical CounselorCareer Transition SpecialistChild Guidance CounselorCollege CounselorCounselorCurriculum CounselorDisability Services CoordinatorEducation CoordinatorEducation CounselorEducational AdvisorEducational ConsultantEducational Guidance CounselorElementary School CounselorEmployment CoachEmployment CoordinatorEmployment CounselorEmployment SpecialistEmployment TrainerEmployment Training SpecialistEnrollment CounselorEnrollment SpecialistExtension Course CounselorFinancial Services SpecialistForeign Student AdvisorGuidance AdvisorGuidance CounselorHigh School CounselorHigh School Guidance CounselorInternational Student CounselorInternship CoordinatorJob CoachLife Skills CoachOffender Employment Specialist (OES)Offender Job Retention SpecialistOffender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS)Outplacement ConsultantPlacement CoordinatorPupil Personnel WorkerResidence CounselorResume WriterScheduling Specialist
Typical tasks
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Expand more tasks (29)
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
- Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
- Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
- Provide students with information on topics such as college degree programs and admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, trade and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.
- Conduct follow-up interviews with counselees to determine if their needs have been met.
- Instruct individuals in career development techniques, such as job search and application strategies, resume writing, and interview skills.
- Assess needs for assistance, such as rehabilitation, financial aid, or additional vocational training, and refer clients to the appropriate services.
- Plan and promote career and employment-related programs and events, such as career planning presentations, work experience programs, job fairs, and career workshops.
- Attend meetings, educational conferences, and training workshops, and serve on committees.
- Teach classes and present self-help or information sessions on subjects related to education and career planning.
- Plan and conduct orientation programs and group conferences to promote the adjustment of individuals to new life experiences, such as starting college.
- Address community groups, faculty, and staff members to explain available counseling services.
- Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
- Provide information for teachers and staff members involved in helping students or graduates identify and pursue employment opportunities.
- Collaborate with teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of school programs and in the preparation of master schedules for curriculum offerings.
- Plan, direct, and participate in recruitment and enrollment activities.
- Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.
- Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss children's progress, resolve behavioral, academic, and other problems, and to determine priorities for students and their resource needs.
- Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorting to violence.
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Establish and enforce administration policies and rules governing student behavior.
- Supervise, train, and direct professional staff and interns.
- Interview clients to obtain information about employment history, educational background, and career goals, and to identify barriers to employment.
- Compile and study occupational, educational, and economic information to assist counselees in determining and carrying out vocational and educational objectives.
- Establish contacts with employers to create internship and employment opportunities for students.
- Establish and supervise peer-counseling and peer-tutoring programs.
- Observe students during classroom and play activities to evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Refer qualified counselees to employers or employment services for job placement.
- Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Expand more skills (29)
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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