Benefits of a Graduate Degree in Counseling

Counseling is an extremely fulfilling career as it benefits everyone in need of external assistance.

Graduate-level education in counseling prepares you for an above-average income. It improves your knowledge and communication so that you land a higher job in the counseling department. If you are planning to get a Masters of Counseling, here are some benefits you can reap from the degree in the long run: 

Job Opportunities

The lack of job opportunities is a common problem faced by students in college, as they do not consider the financial viability and job market of the career they are pursuing. Students spend years of their life and thousands of dollars on a degree with no real-world job opportunities. However, this is not the case with a counseling degree.

All fields of counseling in social welfare and clinical aspects have well-paying and highly lucrative career options.

Some of the most demanded careers for students of counseling are substance abuse and mental health counseling, as well as marriage and family therapy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports professions of substance abuse and mental health counselors to have a growth rate of 23%. The marriage and family therapy field will also encompass just 41,500 jobs, and around 9,700 new jobs are anticipated to emerge. The growth rate for opportunities for rehabilitation and school and career counselors is 13%, adding 15,100 and 36,700 new job opportunities in both fields.

High Pay

Counseling is a well-paying career, mainly if the counselor works in social service or community welfare. The median wage of a psychologist is $91,972. Counselors can also work in education and local counties and earn payroll and benefits as public sector employees. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the median annual salary of school and career counselors was $56,310 per year in 2018.

Diverse Career Paths

A counseling degree is not just about becoming a psychologist or working in mental health. You can choose from various counseling fields once you graduate with a master’s in counseling.

During your graduate classes, you can learn from different courses and closely observe your interests. This will guide you to make a better decision about your specialty post-graduation. Depending upon your interests and personality type, you can choose from several careers in the line of psychology. 

You can become a counselor in clinical psychology or become a counselor in the armed forces. This field enables you to help individuals in the armed forces recover from PTSD and depression post their return from war or disruptive situations.

If you like working with young children, you may consider working at the local county in child abuse counseling. You can even work with specific departments in the education sector or become a sports psychologist.

Remote work has increased across all professions, and you can sign up on online consultation websites to take patients and clients from anywhere in the world. Hence, you can pursue counseling alongside your other ventures

Fulfilling Career

A significant portion of a fulfilling career apart from good payroll is job satisfaction. Your career needs to have an impact on people around you to make your job enriching and meaningful.

A career in counseling is exceptionally fulfilling, as it gives students a drive to get through the rigor of academics, as they can make a real-time difference in the lives of their patients and clients.

The job does not involve meaningless grind or grueling hours for no reason. Instead, it gives you a chance to help someone going through a rough life patch.

You’ll visibly see the difference you make in the lives of the people who enlist your help. Counselors that work with victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and emotional abuse give their clients a chance to live a normal life again.

Without the help of these counselors, these children can grow up with severe disorders that can hinder their growth and progress. You’ll be providing a second chance to these clients. You’ll enable them to cultivate meaningful relationships without letting their past traumas get in the way of their future.

Counselors can also help couples struggling with marital problems and help them rebuild their married and family life again.

Endnote

Counseling can be an incredibly humbling and challenging career.

It is a rewarding one, too, as you see your clients get better each day, improve their mental health, and enable them to cope with their daily struggles. Nothing is more rewarding than watching your clients grow into happier and healthier individuals, which makes this field extremely unique.