Whether or not you spent a lot of time with your high school counselor, you know how much they had on their plate. You most likely also remember how difficult it was to be a teenager. Bullies, peer pressure, college applications and even teen pregnancy are just a few issues that come up. As if finding a prom date isn’t stressful enough.

If you’re considering a master’s in school counseling, you most likely feel your best when you are helping others. And while being a school counselor can be stressful, it is also the perfect job if you love solving problems and making a difference in your community.

Here are the top five reasons to get your master’s in school counseling: 

1. To Help Students Discover Their Potential

As a school counselor, one of your tasks will be to help students decide what to do after graduation. This may come in the form of helping them with college applications, arranging campus tours, managing job and college fairs and offering information on college alternatives, like trade school and the military. 

Choosing a career path is stressful, and it’s your job to help students evaluate their strengths and interests in order to set them up for a successful future. Your master’s in school counseling will give you the skills and practice to work effectively with students.

2. To Protect Students From Negative Situations

Unfortunately, not every student comes from a stable and loving home. School counselors are often the only people students feel they can talk to about struggles they may be having with their families. While dealing with issues such as abuse can be sensitive and emotional, you have the opportunity to drastically improve the quality of life for your students.

Students don’t just experience trauma at home. Bullying and cyberbullying are serious issues that need to be dealt with, often behind the doors of the school counselor’s office.

3. To Help Special Need Students Get the Education They Need

As a counselor with your master’s in school counseling, you will evaluate students who are struggling in class, whether they find it too difficult or so easy that it is boring, and help come up with a plan for a more tailored educational experience. This may involve assisting them in the process of moving schools, getting them into classes for students with learning disabilities or helping them find classes that stimulate and inspire them.

4. For Job Security

As technology advances, the need for counselors remains. In fact, technology has created new opportunities for school counselors, who can now communicate with students online via email or video call. And the job outlook for school counselors is only getting better. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects nearly a 12 percent increase in employment for educational, guidance, school and vocational counselors by 2022. 

5. To Feel Like You’re Making a Difference

It’s not selfish to want a job that makes you feel good. Job satisfaction leads to employees working harder and more efficiently to accomplish their career goals. Happy employees take less time off and remain in their positions longer. So go ahead. Be proud of yourself for wanting to make a difference, and start looking at a master’s in school counseling.

‌