As a director of career counseling, you will work in a high school or a community college helping students make the right choices for their career paths. The best way to achieve your goal of obtaining this type of position is to first study for an undergraduate degree with a major in Psychology. You do necessarily need to have a degree in career counseling, but if this is the path you want to take, there are universities that offer such programs. You can make sure that you have courses that will give you the knowledge you need to fulfill the requirements of this position. In many cases, this position requires graduation from a teacher-training program, as you will have to do some teaching as part of the job.
To work as a director of career counseling, you would also need to have a Master's degree as well as the appropriate certification to work in the schools of your state. You will have to pass the Praxis exam for guidance and counseling or the appropriate test mandated by the state. This is a very comprehensive exam in which you must demonstrate mastery of all the aspects that a job in this field would require. This is because you will need to be very knowledgeable about different careers students can and should pursue and the types of courses and programs they need to take.
As the director of career counseling, you will be in charge of the counseling program for the school. You will also be responsible for evaluating any counselors who work under you. One of the primary duties of this position will be the instruction of students in study habits and helping them achieve. You will also have to give and score tests to measure students’ intelligence and ability to take certain courses as well as interest inventories and surveys. Parents are part of this process as well, so you will be involved in meeting with parents to help them understand the choices their children have for post-secondary education.
Working with students on a daily basis is a major component of the position of director of career counseling. Before you are hired for the position, the school and school district require that you undergo an extensive background check and supply your fingerprints to the district. You will often be working with individual students, so you must have the proper clearance to assure the school that you are capable of doing this.
When working in a school as Director of Career Counseling, it will be your responsibility to develop courses applicable to the outcomes or requirements of the district and the needs of the students. You will also have to oversee the delivery of these courses and evaluate them periodically to make sure they meet the goals and objectives of the overall department. Coordination with the English department or the English teachers in the school is a necessity, as many students must submit essays along with their formal applications for admission to various universities and colleges.
Being knowledgeable about the various careers and courses a student must take is important in helping them follow the correct path for their careers. However, as director of career counseling you must also be knowledgeable about the many scholarships and sources of funding available to students graduating from high school. You should be able to access these scholarships and provide the students with the appropriate application forms and help them with the application process. Although there is a lot of work to do in such a job, it is one that can be quite rewarding.
