As a student, you must have faced a ton of choices lined up in front of you, confused about which would be the best path to take. That is a phase every child goes through after completing their schooling, or even before that. There are various career options to choose from, and different advice from family, relatives, and friends. But everyone says one thing, ‘One wrong decision and your entire life would be ruined’. In this chaos, a student often tends to take up a career path that s/he is not interested in.
This is a situation in which the need for a good career counsellor arises. A career counsellor helps students figure out the right path for themselves, finding a career that not only results in a high salary but also job satisfaction.
Here is a checklist for all the things required before you aim to enter the field of counselling business.
WHO IS A CAREER COUNSELLOR?
Career counselling is a growing field in recent times. With a range of career options available after every field, students may enter into a career discipline they do not like. A career counsellor helps students figure out the best career paths to take.
A career counsellor analyses the interests, aptitudes, and knowledge of the students in their domains of education using various tools and techniques. Based on the analysis, the counsellor suggests the most suitable path.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR BECOMING A CAREER COUNSELOR
In order to become a professional career counselling expert, students must enrol in a guidance and counselling course. To pursue this course, students must fulfil certain eligibility criteria.
- The educational qualification required for becoming a counsellor includes pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Sociology, or fields similar to these. Post completion of a Bachelor’s, students can pursue courses on career counselling offered by many institutes, like a certificate course in counselling IGNOU. These courses add extra benefits to the bachelor’s degree.
- Students must complete their post-graduation in counselling psychology.
- Students must also be active in doing internships in a related field, specifically with a career counsellor.
SKILLS REQUIRED AS A CAREER COUNSELLOR
A career counsellor deals with students and working professionals who may be confused and lost while thinking about their career success. Thus, in order to be a good career counsellor, students must have the following skills-
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
A career counsellor must have strong communication skills. They must understand the problems faced by their clients and present the best options in ways that the client understands. They need to listen to the client’s needs. Based on the problems, they should provide the best possible solutions.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Interpersonal skills refer to the ability to understand, comprehend, and respond adequately to the other person’s needs. A counsellor must have strong interpersonal skills. They should understand the feelings of the client. They should be able to build a strong rapport with them and allow them to share without judgements. They must keep a broad mindset, so that they can suggest non-vocational courses if they align with the interests of the client.
PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
A career counsellor must have good problem-solving skills. They must be able to analyse the problems faced by clients and find possible solutions to tackle those issues. Counsellors must be able to use the psychometric tests and tools properly to find suitable solutions.
CAREER COUNSELLING SALARY
Career counselling is a budding option among youth these days. Many students choose to study psychology, and one of the most prominent career options post psychology is career counselling.
While it is still in its formative period, career counselling is available in schools, private institutes and online platforms to help students figure out a career path that leads to success and happiness.
The career counselling salary on average per annum ranges from 3 Lakhs to 6 Lakhs, based on experience, skills, and testimonies.
HOW TO START A CAREER COUNSELLING BUSINESS
If you are a student who is looking forward towards entering into career counselling business, here is a checklist for everything you need to look into.
- CHECK AND UNDERSTAND THE MARKET- India is a vast market for career counsellors. A budding counsellor needs to understand the niche of the market they wish to target. They must understand what people need in general in a setting like India’s.
- FIND TARGET AUDIENCE- A counsellor must find the audience they wish to target. Based on whether they wish to target school students or working professionals, they can understand the settings required in their work. For instance, a career counsellor interested in guiding school students can work in a school or educational institution.
- DECIDING MODE OF CONDUCT- Many career counsellors work in an offline platform, but today’s world moves on online platforms. Many counsellors are opting for online platforms which allow them to cater to a larger audience. For instance, we at Infigon Futures work as an online career guidance platform.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q.1) What is the role of a career counsellor?
Ans. A career counsellor is a professional who helps students find their perfect career paths. They provide solutions based on their interests, aptitudes, and knowledge.
Q.2) How to enter professional career counselling?
Ans. In order to become a career counsellor, students must complete their bachelor’s, preferably in psychology and post-graduation in counselling psychology. Students can do online courses and internships.
Q.3) What are the best books for career counselling?
Ans. There are various best books for career counselling, written by working professionals. But it is highly suggested that students must look for courses and internships to get a better understanding of the real-life knowledge required.
Q.4) What are the best counselling courses online?
Ans. You can find online courses related to career counselling on online educational websites like Mindler, Alison and Udemy.
Q.5) What are the tools used by a career counsellor?
Ans. A career counsellor uses various tools called psychometric tests to analyse the aptitude, interests and intelligence of a client. Along with this, they also use interviews as a tool.
