Career and Social Media Blog: School Counselor

The ONET has information on –

Worker Characteristics
Worker Requirements
Experience Requirements
Occupation Requirements
Occupation Specific
Occupation Characteristics

Here is the Summary Report for: 21-1012.00 – Educational, Vocational, and School Counselors.

http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/21-1012.00

Counsel individuals and provide group educational and vocational guidance services.

Sample of reported job titles: Counselor, Guidance Counselor, School Counselor, Academic Advisor, Career Counselor, Career Services Director, College Counselor, Advisor, Academic Counselor, Career Center Director

View report: Summary Details Custom

Tasks

Counsel students regarding educational issues such as course and program selection, class scheduling, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Counsel individuals to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, other counselors, and administrators to resolve students’ behavioral, academic, and other problems.
Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
Identify cases involving domestic abuse or other family problems affecting students’ development.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children’s progress and to determine their priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals when necessary.
Observe and evaluate students’ performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.

Knowledge

Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Therapy and Counseling — Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills

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.

Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.

Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Time Management — Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

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.

Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Abilities

Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Work Activities

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Work Context

Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

Letters and Memos — How often does the job require written letters and memos?

Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?

Job Zone

Title	Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Education	Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master’s degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related Experience	Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job Training	Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Job Zone Examples	These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers.
SVP Range	(8.0 and above)

There is 1 recognized apprenticeable specialty associated with this occupation:
Counselor

To learn about specific apprenticeship opportunities, please consult the U.S. Department of Labor State Apprenticeship Information website.

For general information about apprenticeships, training, and partnerships with business, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship website.

Interests

Interest code: S

Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Work Styles

Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others’ needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.

Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

Work Values

Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

Related Occupations

21-1021.00	Child, Family, and School Social Workers
21-1091.00	Health Educators
21-1092.00	Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

Wages & Employment Trends

National

Median wages (2008)	$24.54 hourly, $51,050 annual
Employment (2006)	260,000 employees
Projected growth (2006-2016)	Average (7% to 13%)
Projected need (2006-2016)	84,000 additional employees

Source: ONET – http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/21-1012.00

Career and Social Media Blog

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

School Counselor - The ONET Speaks