Licensed Professional Counselor Job Opportunities
Jan 18, 2015 | 11:00 am
Have you ever thought about becoming a professional counselor and working with people? It’s a career that is challenging, well paying and progressive for the right applicant.
A licensed professional counselor can work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, clinics, outpatient centers, homeless centers, individual and family service centers, government agencies, and nursing and assisted living centers. They can also have private practices that might offer evening and weekend hours to provide for their clients’ needs. They might choose to treat certain age groups or even run group therapy sessions. They can treat returning veterans and others with behavioral issues.
Licensed Professional Counselor Overview
There is much to take into consideration when deciding to become a licensed professional counselor. In order to become licensed, one must pass the state and national examinations and all the requirements first. This will include passing an examination to measure knowledge of rules and regulations to not only protect the practice and doctor, but also the patient’s rights.
Depending on the place of employment, this will play a role in the salary per year or hourly wage that one can make and this will also depend on overall education as well as experience along with which doctors’ one would have completed the internship under.
Another factor that plays a role in a licensed professional counselor’s career path is attaining skills. Counselors must hold exemplary communication and people skills, but also be able to show adept business skills, analytical skills and must listen and observe well. Many times skills are obtained by life experiences. This may have also played a role in their decision to become a licensed professional counselor and they want to be able to help others. People who have been through some of the issues that their clients may have gone through can relate on a very deep level. An immeasurable understanding can make or break a patient’s confidence in being able to trust their counselor.
What to Know About Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor
Become a licensed professional counselor can open new doors in both an office and clinical setting. The field is complex and the people who are licensed to practice should have flexible attributes. Having the ability to adapt to different people, and learn personality traits of patients, and get inside their thought processes, is a skill all on its own. Helping people live their lives to their fullest potential is the most rewarding aspect of the field.
According to figures from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the projected job growth is expected to raise 29% with the lower percentile making around $25,000 per year and the median salary being around $40,000 per year while the higher percentile can make around $67,000 per year or more depending on location, education and experience.
If you have a deep passion for helping people and find that you are able to communicate and listen to any personality type, you may be the right candidate for a licensed professional counselor profession. Counselors are needed right now and are always in high demand.