We surveyed 3,919 career counselors to better understand the work environment and required skills of a typical career counselor. Here are the results.

How much intelligence is required as a career counselor?

Low

High

Working as a career counselor typically doesn’t require the use of high levels of intelligence in daily tasks.

Can I learn to become a career counselor?

Intrinsic Talent

Acquired Talent

A career as a career counselor typically depends predominantly on qualities you can gain through experience, with a small aspect of skills you are born with.

Is it easy to get a job as a career counselor?

Easy

Hard

It’s typically difficult to find a job as a career counselor. If you’re curious about the numbers, check out the job market for career counselors.

Info

Do career counselors work full-time or part-time?

80% of career counselors work in full-time roles while 20% work part-time.

Is being a career counselor stressful?

Low

High

Career counselors tend not to find their jobs stressful, which likely contributes positively to career satisfaction.

Is being organized important as a career counselor?

Low

High

Organization is considered a very important trait for career counselors, and is critical to success in the field.

How competitive is the workplace for career counselors?

Low

High

Competition at work is not common for career counselors.

Does being a career counselor require frequent time pressure to complete tasks?

Low

High

Time pressure tends not to be a major contributor of stress for career counselors.

Are career counselors allowed to express themselves creatively?

Low

High

Creativity is intrinsic to being a career counselor, and a highly valuable part of the career.

Do career counselors have control over the direction of their work?

Low

High

Career counselors have high flexibility in the direction of their work, allowing them a lot of freedom in how they accomplish their goals.

Is being a career counselor physically demanding?

Low

High

Work as a career counselors is rarely physically demanding, making it a suitable option for those unable to perform physically strenuous tasks.

Are career counselors exposed to a wide variety of work?

Low

High

The workload of a career counselor changes frequently, with their day-to-day rarely being the same.

Does being a career counselor require attention to detail?

Low

High

As in many careers, attention to detail is quite helpful for career counselors.

Does being a good career counselor require compassion and empathy?

Low

High

Strong compassion and empathy are critical to success as a career counselor.