School Counseling or MSW..Help Needed!!

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Hi Everyone,
I am currently a senior in college and am going to graduate in May with a degree in psychology. My current plan for the future is to attend grad school for school counseling then become a guidance counselor. But, after researching im afraid that if I get my school counseling degree it will only limit me to the school.
What other degree's would allow me to be a guidance counselor but also do threapy or counseling outside the school setting as well? Being a high school guidance counselor, I will have alot of time off which I would want to use my degree to work while having the time off. Would an MSW work or mental health counseling work and be better? My Aunt graduated with an MSW and did counseling for a psychologist which i would want to do on the side of guidance counseling.
Also, does anyone have experience in guidance counseling and that would recommend this as a career path? i.e good salary starting out, work environment etc. Just a little undecided, thanks for the help

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1. Different districts vary when it comes to guidance counselors/school counselors and school social workers. For example, some districts do not have school counselors below the high school level, but have school social workers in all schools. Other districts are the opposite. Some states have preferences are who they want to hire for non-school counseling positions as well.

2. Starting salary for school counselors vary based on the district as well. Sometimes it's on the teacher scale, rarely administrators, sometimes others. You should be able to find these online for different districts. In Nashville for example, counselors start at about 37K (I believe)which is entry-level masters level teacher pay. Public schools generally have pay increases each year as well as pay increases for more credits taken. Private schools pay more.

3. Some districts/schools have mental health counselors in the schools as well as guidance counselors. These are LCSWs and LPCs and LMH people. Pay varies, especially because sometimes an outside agency is contracting this. (Example, an agency where I live pays a measly 23K to start for masters level counselors to work in schools). This does allow for other work in summers, etc, which licensing.

4. Some schools and districts (it seems, based on the 'bios' I've read on school websites) hire school counselors that do not have their degree in school counseling. I would guess they've still had school experiences though.

5. Keep in mind that MUCH of the time high school counselors spend (in my experience) is related to test prep and scheduling and college counseling. This may be up your alley, but I know lots of people hope to do lots of individual and group social/emotional/behavior counseling only to be bogged down with the other stuff.

6. Some programs, such as Michigan State University, allow you to get your masters in counseling with endorsements in both community (general) and school counseling. Yay for options!

7. I would e-mail some people in the fields you're hoping to get into and ask to shadow them for a day or two. Most are amenable to this and it sometimes can be really helpful.

Hope that helps some!
 
I would personally recommend school psych over either, though I am biased since that is what I am in school for.

School psychs, unlike counselors or social workers, are paid on higher scales almost everywhere. That is in part because there is a national shortage in school psychs, unlike counselors and ssws where there is an over-supply.

School psychs do get to do counseling in many school settings, although school psychs working in the schools tend to also do a lot of psychoed and social-emotional assessment (although that can vary by school and district).

Here is a little overview:

http://www.nasponline.org/about_sp/whatis.aspx

and a 2009 US News and World Report article on school psychs...

http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2008/12/11/best-careers-2009-school-psychologist.html

If you are concerned about salary, school psychs generally start in the upper 40s or low 50s

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=School_Psychologist/Salary

Good luck!

Hi Everyone,
I am currently a senior in college and am going to graduate in May with a degree in psychology. My current plan for the future is to attend grad school for school counseling then become a guidance counselor. But, after researching im afraid that if I get my school counseling degree it will only limit me to the school.
What other degree's would allow me to be a guidance counselor but also do threapy or counseling outside the school setting as well? Being a high school guidance counselor, I will have alot of time off which I would want to use my degree to work while having the time off. Would an MSW work or mental health counseling work and be better? My Aunt graduated with an MSW and did counseling for a psychologist which i would want to do on the side of guidance counseling.
Also, does anyone have experience in guidance counseling and that would recommend this as a career path? i.e good salary starting out, work environment etc. Just a little undecided, thanks for the help
 
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This is exactly what I am going through right now, I want to do school counseling but would like to get some kind of dual degree that would let me do other kinds of counseling on the side.

The dual program in school/community counseling offered by Michigan State seems to be exactly what I would like to do. Does anybody know if there are any schools in NYC that offer a program like this?
 
Someone once mentioned Teacher's College @ Columbia saying something about such on their website somewhere, but no firm details.
 
Have you considered an MSW program with school service certification. A little different, admittedly, but it's more flexible
 
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