Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary

The median educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salary in the United States is $64,330 per year ($30.93/hour). Salaries range from $45,020 at the entry level to $104,770+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 353,310 educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 3.5% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$64,330
per year
Hourly Rate
$30.93
per hour
Employment
353,310
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$45,020
25th percentile
$51,270
Median
$64,330
75th percentile
$82,870
90th percentile
$104,770

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+3.5%
As fast as average

Annual Openings

31,000
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Master's degree

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisorss.

School and career counselors sit at the intersection of academic advising, college and career planning, and student mental-health triage. K-12 school counselors follow the ASCA National Model, run individual and small-group sessions, coordinate 504 plans, and shepherd juniors and seniors through the college and FAFSA process. Postsecondary career advisors run career-services centers at community colleges and universities, teach resume and interview labs, manage employer relations, and track first-destination outcomes. BLS reports median $64,330 with p10 at $45,020 (entry roles at small privates and rural K-8 programs) and p90 at $104,770 (director-level roles in urban districts like NYC DOE and elite university career centers). Total employment is 353,310. State-license K-12 counselors in NY, CA, MA, and NJ regularly cross $85-105k with a master's and 8-12 years in.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

ASCA National Model + comprehensive counseling program design
Build a full K-12 program across Foundation, Management, Delivery, and Accountability. Track direct-service ratios (ASCA recommends 80% direct + indirect student services) and use tools like ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors to align interventions to standards.
Individual and small-group counseling (Tier 2 MTSS)
Run 6-8 week solution-focused groups on topics like anxiety, grief, executive functioning, or transition. Screen with tools like the SDQ or PHQ-A, document in a system like SchoolMint or Aspen, and refer to community mental-health partners when clinical intensity exceeds school-based scope.
College and financial-aid advising (Common App, FAFSA, CSS Profile)
Own senior-year workflow: brag-sheet drafting, recommendation-letter management via Naviance/Scoir/MaiaLearning, FAFSA verification cycles, CSS Profile for private schools, and financial-aid appeal letters. In a graduating class of 300, a strong counselor moves the FAFSA completion rate from 45% to 70%+.
Career assessment and labor-market interpretation
Administer and debrief instruments like the Strong Interest Inventory, MBTI, CliftonStrengths, YouScience, or free tools like O*NET Interest Profiler. Pair assessment results with real BLS employment and wage data β€” students trust concrete numbers more than personality types.
Employer relations and internship pipeline (postsecondary)
At a college career center, own a portfolio of 40-80 employer accounts across a target industry. Use Handshake or Symplicity for job posting, on-campus interview scheduling, and outcomes reporting. First-destination rate at 6 months post-graduation is the number that gets reviewed at the board level.
Crisis response and mandated reporting
Know your state's mandated-reporter statute cold. Follow district crisis-response protocol for suicidal ideation (Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale is common), abuse disclosure, and threat assessment. Document contemporaneously, notify admin within the required window, and hand off to the school psychologist or outside clinician when scope exceeds counseling.
Data and reporting (outcomes, equity gaps, program evaluation)
Run disaggregated reports on graduation rates, college matriculation, AP course access, and discipline referrals. Present to the board and school-improvement team once a semester. Federal ESSA reporting and Title I compliance leans on counselor-generated data at many districts.

How to Become a Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

  1. 1
    Earn a bachelor's degree (education, psychology, or social sciences)
    Most successful applicants to counselor-prep programs come from education, psychology, sociology, or human development undergrad. GPA above 3.0 and one or two youth-facing internships (Boys & Girls Club, AmeriCorps, upward-bound programs) strengthen graduate admissions.
  2. 2
    Complete a CACREP-accredited master's in school counseling or higher-education / student affairs
    60-credit CACREP master's is now the standard for K-12 licensure in most states. Programs like San Diego State, University of North Texas, Penn State, and Loyola Marymount run 2-3 year cohort models with 600-hour internships. Tuition ranges $22-58k total; many states fund via a state teacher-quality grant.
  3. 3
    Complete practicum + internship hours (600-1,000 hours in K-12 or higher-ed settings)
    Split across elementary, middle, and high schools if K-12, or across advising, career, and student-life offices if higher-ed. This is where you make the professional network that lands your first job β€” treat the internship like an extended interview.
  4. 4
    Pass state licensure exam and obtain school counselor certification
    In most K-12 roles you need a state-issued school counselor license. New York requires the NYSTCE School Counselor exam; California uses the PPS credential from CTC; Texas requires the TExES 252. Passing rates are high (85-92%) with 6-8 weeks of prep. Community-college career advisors typically don't require licensure β€” a master's is enough.
  5. 5
    Take an entry role at a K-12 district, community college, or university career center
    Entry pay $45-58k (BLS p10 $45,020) at rural K-12 or small privates; $52-68k in mid-sized suburban districts; $58-78k in NYC DOE, LAUSD, Chicago Public Schools, Boston, and Bay Area districts. Community-college career advisors start $48-62k; university career-services roles (Berkeley, Michigan, Northeastern) $55-72k.
  6. 6
    Advance to lead counselor, department chair, or director of counseling / career services
    $78-105k+ (approaching BLS p90 $104,770). Lead K-12 counselor at 1,200+ student high schools, director of school counseling for a mid-sized district, or director of career services at a large university. Doctorate (Ed.D. in counseling or higher-ed leadership) helps at university level; superintendent's district-leader credential helps at district level.

Career Progression

School Counselor / Career Advisor (entry)
0-3 yrs$45-58k (BLS p10 $45,020)
  • β€’Caseload of 250-400 students at K-12; 200-350 advisees at community college.
  • β€’Individual counseling, small groups, classroom guidance lessons per ASCA model.
  • β€’Manage senior-year college and career workflow (Common App, FAFSA, Handshake postings).
  • β€’504 plan participation, mandated reporting, crisis triage under lead counselor supervision.
Next: Established counselor / senior advisor at 3-6 years once licensure is complete and caseload outcomes are documented.
Established School Counselor / Senior Career Advisor
3-8 yrs$58-78k (BLS median $64,330)
  • β€’Lead a grade-level cohort (all seniors, or all incoming freshmen) end to end.
  • β€’Own a subset of employer accounts (postsecondary) β€” 40-80 employers, on-campus recruiting scheduling.
  • β€’Chair a Tier 2 MTSS committee, run 4-6 small groups per year, present data to admin monthly.
  • β€’Supervise practicum-level graduate interns from partner CACREP programs.
Next: Lead counselor / department chair at 7-12 years, once you've run a full program cycle and led at least one district initiative.
Lead Counselor / Career Services Manager
7-12 yrs$72-92k
  • β€’Manage 3-8 counselors or advisors; own scheduling, caseload equity, and evaluation.
  • β€’Own the annual college-and-career program plan; report first-destination outcomes to the principal or dean.
  • β€’Chair district counseling committee or convene the university career-services leadership team.
  • β€’Manage the department budget (typically $60-180k covering assessments, software licenses like Naviance / Handshake, and PD).
Next: Director / Assistant Superintendent at 11-16 years, or move to a larger district / R1 university.
Director of Counseling / Director of Career Services
10-18 yrs$92-115k (BLS p90 $104,770 at K-12; university and NYC/LA range higher)
  • β€’Own K-12 counseling program across a district of 5-40k students, or a career-services division of 20-60 staff at a large university.
  • β€’Board-level reporting on outcomes: graduation rate, college matriculation, first-destination employment.
  • β€’Employer relations at the executive level β€” anchor partners like Google, Deloitte, Kaiser, or the Big 4.
  • β€’Grant writing (federal Title IV, state college-and-career-readiness grants, private-foundation partnerships).
Next: Assistant Superintendent for Student Services (K-12) or Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (university).
Assistant Superintendent / AVP Student Affairs
16+ yrs$120-175k+ (well above BLS p90 in large metros)
  • β€’Cabinet-level leader for counseling, mental health, college and career, equity, and student support.
  • β€’Own multi-million-dollar budget, staff of 40-200, and cabinet-level reporting to the superintendent or provost.
  • β€’Represent the district or institution externally (state education department, media, community coalitions).
  • β€’Set 3-5 year strategic plan for student-support programs district-wide or institution-wide.
Next: Superintendent, VP Student Affairs, or state-level education leadership.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 16 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through how you'd structure a comprehensive counseling program at a high school of 1,400 students.case
Anchor the answer in the ASCA National Model's four components: Foundation, Management, Delivery, and Accountability. With a 1,400-student building and typical counselor caseloads of 300-400 in most states, that's roughly 4 counselors β€” so I'd assign each counselor an alpha-split or grade-level cohort so students see the same person for all four years. Delivery targets ASCA's 80% direct-plus-indirect student-service ratio, split across classroom lessons (financial literacy, career exploration, mental-health awareness), small groups (executive functioning, anxiety, transition), and individual planning (college and FAFSA meetings with every senior). I'd stand up data dashboards in Naviance or Scoir tracking FAFSA completion, on-time graduation, and post-secondary matriculation β€” those are the three numbers the principal and school board actually review.
Q2. A senior comes to you the day before a college deadline and hasn't started their Common App essay. How do you handle it?situational
First, de-escalate β€” students in this state can't hear a lecture about time management, and there's no productive learning moment before the deadline. I get them into a quiet room, open the Common App together, and confirm what's actually due (the essay, or just the app + counselor forms). Then we triage: draft a 500-word essay from a real story they tell me out loud β€” I ask three or four questions, transcribe key phrases, and give them a working outline. I file the counselor recommendation and school report on my end so nothing blocks them from submitting. After the deadline passes, I schedule a follow-up to actually work on the underlying planning issue β€” often that's ADHD, anxiety, or a family situation the student never surfaced. Common App and CSS Profile deadlines are unforgiving; a strong counselor absorbs the crisis and then goes upstream after the deadline is safe.
Q3. How do you build employer relationships in a career-services office?technical
Portfolio model β€” I'd carry 40-80 named employers, split across a target industry the university or college is known for. Cadence looks like: quarterly check-ins with each account's campus recruiter, an annual on-campus event (info session, career fair booth, employer panel), and a year-end debrief where we review hires, retention, and next-year commitment. I use Handshake or Symplicity as the system of record for job postings, on-campus interview scheduling, and student outcomes. The number I'd manage against is first-destination employment rate at 6 months post-graduation β€” that's the number reported to the board and used in institutional rankings by outlets like US News. At a place like UC Berkeley Career Center or the Ross School at Michigan, that number is 90%+ and requires deep employer relationships across tech, consulting, and finance.
Q4. Tell me about a time you had to make a mandated report.behavioral
Use STAR and stay clinical, not dramatic. Situation: a 9th grader disclosed a home-safety concern during a routine check-in. Task: complete the mandated report per state statute within the required window (typically 24-48 hours) while keeping the student physically and emotionally safe on campus that day. Action: I stayed with the student, notified the assistant principal and school psychologist, contacted the district's central office child-welfare liaison, and filed with the state child-welfare hotline before end of day. I documented contemporaneously in the counselor case-note system and briefed the family under the district's disclosure protocol. Result: the report was accepted, the district's social worker was assigned, and the student stayed engaged in school with weekly check-ins the rest of the year. Interviewers screen for whether you know the statute, follow the chain of command, and document β€” not for a dramatic recounting.
Q5. Why do you want to work at our district / university career center specifically?closer
Do the homework and answer with specifics β€” generic answers get rejected. For a K-12 district: reference the district's most recent strategic plan (usually on the board's public site), the counseling program's most recent state report card, and a specific initiative like a community-school model, dual-enrollment expansion, or a mental-health partnership. For a university career center: reference the first-destination outcomes report, a named employer partnership (Google BOLD, Deloitte Rise Up, McKinsey diversity pathway), and a specific pain point you'd own β€” for instance the humanities-to-industry pipeline or the international-student career pipeline. Close by tying it to a documented career move (assessment, small-group, employer-relations experience) you'd bring on day one.

Resume Template β€” Entry-level School Counselor / Career Advisor (0-3 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Entry-level School Counselor / Career Advisor (0-3 yrs)
  • β–ΈManaged a 340-student caseload at a Title I high school; raised on-time FAFSA completion from 46% to 71% over two cycles by running senior-workshop nights and targeted 1:1 sessions with 100% of pending seniors.
  • β–ΈDelivered 60+ classroom guidance lessons aligned to ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors; ran four Tier 2 small groups (anxiety, executive functioning, grief, transition) with pre/post SDQ data showing 34% average symptom reduction.
  • β–ΈFiled 100% of mandated reports within statutory windows; coordinated 12 crisis-response cases with district psychologist and community mental-health partner.
  • β–ΈMaster's in School Counseling (CACREP-accredited), state school-counselor license, Naviance certified. $52k base + district benefits + summer stipend.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Cannot explain the ASCA National Model or the direct-service ratio β€” signals a candidate who hasn't run a real program.
  • βœ—Doesn't know the state's mandated-reporter statute, timeline, or documentation requirements.
  • βœ—Treats FAFSA and CSS Profile as optional or unfamiliar β€” completion rates are a headline district metric.
  • βœ—No experience with counseling platforms (Naviance, Scoir, Handshake, MaiaLearning) β€” you'll be onboarded slowly.
  • βœ—Weak data literacy β€” can't disaggregate caseload outcomes by subgroup or present to a board.
  • βœ—Confuses school counseling with clinical therapy β€” school counselors triage and refer, they don't run long-term therapy.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Urban district premium β€” NYC DOE, LAUSD, Chicago Public Schools, Boston, and Bay Area districts pay 15-30% above BLS median $64,330, often approaching or exceeding p90 $104,770 at senior steps.
  • βœ“Master's-plus-30 or doctorate step on district salary schedules β€” automatic $4-11k bumps that a candidate should verify before signing.
  • βœ“Bilingual (Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic) β€” many urban districts pay a $2-6k annual stipend and prioritize bilingual counselors.
  • βœ“National Board Certification (NBCC) β€” some districts pay a $2-5k/year stipend for maintaining the credential.
  • βœ“Twelve-month contracts (vs 10-month) β€” pushes total comp $8-15k higher and is common at year-round schools, community colleges, and university career centers.
  • βœ“Extra-duty stipends (department chair, senior class advisor, MTSS coordinator) β€” $2-8k each and stack on the base.
  • βœ“Signing bonuses or loan-forgiveness eligibility β€” several states (NY, CA, MA) run counselor-specific loan-forgiveness programs; Public Service Loan Forgiveness applies to most K-12 and public higher-ed roles.

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Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$52K
$87Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

California
$87K
+34%
Alaska
$83K
+29%
Washington
$83K
+29%
District of Columbia
$80K
+25%
Massachusetts
$80K
+24%
New Jersey
$78K
+21%
New Mexico
$78K
+21%
Maryland
$76K
+18%
Rhode Island
$75K
+17%
Delaware
$74K
+15%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
California$86,500+34.5%
Alaska$82,900+28.9%
Washington$82,670+28.5%
District of Columbia$80,470+25.1%
Massachusetts$79,930+24.2%
New Jersey$77,910+21.1%
New Mexico$77,880+21.1%
Maryland$75,820+17.9%
Rhode Island$75,000+16.6%
Delaware$74,070+15.1%
1–10 of 51

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
El Centro, CA$141,760+120.4%
Grand Island, NE$109,480+70.2%
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$102,650+59.6%
Odessa, TX$101,810+58.3%
Yuba City, CA$101,350+57.5%
Fresno, CA$101,280+57.4%
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$100,930+56.9%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$100,790+56.7%
Hanford-Corcoran, CA$100,390+56.1%
Salinas, CA$100,360+56.0%
1–10 of 388
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earning $64,330/year would need 927 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 995 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salary trend (2011–2024) β†’