This article was co-authored by Alicia Oglesby and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD. Alicia Oglesby is a Professional School Counselor and the Director of School and College Counseling at Bishop McNamara High School outside of Washington DC. With over ten years of experience in counseling, Alicia specializes in academic advising, social-emotional skills, and career counseling. Alicia holds a BS in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. She also studied Race and Mental Health at Virginia Tech. Alicia holds Professional School Counseling Certifications in both Washington DC and Pennsylvania. She has created a college counseling program in its entirety and developed five programs focused on application workshops, parent information workshops, essay writing collaborative, peer-reviewed application activities, and financial aid literacy events.
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If you want a career helping and supporting people and love working with kids, becoming a school counselor might just be the job for you. School counselors in Georgia earn $58,290 on average, as of 2020.[1]
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment to grow 11% between 2020 and 2030, which is faster than average—great news if you’re looking to get into the field.[2]
This career requires at least 5 years of education followed by 3 years of clinical practice before you can be certified—quite a commitment! The investment is worth it, though, if you want to really make a difference in students’ lives.
Start with a bachelor’s degree in psychology or education. As a high school counselor, you should be knowledgeable and very skillful.[3]
While there isn’t a bachelor’s program specifically for school counseling, a degree in either psychology or education shows that you’re interested in the field and have basic knowledge about the issues you’ll encounter. Be sure to take a course in research methods or statistics, which will prepare you for grad school work (many schools require it).[4]- Technically, you can get a degree in any field, but it always helps if you have a degree in something related to counseling or education. Degrees in human development, developmental psychology, sociology, or social work are also helpful.
- You should be culturally competent. Understand that people are different for various reasons and be respectful and compassionate towards students.[5]
- Learn to be a good listener and listen without judgement.[6]
Do a certification-only program if you don’t want a master’s degree. A certification-only program includes a year of master’s-level education, which is enough to meet Georgia’s basic education requirements for school counselors. To go this route, you have to attend one of the programs approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC).[7]
- As of 2021, the following institutions in Georgia have approved certification-only programs: Albany State University, Columbus State University, Fort Valley State University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, and Mercer University.
- If you’ve already been working as a school counselor in another state and don’t have a master’s degree, you can become a school counselor in Georgia using your certificate from the other state, as long as it indicates master’s level work.[8]
Take the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) if you want a master’s degree. A GRE score is required for admission to graduate school.[9]
The test evaluates your verbal and quantitative (mathematical) reasoning skills, as well as critical thinking and analytical writing skills. These are primarily thinking skills that are necessary to do well with graduate coursework in any field.[10]- Go to https://www.ets.org/gre to get more information about the GRE and register to take the test.
Get a master’s degree in school counseling. Georgia requires a master’s degree if you didn’t enroll in one of the GaPSC-approved programs within the state.[11]
You’ll study the role of school counselors in an academic setting as well as counseling children and adolescents. You might also take courses in family or addiction counseling.[12]- A full master’s degree gives you more options professionally and academically. While with certification-only programs you’re restricted to approved schools in Georgia, your master’s degree can come from anywhere.
- Even though you can get your master’s degree anywhere, if you already know you want to work as a school counselor in Georgia, it makes a lot of sense to get your degree at a school in Georgia. You’ll have more access to state-specific resources and your professors will have connections in the Georgia school system that can help you find a job after graduation.
Get a grade of B or better in your special education course. Georgia school counselors are required to take a course that covers the identification and education of kids with special educational needs. If you take this course as part of your master’s coursework it’ll be 3 semester hours.[13]
- The grade requirement of “B” or better only applies to coursework completed on or after July 1, 2019, so it doesn’t apply if you took the course earlier.
- You’re exempt from this requirement if you’re moving to Georgia from another state and already have at least 5 years of experience as a school counselor.
- You’re also exempt from this requirement if you already hold a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certificate or if you have a degree with a major in special education.[14]
Pass the GACE Program Admission Assessment exam during graduate school. Georgia requires you to pass this exam before you start any fieldwork at the graduate level. You don’t have to take the exam if you have a score of 1080 (verbal and math combined) on the SAT, 43 (English and math combined) on the ACT, or 297 (verbal and quantitative combined) on the GRE.
- For more information about the GACE exam, go to https://www.gace.ets.org/. Since you’ll need approval from your program before you can register for the test, you’ll learn more about it after you get started in your graduate program.
- If you’re moving to Georgia from another state where you already have at least 5 years of experience as a school counselor, you don’t need to take the GACE exam.[15]
Get fingerprinted for a background check before you start supervised training. Georgia requires a background check before you can work in Georgia public schools.[16]
Generally, your background can’t include anything that would present a possible danger or create an unhealthy environment for students.[17]- If you’re concerned about something in your background that might keep you from working as a school counselor, talk to a faculty member in your graduate program. They can help you determine if your past would present a problem.
Find a placement for 300 hours of supervised training while in grad school. Work with your program advisor to find a placement that’s close to the type of work you want to do after graduation. You’ll complete these training hours as part of your program (or master’s degree) before you graduate, so you’ll likely have to juggle these hours with classroom hours and other work.[18]
- By the time you get to this point of your program, you should have a general idea of what type of counseling you want to do and what ages you want to work with—but it’s okay if you don’t! You can always switch to something else. For example, you might do your supervised training in a high school and then decide you’d rather work in an elementary school.
Network with people who work in the education system. As in any other career, finding a spot as a counselor is as much about who you know as what you know. Even while you’re still in school, start talking to working counselors and going to seminars and other school system events.[19]
- If you went to school in Georgia, go back to the schools where you graduated and talk to teachers, counselors, and administrators you know who are still there. They’ll be happy to support you, especially if you were a good student.
- Join professional organizations as a student and attend local mixers and events to get to know some of the counselors in your area.
- Your professors in your counseling program can also help you find a position where you’ll thrive. They typically know counselors working throughout the state and can help you find out about possible openings that haven’t been posted yet, such as if a counselor is about to move to another school.
Search for open positions in the school system of your choice. As you near graduation, start thinking about the type of school you want to work in and the ages of students you prefer. The GaPSC has all open counselor posts listed here, which is a great starting point: https://www.teachgeorgia.org/AdvSearch.aspx?Subjects=7&Systems=All.
- If you want to work at the school where you did your supervised training, let your supervisor know as soon as possible. There won’t always be an open position there, but if there is, that’s a great way to get your foot in the door.
- Private schools might be a lot more likely to hire you before you’re certified as a counselor than public schools will be.[20]
Work full-time as a counselor for 3 years after graduation. You’re not eligible for certification until you’ve worked for at least this long as a counselor in public or private schools in Georgia. During each of those 3 years, you must have a performance rating of either “Proficient” or “Exemplary.”[21]
- A full year of experience in a school setting is defined as a minimum of 120 days working full-time in school.
Register for an account on the GaPSC website. Go to https://mypsc.gapsc.org/Register.aspx and select the appropriate description to start your registration. Your account allows you to manage your application and documents you need to submit to become certified as a school counselor.[22]
- When you register for an account, the GaPSC will assign you a Certificate Identification Number. Write this number down and keep it in a safe place—you’ll need it throughout the application process. The number is also listed on your MyPSC account for your convenience.
- The certification process is paperless, so you cannot apply for certification through the mail or over the phone—you can only apply online.[23]
Start your certification application through your MyPSC account. Login to your account and click the “Applications/Documentation/Status” tab. Then, click on the “Start” button to begin your online application.[24]
- If you happen to need several different certifications, there’s no need to start multiple applications—you can apply for all of them through a single online application.
Answer the Personal Affirmation Questions (PAQs). The PAQs are yes/no questions that relate to your ability to practice counseling professionally and ethically. If you answer any of these questions “yes,” you’ll need to provide documentation to explain your answer.[25]
- For example, one of the questions asks if you’ve ever been convicted of any criminal offense. If you answered “yes” to that question, you would need to provide documentation of the offense and the penalty assessed for it.[26]
Complete and notarize an affidavit of lawful presence. Download the form at https://www.gapsc.com/Certification/Downloads/VLP_Form_and_Affidavit.pdf. Fill it out, then take it to a notary along with a valid government-issued photo ID. They’ll verify your identity and notarize the document.[27]
- Once your affidavit is notarized, scan it and upload it to your MyPSC account to submit it to the GaPSC.
Collect official transcripts to verify your education. Typically, all you need to do is contact your schools and order the transcripts—the school will upload them directly to Georgia’s electronic system. Be prepared to give the school your Certificate Identification Number so your transcript can be correctly applied to your account.[28]
- You can check the status of your application through your MyPSC account to confirm that your transcripts have been uploaded.
Ask the school where you worked to submit employment verification. Public schools and most private schools in Georgia have access to the state system and can upload the necessary documents to verify your employment on your behalf. If your school doesn’t have access, they’ll let you know what you need to do to upload your employment verification yourself.[29]
Upload any other required documentation and pay your fee. The GaPSC holds applications open for up to 45 days, which should give you plenty of time to upload all the documentation you need. Check your “Correspondence/Notifications” tab on your MyPSC account regularly. You’ll get a letter there if you’re missing anything. [30]
- As of 2021, the initial certification fee is $20. If you want a notarized copy of your certificate, there’s an additional $20 fee for a total of $40. You can pay using any major credit or debit card.[31]
- Once you’ve met the requirements for a certificate and provided all the necessary documentation, the GAPSC will issue your certificate. You can download a copy directly through your MyPSC account. If you ordered a notarized copy, it’ll be mailed to you.[32]
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