Careers / Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$64,330
United States, 2025
Employment
353,310
United States, 2025
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
- O*NET code
- 21-1012.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
- Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$45,020
25th percentile
$51,270
75th percentile
$82,870
90th percentile
$104,770
Most important skills
- Active Listening4.4
- Social Perceptiveness4.1
- Speaking4.1
- Service Orientation4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Writing3.9
- Active Learning3.8
- Learning Strategies3.8
- Monitoring3.8
- Complex Problem Solving3.8
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 19 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
19
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.1 | 4.9 | Not selected | 4.9 |
| Active Listening | 4.4 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Speaking | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Writing | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.8 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Coordination | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Persuasion | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Instructing | 3.6 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Negotiation | 3.4 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Time Management | 3.1 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and AdvisorsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro, CA | $141,760 | 200 | 2025 |
| Grand Island, NE | $109,480 | 90 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $102,650 | 150 | 2025 |
| Odessa, TX | $101,810 | 120 | 2025 |
| Yuba City, CA | $101,350 | 140 | 2025 |
| Fresno, CA | $101,280 | 1,210 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $100,930 | 2,730 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $100,790 | 690 | 2025 |
| Hanford, CA | $100,390 | 110 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $100,360 | 400 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $99,900 | 120 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $99,330 | 390 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $98,480 | 500 | 2025 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $97,700 | 830 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $96,780 | 90 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $96,780 | 3,800 | 2025 |
| Visalia, CA | $96,720 | 390 | 2025 |
| Yakima, WA | $96,370 | 230 | 2025 |
| Chico, CA | $96,080 | 330 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $95,390 | 2,440 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.