School Counselor: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of school counselors earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $45,020
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of school counselors earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $51,270
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of school counselors earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $64,330
- Hourly
- $30.93
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of school counselors earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $82,870
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of school counselors earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $104,770
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
School Counselors advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services. The median pay is $64,330 a year ($30.93 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is an associate's degree (3% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $64,330
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 353,310
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 5 of 5
- extensive preparation
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
- 3% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors (O*NET-SOC 21-1012.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for School Counselors
Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →How to becomeSchool Counselor how to becomeEducation, training and the skills to build first.
Open →ResumeSchool Counselor resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsSchool Counselor interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Career changeSchool Counselor career changeWhere these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What school counselors do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- 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.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Therapy and Counseling, Education and Training, Psychology, Administrative.
Software school counselors use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRSData base reporting softwareHot technology
- ACT WorkKeysAnalytical or scientific software
- Athena Software Penelope Case ManagementMedical software
- BloomzDesktop communications software
- Career Dimensions Focus 2Analytical or scientific software
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epi InfoAnalytical or scientific software
- Chat softwareNetwork conferencing software
- Common CurriculumComputer based training software
- Computer-assisted live supervisionNetwork monitoring software
- Computerized diagnostic programsAnalytical or scientific software
Also called: Academic Advisor, Academic Counselor, Admissions Counselor, Career Counselor, College Counselor, Elementary School Counselor.
Similar careers to explore
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).