School counseling programs prepare people to counsel students in various school settings. People learn to help students with problems they are having at school or at home. They also learn to advise students on issues such as getting a job or going to college.

The media often give school counselors a bad rap. Movies, in particular, show school counselors as the people who talk to you about college once a year, and who are bored, uncaring, and incompetent. However, most school counselors are anything but! While it's true that school counselors help students plan for future education and careers, they also help students get along with fellow classmates, teachers, and parents. Often school counselors help students with serious problems, such as learning disabilities, problems at home, and self-esteem issues. They help students meet their educational goals and if necessary, refer students to other people, such as social workers or doctors for more assistance.

In school counseling programs, you study how students learn, the kinds of problems students of different ages face, and ways to help students succeed. You also learn about how schools work and the policies and laws that affect them. You take courses in psychology, statistics, social research methods, and counseling techniques. You also learn how to mediate when students have conflicts with teachers or classmates.

You can become a school counselor by completing a two-year master's degree program after you finish your bachelor's degree. Many colleges and universities offer school counseling programs. Some programs offer a concentration in school counseling as part of an educational psychology degree. Others offer a separate degree in school counseling. Nearly all people who graduate with a master's in school counseling work in schools.

A few schools offer a doctoral program in school counseling. Most people with a doctorate in education counseling become professors and researchers. Doctoral degrees take from three to five years after you finish your master's.