Some people are just easier to talk to than others; they listen and they give good advice. Are you one of those people? Perhaps you should consider a profession in therapy or counseling. Online counseling degrees, in particular, offer the most flexibility to pursue your education while you still work.
Counseling isn’t just listening to someone complain while they lay on a sofa. Counselors are found in many settings—schools, police departments, mental health clinics, and even large corporations. These professionals help people figure out what they want to do with their lives, get along with others, cope with mental health issues, and fight addiction.
You probably want to help people, right? That is one of the main things that those who pursue an online counseling degree have in common. But, depending on what your goals are you may want to narrow your counseling major to substance abuse counseling, family therapy, organizational psychology, etc. This allows you to specialize in an area that interests you and allow you to make the most difference in people’s lives. These are some of the most common counseling careers with statistics taken from the U.S. Department of Labor:
As a counselor you may come across situations that are emotionally challenging. Because of this, it is important that you consider how well you can function in that type of environment. Can you distance yourself? Other necessary attributes for this career include a desire to communicate with others and being concerned for other people’s welfare.
If you do decide that an online counseling degree is the right for you, there are many different schools and programs you can choose from. Depending on what you would like to specialize in and whether you have another degree, you can either get an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or even doctorate degree in counseling or mental health. If you’re a career changer with a previous bachleor’s degree in a different subject area consider a master’s degree or a graduate certificate.
All counseling degree programs will include coursework on:
As you do your research to find the right school, keep in mind that some accreditations make it easier to pass national certification exams. For instance, some online counseling programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation for Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) which ensures that schools have the necessary courses needed to be prepared for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential.
Another important thing to consider is the cost of online counseling degrees. While it is important to get the right education to pursue the career of your dreams, we all have to think of our pocketbooks. GetEducated’s 2017 rankings reveal the average cost of a bachelor’s level online psychology degree to be around $51,500. An online master’s in counseling costs just under $31,500, on average. Keep these figures in mind as you look at the tuition at different colleges and remember to also consider the cost per credit hour and how many credit hours are required to graduate.
