Occupations · Community and Social Service
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 21-1012.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 46% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $77,970 | 18,980 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $85,660 | 16,150 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $63,820 | 9,210 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $74,530 | 8,720 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $78,850 | 8,430 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $76,230 | 7,250 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $75,160 | 6,550 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $66,940 | 6,420 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $68,240 | 6,060 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $57,240 | 5,990 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $100,960 | 5,460 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $60,350 | 3,880 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Master's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
- Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss children's progress, resolve behavioral, academic, and other problems, and to determine priorities for students and their resource needs.
- Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
- Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
- Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorting to violence.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2024-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2024-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
O*NET 28.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 2 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 29
No longer listed 4
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| career guidance advisor | 2423.1 | broader |
| academic advisor | 2359.1 | broader |
| educational counsellor | 2359.6 | broader |
| academic support officer | 2359.2 | broader |
| student financial support coordinator | 3312.7 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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