Best degree programs for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors, ranked by enrollment
5 college programs and 524 schools train Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $64,330 median wage, 353,310 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
5 college programs at 524 schools train educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors, graduating 17,906 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services. The job pays a median of $64,330 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
5 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.1101 | 12,724 | 71.1% | 431 | $58,038 | — |
| 2 | CIP 42.2805 | 3,734 | 20.9% | 205 | $33,805 | $27,000 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1102 | 948 | 5.3% | 63 | $58,038 | — |
| 4 | CIP 13.1199 | 407 | 2.3% | 24 | $58,038 | — |
| 5 | CIP 52.1006 | 93 | 0.5% | 9 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $86,500 | 45,140 | 1.09× | 40 | 2,860 |
| New York | $71,610 | 23,380 | 1.06× | 34 | 1,166 |
| Texas | $67,900 | 31,730 | 0.99× | 41 | 1,028 |
| Virginia | $67,660 | 9,450 | 1.01× | 15 | 896 |
| Minnesota | $64,600 | 4,200 | 0.63× | 6 | 652 |
| North Carolina | $57,630 | 9,430 | 0.84× | 14 | 615 |
| New Jersey | $77,910 | 8,190 | 0.84× | 14 | 601 |
| Pennsylvania | $60,880 | 13,570 | 0.98× | 28 | 593 |
| Wisconsin | $62,690 | 5,330 | 0.80× | 16 | 551 |
| Florida | $53,140 | 22,800 | 1.01× | 13 | 539 |
| Georgia | $63,720 | 11,460 | 1.03× | 11 | 508 |
| Illinois | $62,420 | 13,580 | 0.98× | 18 | 491 |
| Missouri | $58,040 | 8,890 | 1.33× | 15 | 467 |
| Massachusetts | $79,930 | 11,460 | 1.39× | 16 | 400 |
| Arizona | $58,250 | 7,330 | 1.00× | 5 | 393 |
| Arkansas | $59,770 | 2,310 | 0.78× | 9 | 371 |
| Kentucky | $64,350 | 5,030 | 1.11× | 11 | 370 |
| Alabama | $59,570 | 4,410 | 0.92× | 11 | 350 |
| South Carolina | $60,340 | 6,460 | 1.23× | 7 | 348 |
| Indiana | $59,260 | 5,610 | 0.77× | 10 | 304 |
| Kansas | $56,590 | 3,100 | 0.95× | 9 | 301 |
| Tennessee | $59,960 | 6,470 | 0.87× | 14 | 299 |
| Oklahoma | $52,040 | 4,830 | 1.24× | 7 | 289 |
| Michigan | $59,440 | 9,170 | 0.92× | 10 | 279 |
| Ohio | $61,760 | 13,250 | 1.05× | 17 | 277 |
| Nebraska | $62,500 | 2,190 | 0.94× | 7 | 272 |
| Washington | $82,670 | 6,610 | 0.82× | 9 | 241 |
| Oregon | $66,690 | 3,990 | 0.89× | 6 | 225 |
| Connecticut | $73,910 | 3,370 | 0.88× | 9 | 221 |
| Colorado | $64,780 | 6,530 | 1.00× | 6 | 177 |
| West Virginiamoderate | $55,520 | 1,260 | 0.79× | 4 | 174 |
| Mississippi | $58,710 | 2,620 | 0.99× | 7 | 167 |
| New Mexico | $77,880 | 1,780 | 0.90× | 7 | 162 |
| Iowa | $56,540 | 3,690 | 1.04× | 7 | 144 |
| Louisiana | $61,870 | 4,820 | 1.10× | 10 | 137 |
| Maryland | $75,820 | 6,600 | 1.05× | 7 | 119 |
| Utah | $61,320 | 4,070 | 1.03× | 5 | 118 |
| Nevadamoderate | $66,710 | 2,250 | 0.64× | 3 | 83 |
| Delawarelimited | $74,070 | 1,700 | 1.54× | 2 | 79 |
| Montanamoderate | $57,900 | 890 | 0.76× | 4 | 76 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $58,960 | 840 | 0.86× | 3 | 67 |
| Mainelimited | $58,630 | 1,780 | 1.22× | 2 | 60 |
| District of Columbia | $80,470 | 1,690 | 1.06× | 6 | 41 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $75,000 | 1,340 | 1.18× | 2 | 40 |
| Wyominglimited | $63,430 | 770 | 1.20× | 1 | 40 |
| Idahomoderate | $60,320 | 1,990 | 1.02× | 3 | 38 |
| Vermontlimited | $64,570 | 1,120 | 1.62× | 2 | 37 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $71,080 | 1,650 | 1.06× | 2 | 27 |
| Alaskalimited | $82,900 | 540 | 0.73× | 1 | 16 |
| South Dakotalimited | $51,830 | 1,000 | 0.96× | 2 | 12 |
| Hawaiilimited | $61,730 | 1,620 | 1.14× | 1 | 7 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills
- Active Listening4.4
- Speaking4.1
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Writing3.9
- Monitoring3.8
- Learning Strategies3.8
- Active Learning3.8
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.1
- English Language3.9
- Therapy and Counseling3.6
- Education and Training3.4
- Psychology3.1
- Administrative3.1
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.3
- Oral Expression4.3
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Written Expression4.0
- Deductive Reasoning3.8
- Inductive Reasoning3.8
Core activities
- Getting Information4.8
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.8
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.7
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.6
- Working with Computers4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.4
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Educational
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1101Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
- 13.1102College Student Counseling and Personnel Services
- 13.1199Student Counseling and Personnel Services, Other
- 42.2805School Psychology
- 52.1006Executive/Career Coaching
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Educational?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services, which awarded 12,724 degrees in 2024-25, 71.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Educational?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Student Counseling and Personnel Services, Clinical, Human Resources Management and Services. Together they graduate about 17,906 people a year.
How much do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn?+
The median is $64,330 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $45,020 at the 10th percentile to $104,770 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors growing?+
BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 31,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
524 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Academic Advisor, Career Counselor, School Counselor, Guidance Counselor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card