Becoming a school counselor gives graduates the opportunity to teach youngsters about key social issues as well as helping them to overcome the challenges they face. Carlabeth Mathias, who is to retire shortly after working as a counselor at a number of elementary and junior high schools, told indystar.com that she initially trained as a teacher but discovered that helping young people deal with social and emotional issues through counseling was her true passion. She therefore qualified as a counselor in order to devote all her time to help kids work through everything from dealing with divorce to making new friends. Following her upcoming retirement, Ms Mathias intends to continue her counseling work through a private practice. She said her new role will be challenging but the rewards of knowing she has helped a child or their family are too good to resist. "You can't get much better than that," she said. According to the Department of Labor, a master's degree is generally required in order to become a licensed counselor. In addition to working in education, it adds, counseling roles can also cover marriage, careers, rehabilitation and mental health. In 2006, there were 635,000 counselors in the US, the majority of whom worked in educational and vocational roles.  |