Online Degrees in School Counseling

Getting an online degree in school counseling sets you up to serve as a school counselor, potentially impacting hundreds of lives each year while receiving one of the highest average counseling salaries. If you are ready to start working within the school system and advocating for student success, an online degree in school counseling will give you the skills and knowledge you need.

The American Psychological Association (APA) recognized school psychology as a distinct branch of psychology as far back as 1946. They estimate that 25,000 school counselors currently help to guide students in schools throughout the country.

Your online master's degree in school counseling will prepare you to lead students toward personal, educational, social and career success, fulfilling the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) charge to school counselors. Courses on counseling, ethics, research, assessments, cultural awareness and career development will give you the skills you need to take the lead in a learning environment. With opportunities for hands-on learning in local schools, online programs offer you the same high-quality education without the added hassle of a commute.

If you are a practicing counselor, you may want to take advantage of the convenience of online education and pursue a second master's degree in school counseling. Once licensed, you'll be able to apply your current specialty to an educational environment and start earning a higher salary immediately.

If upward mobility is what you're after, your best bet is to go for an online PhD in counseling psychology. With your doctorate, you can become director of a school counseling division or pursue another school administrator role, become a researcher or college professor, or even start your own practice as a counseling psychologist.

In 2010 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that school counselors in elementary and secondary schools made the highest median wage of all studied counseling positions. At $53,380 per year, you can earn more than counselors with other specialties. The top 10 percent earn over $86,250 annually, so there's an even greater incentive to pursue your online degree. If you'd like to take a personal approach to the much-needed educational overhaul starting to take shape among America's schools, school counseling may be the hot career for you.