Running head: CAREER EXPLORATION PAPER
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Item
Hi Alex,
You covered most or all of the assignment components
rather well. I pray that the Lord’s blessings continue to
multiply upon you. Dr. M.
Points
Possible
The Nature of the work for this career
Including such things as:
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Duties
Skills
Activities
Typical work day
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Working conditions for this career
Including such things as:
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Work environment
Hours
Work alone or with others
Type of supervision
Populations worked with (age, socio-economic level,
presenting issues)
Psychological aspects of work setting (stress levels, crisis
situations, deadlines, multiple tasks, etc.)
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Preparation and qualifications for this career
Including such things as:
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Education
Skills
Experience
Personal traits
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Opportunities and future outlook for this career
Including such things as:
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Occupation workforce size and composition
Geographic distribution
Large/small firms
Security/advancement/related opportunities?
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Economic and non-economic benefits for this career
Including such things as:
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Entry-level/average annual earnings (locally and elsewhere)
Related benefits (insurance, vacation, sick leave, education)
Non-economic benefits
Personal satisfaction factors
Associated lifestyle
Psychological rewards
Disadvantages and/or special situations for this career
Including such things as:
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Irregular work hours
Seasonal work
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CAREER EXPLORATION PAPER
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Overtime or night work
Travel
Hazards
Conclusion
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What did you learn about the career that you didn’t
know before or that surprised you?
How do the occupational characteristics and
requirements fit with your current interests and
values?
How do the occupational characteristics and
requirements fit with your career goals?
What advantages/limitations do you see in using
O*Net in your future career as a counselor?
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APA/Grammar/Writing
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APA format (no abstract)
4–6 pages
Writing/grammar
23
Total
198
Career Exploration Paper
Alexander Dolin
Liberty University
CAREER EXPLORATION PAPER
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Career Exploration Paper
Career Field/Occupation of Choice
I have been exploring my career options for a long time. I never really made a definitive
decision about what I wanted to do for a living when I was young. In high school, I threw
around several options from journalist to pastor. I simply picked a major (psychology) that
sounded interesting and left things open for God's will. As I went through with my classes, I
found that I did have interest in helping people but disagreed with many of the secular theorists.
After I graduated, I continued doing whatever I found interesting.
Going off the hunch that I wanted to maybe become a youth pastor, I applied for
seminary. I successfully earned my M.Div and even became ordained a big achievement. As life
went on, I felt God calling me back to a seed that He planted in my mind during undergrad, to
become a Christian Counselor. The O*Net tests (2012) confirmed that I have work values
aligned with and an interest in psychology. Four of the top matches include psychology (Clinical
Psychologist, Mental Health Counselor/Psychologist, Counseling Psychologists and Music
Therapist). I am already a (volunteer) clergy and a post-secondary instructor. These two were
also highly ranked according to the assessments.
The Nature of the Work
Duties
Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people work through
mental and emotional troubles in their lives. Counselors listen to clients and try to help them
understand their problems by asking questions. Counselors also help create strategies with the
client for positive life change (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic [BLS], 2012b, para. 1).
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Clinical psychologists study behavior and brain function. Psychologists gather
information through observations, interviews, surveys, tests and other methods. Counseling
psychologists look for patterns in behavior. Then they help identify and diagnose mental,
behavioral, or emotional disorders. Counselors also take action by carrying out treatment plans
(BLS, 2012c, para. 3).
Skills
Mental Health counselors and psychologists use the skill of active listening, giving the
client their full attention. Counselors have apt social and emotional perceptiveness. They have
compassion for people and naturally have good people skills (BLS, 2012b, para. 1). Counselors
are typically service oriented. Counselors are skilled at speaking to their clients. Counselors use
critical thinking, judgment and decision making and complex problem solving along with
organizational skills throughout the entire process as they monitor the performance of the client
and make adjustments in the treatment. Counselors also use persuasion to encourage and
motivate the clients to change. Counselors also need reading comprehension skills to properly
assess the clients and move through all the paperwork ("Summary for mental health counselors,"
2012, para. 4).
Activities
Counselors aid clients in gaining insight, identifying goals, and developing action to
achieve desired life change and behavior goals. During the treatment and assessment, the
counselor identifies psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using
information obtained from interviews, tests, records, and reference materials. Counselors use a
variety of treatment methods and theory in their work based on their preference and who they are
working with in any given situation ("Summary for mental health counselors", 2012, para 6).
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Counselors also talk about the treatment of problems and evaluate the progress along the
way. During the entire process, the counselor organizes and maintains the required paperwork.
Counselors refer, consult with or provide consultation to other doctors, therapists, or clinicians
regarding patient care. Counselors are accountable to themselves, their organization and their
clients via evaluation. When changes need to be made, counselors modify plans and diagnoses
as necessary. They also select, administer, score, and interpret psychological assessments when
necessary ("Summary for mental health counselors," 2012, para 1 and 6).
Typical Work Day
Typically, mental health counselors and psychologists set roughly one-hour time blocks
to meet with clients. In a busy office, a counselor may see eight (or even ten) clients a day, each
for an hour. In some work settings, this is not always feasible or possible. The counselor may
need to have team meetings with other staff members or outside groups (BLS, 2012b, work
environment link).
Working Conditions
Work Environment
There are a lot of different types of work settings and environments. In 2010, about 34
percent of psychologists were self-employed (BLS, 2012a, chart 1). Many of these work alone
in a private office, 29 percent worked in educational services (like government agencies, school
districts and Universities), while 20 percent worked in healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics,
rehabilitation facilities, and community and mental health centers). Some also work in employee
assistance programs (EAPs), which are mental health programs that some employers provide to
help employees deal with personal problems (BLS, 2012b, work environment link).
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Hours in Typical Work Week
Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists generally work full time day
shift jobs, especially those who work for schools, clinics, industry or government. Many times,
private practice counselors schedule hours to accommodate clients who may have job or family
responsibilities, so some counselors and therapists work evenings and weekends. Those
employed in the healthcare setting may be scheduled evening or weekend shifts. While,
psychologists in private practice can often set their own hours and many work part time as
independent consultants (BLS, 2012b, work environment link).
Work Alone or With Others
Depending on the work setting, this varies. In a private practice, the counselor commonly
works by alone or with a group of other independent practitioners. They are never truly alone, as
they see clients and possibly see a secretary daily. Those who work in educational and healthcare
settings typically have to work with others besides just other counselors. In these settings, there
may be a team of other doctors in a managed care setting or a group of school teachers in an
educational setting or a group of fellow researchers in a government building (BLS, 2012c, work
environment link).
Type of Supervision
The main overseeing group of supervision is the State Licensing Board, whose primary
job is to protect the citizens of the state (OH) from unprofessional therapy and see that all the
practicing counselors are qualified, licensed and abiding to the State Code of Ethics Ohio
(Counselor and Social Worker Board, 2012, par. 1). The local supervisor will depend on the
work setting. In a healthcare setting, there is commonly a director of clinical counseling. In a
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school setting, the board of education may have the control and power over the school counselor
and/or psychologist. A university dean or group of deans may oversee the career or clinical
counseling and research offices. A private practice counselor may be their own boss.
Populations
There are mental health counselors and psychologists who work with every kind of
population group imaginable. Generally, counselors select a population to work with extensively.
Specializations may be defined by age group, socio-economic level or certain presenting issues.
Preparation and Qualifications
Education
To become a mental health counselor, one must obtain a master’s degree in professional
counseling or marriage and family therapy. To get into this graduate level program, a bachelor’s
degree (in most fields is acceptable) is required first. Counseling programs are set-up to prepare
students to recognize symptoms of mental and emotional disorders and to use effective
counseling strategies. These programs involve supervised experience and practice, such as a
practicum and/or internship (BLS, 2012b, chart 1).
Experience
During this internship and/or practicum, students (counselors-in-training) get hands-on,
direct training and learning experiences. Depending on the graduate school requirements
alongside the student's State Board requirements, counselors-in-training need to have a certain
amount of direct face-to-face practice with real clients. They also get to observe, watch and
discuss what they have been experiencing and learning with a supervising counselor (BLS,
2012b, chart 1).
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Opportunities and future outlook
Occupation workforce size and composition
In 2010, there were 174,000 psychologists nationwide (BLS, 2012b, chart 1) and
156,300 mental health counselors (BLS, 2012c, chart 1). Adding up all Clinical, Counseling, and
School Psychologists total there were 15,990 in California alone (BLS, 2012a, chart 6).
Geographic distribution
New Mexico had the highest concentration of counseling jobs per one thousand total jobs
(1.53). Counselors work everywhere. The top seven states were CA, NY, TX, PA, IL, MA and
OH (BLS, 2012a, chart 7).
Large/small firms
There are a variety of work environments and companies, as mentioned above. There are
h large corporations who hire counselors. There are thousands of smaller firms and independent
private practices as well.
Job Security
Job security appears to be very positive for both psychologists and mental health workers
in general, according to the Dept. of Labor (2012). The amount of growth projected for
counseling psychologists is faster than the average job growth, expecting 82 thousand jobs in the
next decade (BLS, 2012c, chart 1). Mental Health Psychologist jobs are projected at a much
faster rate than average, meaning at 29% or higher (BLS, 2012b, chart 1). Music Therapists has
the least amount of security but qualifies as a bright outlook because this is a new and promising
specialty ("Summary for music therapists," 2012, pg. 1). There is an average projected growth
but overall the need and demand is just not as great as with the other counseling jobs.
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According the Ohio Department of Job and Family Service(ODJFS), Mental Health
Counselors are one of the top 30 occupations with the most projected growth from 2008 to 2018.
The number of jobs is expected to increase by 24% in Ohio with an average annual number of
job openings of 180 (ODJFS, 2008, pg. 2). Nationally this growth prediction, for mental health
counselors, is 36%. Clinical and Counseling psychologists were not far behind with a 150
openings per year and a 22% annual growth nationally (CareerOneStop, 2012a, chart 2). While
in Ohio the growth rate for Clinical and Counseling psychologists is only 5% (ODJFS, 2008, pg.
2). This is likely due to the educational differences between the jobs. Psychologists have PhDs
while, mental health counselors have their master's degree and license to counsel from the state
of Ohio. Good information to know
Economic and non-economic benefits
Entry-level/average annual earnings (locally and elsewhere)
Nationally, there is an interesting variation of annual median salaries between these three
seemingly similar jobs. The mean salary for mental health counselor is $39,000 thousand (BLS,
2012b, chart 1). The mean salary for music therapist is $41 thousand ("Summary for music
therapists", 2012, pg. 1). The mean salary for clinical psychologists is $68 thousand (BLS,
2012c, chart 1). New Jersey had the highest average salary of $96K. The big (coastal) cities
(NY/NJ, L.A., Chicago and Boston) areas seem to earn a lot more than other locations (BLS,
2012a, chart 8).
In Ohio, the median annual wage is slightly higher than the national average for clinical
and counseling psychologists at $76 thousand a year. Also, in Ohio, the mean salary was slightly
above than the national average for mental health counselors at $43 thousand a year
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(CareerOneStop, 2012b, chart 1). Locally, psychologists are paid well compared to the national
average.
Related benefits (insurance, vacation, sick leave, education)
This also will vary depending on the situation. Owning a private practice is risky.
Counselors wishing to own their own practice will have to pay for their own required (by the
state of Ohio) on-going education, their own insurance (not only car, home, and life but also
professional liability insurance-also required by all states) and vacation and/or sick leave all goes
against their own time they could be using to earn money. So this is one of the major downsides
of owning a private practice- it is expensive! I found that to be true when I had my outpatient
practice
Other healthcare and educational workplaces may offer counseling jobs that include
providing health insurance, sick days and vacation. Some places will help or totally reimburse
on-going education as well. These are all factors to consider when looking for a job.
Non-economic benefits
According to Career Cast Survey (2012), mental health counselors have one of the top
ten most satisfying jobs (chart 1) . People in this career are commonly people-persons and
people pleasers. They enjoy helping people. While there is no guarantee of success with every
client, there are times when counselors see or at least perceive success. Former clients are
grateful for the services. It is rewarding to see a life change for the better. It is rewarding to feel
like one has made an impact on society.
There is not any particular associated lifestyle for counselors. In movies, they are
sometimes portrayed to make an awful amount of money per session and drive around fancy cars
to their mansion homes in a gated community of elites. The reality is much different. Again, this
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varies depending on the situation. It is very common for struggling private practice owners as
well as the young, inexperienced mental health workers at a clinic to both become really
successful but it is also possible, in both situations, for them to just barely get by financially.
Another aspect about lifestyle, is the complicated nature of relationships outside of
professional relationships. A counselor has to be very careful since he/she may run into a former
client or someone who knows a former client. Not only is the counselor always representing their
company, but also they may deliberately or inadvertently develop a dual relationship. Sometimes
a simple, routine the grocery store could become awkward, if not incognito needs to be restated.
Disadvantages and/or special situations
The hours can be irregular, as pointed out before, but the hours are not unreasonable.
Most evening counseling offices are closed at 9 or 10 PM, so there is still time to spend with
family in the evening and in the mornings away from work. Counseling is year-round work.
There are not any midnight shift counseling jobs that I am aware of. Some counselors do work
overtime. This can be demanding but in most situations this is not so terrible. It is not a
physically demanding job, but it can become an emotionally draining one. Private practice
owners set their own hours. Most health care and educational companies do not require over
time. The feeling I get by the research and talking to people is that a healthy lifestyle is
promoted. Counselors are encouraged to work their shift and go home and rest.
For the most part, there is minimal travel involved other than the commute for most
clinical psychologists and counselors. Some counselors have multiple offices and may travel to
different offices on different days. Also in the educational field, a professor of mental health may
travel a bit for speaking engagements and conferences. The job can be demanding emotionally
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and stressful listening to other people's problems constantly (BLS, 2012b, work environment
link).
Conclusion
This assignment was a good refresher on the key differences between a clinical
psychology and a mental health counselor. In general, a psychologists have a PhD and is often
involved in a lot more research than a mental health counselor who often only has a Master's
degree. According to CareerOneStop (2012b), 45% of mental health counselors had their
Master's degrees and only 5% had a Doctorate. While (CareerOneStop, 2012a) 50% of "Clinical,
Counseling, and School Psychologists" had a Doctoral degree with 45% were at the Master's
degree level.
I was glad that I looked into all the facts about these psychology-related jobs. As
mentioned in the first part of this assignment, I had not thought about linking my interests in
music with my interest in becoming a counselor. This could possibly be a specialization that I
develop further. I am glad
As I continue with this course and apply for internships, I am moving closer and closer to
one of my goals of becoming a mental health counselor. The facts show that psychologists make
more money than mental health counselors and contribute in other ways besides just counseling
(like research), pique my interests in someday getting a PhD.
I do love people and am a fairly organized person. I like planning out a detailed outline of
getting from point a to point b. I enjoy research. I enjoy teaching. If I can contribute to helping
more people in some way, I will try. Therefore, I think that the O*Net results for these
counseling jobs line up well with my own interest to become a counseling psychologist. The
CAREER EXPLORATION PAPER
results also tend to confirm that, as best as the assessment can determine, I am well suited for
counseling.
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References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2012a). Clinical, counseling, and school
psychologists. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011. Retrieved
from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193031.htm.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (201b2). Mental health counselors and
marriage and family therapists. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition.
Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/mental-healthcounselors-and-marriage-and-family-therapists.htm .
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2012c). Psychologists. Occupational
Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/lifephysical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm .
CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor. (2012a). Clinical, counseling, and school
psychologists : Ohio. Retrieved from
http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_rep.asp?next=occ_rep&Level=&optstatus=011111111
&jobfam=19&id=1&nodeid=2&soccode=193031&stfips=39&x=53&y=12
CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor. (2012b). Mental health counselors : Ohio.
Psychologists : Ohio. Retrieved from
http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_rep.asp?next=occ_rep&Level=&optstatus=011111111
&jobfam=21&id=1&nodeid=2&soccode=211014&stfips=39&x=53&y=7
Counselor and Social Worker Board of Ohio. (2012). About the Board. Retrieved from
http://www.cswmft.ohio.gov/about.stm
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Health Guide USA. (2012). Psychologist work conditions. Retrieved from
http://www.healthguideusa.org/careers/psychologist_working_conditions.htm
Summary for mental health counselors. (2012). Retrieved from Counselors.
http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00#Skills
Summary for music therapists. (2012). Retrieved from Counselors.
http://www.onetonline.org/link/details/29-1125.02
Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. (2008). Occupational trends : 2008- 2018.
Retrieved from http://ohiolmi.com/proj/projections/ohio/OccupationalTrends.pdf
Strieber, A. (2012). Whistling while You work: The 10 most satisfying careers. Retrieved form
http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/whistling-while-you-work-10-most-satisfyingcareers
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