The author explored the career of school counseling and found they enjoyed influencing and supporting students. They also liked collaborating with others on events and lesson plans. However, one concern was students not taking counselors seriously. The author's current qualifications do not fully meet the requirements for a school counselor position, which include licensing and understanding of counseling ethics and standards. To become licensed, the author plans to obtain a school counseling master's degree. They will also gain experience through volunteering, networking, and internships to strengthen their candidacy for school counseling careers.

1. Career Exploration Reflection
I chose to explore the career of school counseling. I found that I really enjoyed the
concept of being able to help influence and support other individuals. With a career in
school counseling, individuals have the opportunity to influence students who are still
developing both socially and professionally. I also enjoyed that this career allows
individuals to collaborate together in order to plan and organize various events and
classroom plans. One thing about the career that I dislike is the fact that there would be a
chance that the students would not take the counselor in a serious manner.
The ability to have summers off in some school districts would definitely be a
pro. However, this could also be considered a con, as it would mean less hours and
furthermore less pay. Being able to collaborate with other individuals and influence
children are two more things that I would consider to be pros. Along with those, I also
feel like the employment outlook of 19% increased growth between 2010 and 2020
would fall into the pro category. Another con in addition to fewer hours with summer
breaks is the fact that the students would not always want to listen to your
recommendations and advice.
When comparing my current resume to the job posting that I found, I definitely
have a lot of qualifications that need to be fulfilled. I personally only feel as though my
current connection with this job posting is simply through my interests. The job posting
lists leadership, organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills. I feel as if I
already have these skills. I also feel like I would be able to fill the requirement of being
able to work effectively and collaboratively with school staff and a broad range of
representatives. I fall short on many aspects currently, mainly being the fact that I do not

2. have a valid license in school counseling issued by the Minnesota Department of
Education. I also need full understanding of the American School Counselor Association
and their ethics and ideals.
In order to receive school counselor licensure I will need to further my education
through a school counseling masters program. I plan to increase my amount of volunteer
work, take advantage of networking opportunities such as the use of LinkedIn, and take
part in events or organizations related to the school-counseling career. I think that simply
increasing volunteer work and looking for an internship to take part in will help to make
me a stronger candidate as I will be networking with other individuals while gaining
hands on experience or building relationships within various organizations. For a portion
of that volunteer work I intend to search within the church at my hometown for youth
programs needing extra assistance, as that will allow me to build connections and be able
to have experience working with children.
Compiling this packet, writing the psychology major paper, completing a degree
plan, and this whole overall class has helped me to be a more successful student through
increasing my organizational and preparation skills. I think that without this class I
wouldn’t have researched the psychology major and careers of interest with such great
detail. Having guidelines of what to look at in career descriptions, job posts, and graduate
school requirements helped me to more clearly see what I was exploring and what I will
potentially be a part of in my future.