Six reasons to pursue a career in counselling

Lucy Mitchellon 30 April 2021
A counselling session with the patient in the background with a soft focus on the counsellor in the foreground

If you’ve just finished university and you’re looking for a career, counselling might be the profession for you.

You might be wondering whether your natural attributes will work for or against you in a career like counselling and whether skills such as empathy and compassion can be learned; we can tell you all of this and more.

Here are the top reasons to pursue a career in counselling:

You’re driven by positive change

If you have the drive to make positive changes in people’s lives, then counselling is the career for you.

If you’re someone who enjoys helping others achieve their goals, and you like helping those who struggle to help themselves, you might be in the right place. To add, if you have an innate ability to sympathise and see pathways for success, you’ll be well-suited to counselling.

You’re interested in meaningful work

This isn’t to say other fields aren’t meaningful, although when it comes to counselling, your career can be far more personally rewarding than most. 

It’s fulfilling to work with real people and provide real solutions to their issues. The work you do daily with your clients or patients will be immediately visible, with positive outcomes sometimes taking mere days or hours. 

You’re looking to land a job quickly

In light of the pandemic and the increased focus on mental health, career prospects have improved for people in the social work and care sectors. Landing a role in the counselling field may be a lot easier than you think.

Over the past decade, the number of workers in the counselling field has grown exponentially, meaning there are increasing opportunities for those entering the industry.

You’re willing to study and learn 

With counselling careers requiring numerous qualifications, you’ll need to brush up on the books before applying for anything.

To expand your skills and become qualified to work as a counsellor, you can take a counselling course and move forward with your formal education to set you on the right track for long-term success.

You want a flexible career

The social work and counselling fields offer some of the most flexible working options, meaning that you’ll frequently have the freedom to set your hours or working times. This means you can work around your lifestyle rather than adjust everything to suit your work.

In line with this, the transition towards online workflows, such as BetterHelp, has allowed people in the counselling field to work remotely, making the field more flexible than ever before. 

You’re offering life experience 

Unlike many roles out there, life experience in the counselling field is extremely valued, meaning you can rely on past experiences to help you land a role or move up the ladder quickly when looking to progress in your career. 

In addition, these factors will provide the freedom to choose the avenues you’d like to go down, rather than relying on superiors dictating this for you. 

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Lucy Mitchellon 30 April 2021