How to Transition From Teacher to School Counselor

Transitioning from teaching to counseling can be a common career move for teachers. School counselors and guidance counselors help students navigate the rigors of a school environment, from dealing with personal or family issues to preparing for college.

If you’ve worked in the classroom and want to transition to a counseling role that enables you to serve students in a different way, a master of school counseling can help. Here’s everything you need to know about how to transition from teacher to school counselor.

In short, the usual path is to earn a master’s degree in school counseling, complete the supervised practicum and internship your program requires, and meet your state’s requirements for a school counselor credential. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) lists a master’s degree in school counseling and state certification or licensure among the minimum qualifications for the role.

Why Make the Switch From Teaching to Counseling

It’s not unusual for people’s desired job roles to change over the length of their careers. If you want to apply new skills in a different role and expand your career skill set, transitioning to a school counselor enables you to stay in a familiar work environment while tackling a different set of challenges.

The work of school counselors has some similarities as well as differences related to the work of teachers. As a teacher, you teach classes, create lesson plans, grade homework, assign presentations and serve as a mentor for your students. School counselors can also find themselves in mentorship roles, but their work is more focused on helping students reach certain academic goals or overcome social or behavioral issues. If you have an interest in psychology and enjoy working with students, school counseling is a way to marry these two interests.

If you feel nervous about making the switch from teaching to counseling, know that changing jobs over a working life is common. According to a 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) news release on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, people born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs from ages 18 to 58. The survey has followed 9,964 men and women since they were first interviewed in 1979, when they were ages 14 to 22.

Why Is Counseling a Good Second Career for Teachers?

If you’re a teacher, you have a passion for helping younger generations grow into confident, capable adults. School counselors share this passion—they just help students do this in a different way. ASCA’s role statement for school counselors describes the work as supporting each student’s academic, career and social/emotional development, including helping students apply academic achievement strategies, manage emotions and plan for life after high school.

In elementary and middle school, counselors help students develop studying and decision-making skills. They address behavioral issues and special needs that the children may have. They work with school administrators, parents and students to create strategies for students’ social and academic success.

In high school, counselors help students make plans for college and careers. High school counselors help teenagers with a variety of personal issues that may affect academic performance. They encourage students, some of whom may be in their last academic environment, to live successful lives after graduation. High school counselors also help students learn about the college application process, including how to apply for financial aid and scholarships.

As a teacher, you already know how to effectively connect with students, build relationships and foster bonds built on trust and empathy. Changing roles from teacher to counselor gives you the opportunity to continue using these skills in a new way.

5 Skills That Transition From the Classroom

Teachers are well prepared to make a successful transition to a career as a school counselor. Having worked in the school environment, you’re already equipped with an advantageous skill set to thrive as a school counselor. Here are five skills that transition from the classroom to the school counselor office.

1. Organization

School counselors must organize appointments, track students’ progress, file reports and communicate to appropriate parties regarding their interactions with students. They juggle many responsibilities and work with many students. They must stay organized by managing their time and priorities well. Teachers can relate, as organizational skills and planning are essential to classroom management.

2. Empathy

School counselors empathize with students and what they’re going through, whether it’s a social or personal problem, academic challenge, learning disability or behavioral issue. Despite the age gap, you must be able to relate to the students you’re helping. Teachers also find themselves empathizing with students’ academic and personal needs.

3. Connection

For school counseling to be effective, students must be open and receptive to the recommendations of a counselor. School counselors must gain the trust of students and help them understand the benefits of their recommendations. Building authentic connections with students is a key to a counselor’s success. In the classroom, the connection between a teacher and student is instrumental in academic success.

4. Understanding

A school counselor’s job becomes easier and more effective when a counselor understands the issues students face throughout their school journeys. School counselors can anticipate what students may be going through at various times and create strategies to help them. Having worked in the classroom, teachers are familiar with common problems students face.

5. Collaboration

Just like teachers, school counselors must work with a variety of people in their roles. This includes principals, athletics coaches, extracurricular leaders and parents. Having experience interacting and collaborating with everyone from school administrators to parents can help you in a school counselor role.

How to Make a Mid-Career Change From Teacher to Counselor

If you want to become a school counselor, you’ll likely need a master’s degree in school counseling or a related field and a state-issued credential. According to ASCA’s state certification resource, school counselors are licensed and credentialed by the state or territory where they work, and requirements vary by state.

If you already have graduate credits, ask whether any can count toward a counseling degree. Each program sets its own transfer policy. Loyola University Maryland’s school counseling program, for example, accepts up to 12 transfer credits, but only from CACREP or CACREP-aligned graduate programs, only for courses completed within the last five years that directly relate to its own required coursework, and not for clinical courses such as practicum and internship. Under rules like these, coursework from a teaching degree may not qualify, so check with an admissions advisor at each program you’re considering.

Here are steps to make a career change from teacher to school counselor.

1. Earn a master's in school counseling.

As mentioned, school counselors typically must have a master’s degree in school counseling or related field. You can earn your degree in person or choose an online program. In programs accredited under the 2024 CACREP Standards, the required curriculum covers foundational areas including the history and philosophy of the counseling profession, ethical practice, lifespan development, career development, counseling practice and relationships, and group counseling, plus school counseling coursework on topics such as models of school counseling programs and school counselors’ roles as leaders and advocates in PK–12 schools. Program length varies, but the same standards require at least 60 semester credit hours for an accredited entry-level counseling degree. If you’re wondering whether a master of school counseling is right for you, be sure to explore counseling scholarship opportunities while making your decision.

2. Acquire supervised training hours.

Many master’s in school counseling programs require students to engage in supervised experience. This might be in the form of a practicum or internship. In programs accredited under the 2024 CACREP Standards, students complete a practicum of at least 100 hours (including at least 40 hours of direct service) and a 600-hour internship (including at least 240 hours of direct service). Under the same standards, site supervisors must hold at least a master’s degree, active certification or licensure where the student is placed, and at least two years of relevant post-master’s experience.

3. Become licensed.

As noted above, school counselors are credentialed by the state where they work. Depending on the state, the credential may be called a license or a certificate, and the requirements can include an exam: Texas, for example, requires candidates to pass its school counselor examination (see below). Our school counselor certification guide explains how the process works.

Will You Need a Master’s in School Counseling to Change Careers?

Typically, yes, but it will depend on the state. ASCA’s guide to becoming a school counselor lists, at minimum, a master’s degree in school counseling. There may be special exceptions where a master’s degree in a field related to school counseling may be acceptable; Texas, for example, requires a master’s degree in counseling (see below). You can check state-by-state requirements through ASCA’s state certification map.

If you’re unsure about going back to school, know that obtaining your master’s degree can lead to career advancement opportunities. In its table of unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment, the BLS reports that full-time workers age 25 and older with a master’s degree had median weekly earnings of $1,876 in 2025, compared to $1,578 for those with a bachelor’s degree. (The BLS notes that its 2025 annual figures are 11-month averages because October 2025 data were not collected.)

Do You Need Teaching Experience to Become a School Counselor?

Not necessarily. Each state sets its own requirements, and ASCA’s list of minimum qualifications centers on a master’s degree in school counseling and state certification or licensure, not classroom teaching experience.

Texas shows how these rules can change. The Texas Education Agency states that, effective September 1, 2023, two years of classroom teaching experience are no longer required for the School Counselor certificate. Under the state’s current rule, 19 TAC §239.20, candidates complete an approved school counselor preparation program, pass the state’s school counselor examination and hold at least a 48-hour master’s degree in counseling from an accredited institution.

Your teaching background still helps. You already know how schools run and how students learn, and you bring the relationships and classroom perspective that counseling work builds on. Before you apply to a program, confirm your own state’s current rules through ASCA’s state certification map or your state education agency.

Do School Counselors Make More Than Teachers?

Nationally, typical pay for school counselors and teachers is similar. In May 2025 national estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, the median annual wage for counselors was close to the median for elementary and middle school teachers and lower than the median for secondary school teachers.

^{Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates, May 2025. Occupation codes follow the BLS 2018 Standard Occupational Classification.}

Keep in mind that the BLS counselor category also includes college and career advisors, so it is not a figure for K–12 school counselors alone. All four figures are national medians across all industries.

Maintaining Your Career Outside the Classroom

Making the transition to school counselor is a great way to continue working in the school system without having to run a classroom.

With experience as both a teacher and school counselor, you’ll expand your knowledge of school operations. This could open doors to further advance your career and apply your unique skills to administration roles, such as school principal. Most principals hold a graduate degree: in 2020–21, only 2% of public school principals held a bachelor’s degree or less as their highest degree, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ Condition of Education. The BLS reports a median annual wage of $105,870 in May 2025 for education administrators in kindergarten through secondary schools. When you move from teaching to counseling, you’ll develop new skills that can help you further your school counselor career outlook.

Check Out Online Programs

If school counseling interests you, an online master’s in school counseling program may let you keep teaching while you study. Check how each program is delivered, though: online coursework does not always mean you can study entirely on your own schedule or never visit campus. Seattle University’s online school counseling program, for example, requires a live online orientation, some synchronous sessions and in-person summer residencies. Practicum and internship hours are also completed with actual clients at field sites (see Step 2), so ask each program how its fieldwork fits around a teaching job.