These skills are very versatile and can be used in a variety of jobs and occupations. Transferable skills are acquired through experience, can be understood using a more universal language, and function across jobs and fields.

Opportunities for counseling skills to be transferred are almost too numerous to list them all.

We'll get into specifics but just a few of the fields that utilize the many skills professional counselors have are: Education, Mental Health, Non-Profit, Law, Government, Health Care, Business, and the ever-present and popular entrepreneurial arena of starting your own business.

One thing not to do is confuse a counselor's transferable skills with the traits and characteristics we discussed before. They're different! Your traits are the style with which you do your transferable skills. Things like "has lots of energy," "gives attention to details," "shows determination," etc. are all traits, not skills. If one of your transferable skills is counseling and you do it twelve hours a day with no let up and enjoy all of it, then "has lots of energy" is the style with which you do that skill. (Bolles, 2009)

So, what are some of the transferable skills a counselor can bring to the table? (Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Multicultural Awareness

Team Work

Active Listening

Empathy

Establishing Rapport

Counseling & Psychology

Research

Testing & Assessment

Ethical Decision-Making

Writing

Group Therapy

Public Relations

Team Work

Budget Management

Conflict Management

Teaching

Multi-tasking

Motivating Others

And where could those skills be applied? As an example, let's say a counselor wants to move into the Healthcare industry. What jobs could he or she find with those transferable skills?

AIDS/HIV Counselor

Bereavement Support

Crisis Intervention

Health Psychology

Mental Health Worker

Occupational Therapy

Patient Advocate

Recreational Therapy to name just a few

Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Overall employment of counselors is expected to "grow faster than normal" through 2012, especially for: School counselors, vocational/career counselors, substance abuse counselors, marriage and family therapists and rehabilitation counselors.

Median Annual Earnings (2002):

School & vocations: $44,100

State Government:

Colleges & Universities: $37,000

Individual/Family Services: $26,910

Mental Health Counselors: $29,940

Rehabilitation Counselors: $25,840

And, with additional education, the following career fields are open as well for counselors:

Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Art Therapy, School Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychiatry

Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Instead of taking up more space here, I refer you to two good sources for information:

What Color Is Your Parachute? A book by Richard Bolles www.fordham.edu/cpp/gse/guidance_expoand click on the power point presentation.

Professional Duties in a Postgraduate Counseling Setting

Depending on what area of counseling a graduate seeks, the duties may vary somewhat.

The difference between a mental...

However, if we take the case of the professional clinical counselor, we can focus in on the duties. (Degree Directory.com, n.d.)
Licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCCs) help clients with daily issues, such as relationships, education and career decisions and general mental health.

A licensed professional clinical counselor's primary purpose is to utilize talk therapy and apply clinical techniques and strategies to evaluate, counsel, and guide individuals. They help their patients to achieve personal wellness, career development, mental well-being and better relationships and to overcome substance abuse. A clinical counselor works with other staff to develop and plan services that assist patients and families, educating them about challenges that impact the patients' care. Licensed professional clinical counselors aren't psychiatrists and thus do not counsel patients with serious mental health disorders, particularly if medication is required. (Degree Directory.com, n.d.)

Career Outlook for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors

In 2006, there were approximately 635,000 people employed as licensed professional clinical counselors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics career outlook for clinical counselors, given at www.bls.gov, is very promising; a 21% expansion is expected between 2006 and 2016. According to Payscale.com, the median annual salary for a licensed professional clinical counselor, as of October 30, 2008, ranged from $36,999 for mental health counselors to $50,000 for a mental health program manager. Substance abuse counselors earned a median salary of $42,500 (www.payscale.com).(Degree Directory.com, n.d.)

Bibliography

Judith Crews, Michael R. Smith, Marlowe H. Smaby, Cleborne D. Maddux, Edil Torres-Rivera,

John a. Casey, Steve Urbani. (2005). Self-Monitoring and Counseling Skills-Based vs. Interpersonal Process Recall Training. Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol.

Bolles, R. (2009). What Color is Your Parachute? Berkeley, CA.: Ten Speed Press.

CAP. (n.d.). Counseling. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from Civil Air Patrol:

http://level2.cap.gov/Prof_Dev_Modules/cap_lesson_15/lesson15_html/lesson15.htm

Degree Directory.com. (n.d.). Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor: Job Duties, Career

Outlook, and Education Prerequisites. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from Degree Directory:

http://degreedirectory.org/articles/Licensed_Professional_Clinical_Counselor_Job_Duties_Career_Outlook_and_Education_Prerequisites.html

Gruen, B., Tramontozzi, J., & Schack, a. (n.d.). Discovering Your Choices: Career Alternatives

For Counseling Professionals - Powerpoint Presentation. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from Fordham University: www.fordham.edu/cpp/gse/guidance_expo

Ledyard, P. (1994, May ERIC #: ED371260; Research Study). Personality Traits of Graduate

Counseling Students as Compared to Education Administration/Supervision Students.

Houston, Texas, USA.

Richard Hazler, Jeffrey Kottler. (1998). Choosing a Graduate Program. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from American Counseling Association:

http://www.counseling.org/Students/GraduatePrograms/TP/Home/CT2.aspx

VanPelt-Tess, P. (1999, December). Personality Characteristics of Counselor Education.

Retrieved February 4, 2009, from University of North Texas:

http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-2263