Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

People in this career often do these activities:

• Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
• Counsel clients regarding educational or vocational issues.
• Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
• Counsel clients regarding interpersonal issues.
• Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.

• Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
• Write reports or evaluations.
• Evaluate potential problems in home or work environments of clients.
• Help clients get needed services or resources.
• Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress.
• Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
• Refer individuals to educational or work programs.
• Develop educational programs.
• Assist clients in handling details of daily life.
• Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
• Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
• Assess individual or community needs for educational or social services.
• Refer clients to community or social service programs.
• Develop educational policies.
• Plan programs to address community mental wellness needs.
• Present social services program information to the public.
• Maintain professional social services knowledge.
• Lead classes or community events.
• Train staff members in social services skills.
• Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
• Advise others on social or educational issues.
• Collaborate with other professionals to develop education or assistance programs.
• Promote educational institutions or programs.
• Develop working relationships with others to facilitate program activities.

• School Psychologists

• Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary

• Mental Health Counselors

• Marriage and Family Therapists

• Education Teachers, Postsecondary

• Instructional Coordinators

• Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary

• Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

• Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

• Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education