Do you want to help others? Are you the kind of person that people confide in ? Do people find you easy to talk to? Has anybody ever called you a good listener? A career in counseling could be right for you. Whether you’re interested in helping people find a career they’re passionate about or you have a burning desire to bring couples and families closer together as a therapist, an Associate in Arts, Emphasis in Counseling and Applied Psychological Science, from Rio Salado College can get you on the path toward realizing your dream.
What You’ll Learn
If the human mind was a house, an associate in Counseling and Applied Psychological Science can help you open up and explore many of its rooms. This program is oriented around preparing students for a career in counseling or a related field by providing them with a grounding in counseling practices, interpersonal skills, professional ethics, research, and multicultural competence. You’ll learn the theories of counseling while also developing a relevant skill-set that can put you on the path toward a fulfilling career in mental health services.
It’s important to keep in mind that completing this program won’t make you license-eligible as a professional counselor on its own, but it can prepare you to enter an undergraduate degree program. It can also make you a viable candidate for entry-level employment in industries like social services and rehabilitation centers.
What Can I Do With a Counseling Degree?
The question of what you can do with a counseling degree seems pretty self-explanatory but there are more avenues open to you with this degree than you’d expect. Here’s a small sampling of the kind of roles that a counseling degree can help prepare you to pursue:
- Mental health counselor
- Social worker
- Career counselor
- Education administrator
- Clinical psychologist
- Marriage counselor
- Family therapist
- Psychiatric technician
- Behavioral specialist
- Rehabilitation counselor
- Social worker
- Academic admissions
The nice thing about a counseling degree is that it gives you a deep bench of soft skills that could make you an asset in careers outside of counseling. Empathy, leadership, active listening, teamwork, communication, emotional intelligence: these are valuable career skills that could make you an important player in any field you’re entering. A lot of industries—even ones that are highly technical—need “people persons” with strong interpersonal skills, and having a background in counseling could open doors into unexpected and rewarding career opportunities.
What Does a Future in Counseling Look Like?
If you're thinking of pursuing a career in mental health services, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has some good news for you. Many career roles in mental health (including counselors, social workers, guidance & career counseling, and substance abuse & behavioral disorder counseling) are projected by the BLS to have significant job growth from now until 2032. The rates of job growth vary from 5 percent (for educational, guidance, and career counselors) to 15 percent and 18 percent for family therapists and mental health counselors (respectively). These projected growths are well above the average for other professions.
A Head-Start Toward a Brighter Future
Getting a two-year degree or certificate at Rio Salado can be a great way to upgrade your resume and fill your professional toolbox with a new set of skills that can come in handy in a wide variety of situations. It can also be a crucial first step in a longer academic journey toward getting a bachelor’s or higher degree in counseling. Keep in mind, however, that there are certain professional roles in the mental health profession that are only obtainable via learning training and knowledge that have to be acquired at a four-year university. Here’s some more good news for you: your Rio associate degree gives you a head-start on getting that next degree! With our transferable credits, you can complete your general education requirements at Rio for a significantly lower tuition rate than what you’d pay at a state school. You’ll save a lot of time and money beginning your journey of professional development at Rio Salado.
Maricopa Community Colleges offer transfer pathways that include:
- ASU Bachelor of Science, Counseling & Applied Psychological Science
- NAU Bachelor of Science, Applied Human Behavior
- South Mountain CC, Bachelor of Science, Behavioral Science
Learn More
Interested in learning more about our counseling program? Check out our program page and complete the request for information at the bottom of the page.
Article by Austin Brietta