M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling vs M.S. Gerontology vs M.A. Education
August 23, 2011 9:14 AM Subscribe
Which degree would be my best bet--an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling, an M.S. in Gerontology, or an M.A. in Education? I'm especially wondering how good the job prospects will be in California, and how much stress and interpersonal conflict I would be likely to experience.
I am currently unemployed and on a disability in California. I'm considering enrolling in a master's program for Fall 2012. I expect the job market to remain very poor for the next several years, and I would like to gain more marketable skills than I currently have with a B.A. in English.
If I went for a M.A. in Education with a concentration in counseling, I would try to find work as a college counselor, probably at a community college.
Or I could do an M.S. in Gerontology, which can lead to various administrative and case management positions.
Finally, there's an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling, which would lead to a career as a rehabilitation counselor.
Of these three options, I'm most enthusiastic about college counseling. However, I'm also thinking about a couple of practical considerations:
1) Stress
I know that some job stress is unavoidable, but social work has a reputation for being exceptionally emotionally draining. I think I would enjoy helping a college student decide on a major, but I'm not up to working with hostile and severely troubled populations, such as mentally ill homeless people with addiction problems. Where do rehabilitation counseling, college counseling, and gerontology fall on that stress spectrum?
2) Job Prospects
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 19 percent increase in rehabilitation counseling jobs from 2008 to 2018. Partly that's there are more disabled people as the U.S. population grows older. But I do worry that California's budget will continue to be a mess even after the recession lifts, limiting job prospects for college counselors, and for rehabilitation counselors who work for state or local government. I'd rather not relocate if I don't have to, and I feel that gerontology may offer more opportunities in the private sector. Which of these fields has the best prospects in 2014 and beyond?
I am currently unemployed and on a disability in California. I'm considering enrolling in a master's program for Fall 2012. I expect the job market to remain very poor for the next several years, and I would like to gain more marketable skills than I currently have with a B.A. in English.
If I went for a M.A. in Education with a concentration in counseling, I would try to find work as a college counselor, probably at a community college.
Or I could do an M.S. in Gerontology, which can lead to various administrative and case management positions.
Finally, there's an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling, which would lead to a career as a rehabilitation counselor.
Of these three options, I'm most enthusiastic about college counseling. However, I'm also thinking about a couple of practical considerations:
1) Stress
I know that some job stress is unavoidable, but social work has a reputation for being exceptionally emotionally draining. I think I would enjoy helping a college student decide on a major, but I'm not up to working with hostile and severely troubled populations, such as mentally ill homeless people with addiction problems. Where do rehabilitation counseling, college counseling, and gerontology fall on that stress spectrum?
2) Job Prospects
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 19 percent increase in rehabilitation counseling jobs from 2008 to 2018. Partly that's there are more disabled people as the U.S. population grows older. But I do worry that California's budget will continue to be a mess even after the recession lifts, limiting job prospects for college counselors, and for rehabilitation counselors who work for state or local government. I'd rather not relocate if I don't have to, and I feel that gerontology may offer more opportunities in the private sector. Which of these fields has the best prospects in 2014 and beyond?
Also, my mom was working in the field long (a little under ten years) before she got her MS. The state literally paid her to get it so that they could promote her to an MS-only position. You might be better off trying to see if you can find some related work before dropping cash on a Master's degree.
posted by griphus at 9:53 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by griphus at 9:53 AM on August 23, 2011
This is nebulous and I don't have the citation, but I do recall reading that there are fewer people specializing in gerontology-related fields even as the population in the US is aging rapidly, and thus the need is great. Whether that translates to actually great job prospects is another question.
posted by ldthomps at 10:10 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by ldthomps at 10:10 AM on August 23, 2011
Best answer: The first thing I will tell you (that you didn't ask for but you might benefit from) is to talk to the Rehabilitation Services office in your area. Two reasons...1: You are disabled, they may have money for you to pay for school (I got some 15 years ago, before state budgets were trashed but it's worth a shot). 2: You can find out what their job is like. My rehab counselor that was assigned to my case for funding was basically a caseworker and did paperwork stuff. His duties didn't seem very stressful, so part of that will depend on the population you are working with and what the actual job description is.
Most college counseling centers on campuses are for brief intervention therapy, drug/alcohol assessments for students who have judicial issues or signs of addiction (they get referred through several pathways), and education/prevention. The stressful part really depends on the clients you get and how well you can handle the profession overall. It can be very frustrating working with a student who keeps sabotaging their progress, and it can be very stressful working with a student who is in a crisis and has no support system. YMMV each semester depending on caseload.
Helping students choose classes is more along the lines of an "academic advisor". That would be less stressful than helping people with psych issues, but they aren't usually housed in the campus counseling center. Once again, I'd either call some community colleges or other universities in your area and inquire what type of education those positions require. The MS in Education might work....you may also want to see if there is a Higher Ed concentration instead of the Counseling concentration (different programs call it different things, but if you want to work in Higher Ed you will need some student development classes).
Because of the predicted increase in rehab counselors needed and your interest in college counseling, you may want to poke around and see what kind of jobs are out there working with disabled students on a college campus. You would help them set up accommodations in the classroom and around campus, educate others on disabilities and accommodations, and advocate for them when needed. It would involve counseling those students on how best to be successful in college, and you are also a contact for them on campus when they need someone. If they do have a psych crisis that's outside the scope of what you can handle you can always refer them to the counseling center. Search for "disability services" at a University and see what you find.
posted by MultiFaceted at 10:15 AM on August 23, 2011
Most college counseling centers on campuses are for brief intervention therapy, drug/alcohol assessments for students who have judicial issues or signs of addiction (they get referred through several pathways), and education/prevention. The stressful part really depends on the clients you get and how well you can handle the profession overall. It can be very frustrating working with a student who keeps sabotaging their progress, and it can be very stressful working with a student who is in a crisis and has no support system. YMMV each semester depending on caseload.
Helping students choose classes is more along the lines of an "academic advisor". That would be less stressful than helping people with psych issues, but they aren't usually housed in the campus counseling center. Once again, I'd either call some community colleges or other universities in your area and inquire what type of education those positions require. The MS in Education might work....you may also want to see if there is a Higher Ed concentration instead of the Counseling concentration (different programs call it different things, but if you want to work in Higher Ed you will need some student development classes).
Because of the predicted increase in rehab counselors needed and your interest in college counseling, you may want to poke around and see what kind of jobs are out there working with disabled students on a college campus. You would help them set up accommodations in the classroom and around campus, educate others on disabilities and accommodations, and advocate for them when needed. It would involve counseling those students on how best to be successful in college, and you are also a contact for them on campus when they need someone. If they do have a psych crisis that's outside the scope of what you can handle you can always refer them to the counseling center. Search for "disability services" at a University and see what you find.
posted by MultiFaceted at 10:15 AM on August 23, 2011
Best answer: I can't speak to what it's like in gerontology and rehab counseling, but I've been an academic advisor for quite a few years now--switched into it from mental-health counseling for a lot of the same reasons you express (stress, angst), and have found it very rewarding work.
My big concern about it, if you're committed to staying in Calif., is how many jobs there are likely to be in the future. I know that in my own state (WA) all public colleges/universities are under a pretty hard hiring freeze which shows no signs of thawing any time soon, and in general academic administrators tend to see advising and student services as "soft" and easy to cut when times are tight. One website you might want to check from time to time, just to get a sense of what's out there, is the NACADA Position Announcements for your region. Also, this page at the Chronicle of Higher Ed has nationwide listings. Certainly not everything is going to show up on these sites, but it'll give you an idea of what the market is like. For these kinds of positions, a Masters in Ed with a counseling focus should be fine.
One thing to be aware of is that people in this line of work inevitably have to deal with a certain level of stress and hostility -- from students who are flunking out, or can't get into the courses they need, or the major they want, or have lost their financial aid, or are having conflict with their faculty, or or or.... (And of course, the parents of students in all above situations.) Comes with the territory, but it's (generally) nothing like as stressful as social work or mental health counseling.
Were I in your shoes, I might do what MultiFaceted recommends in her/his last paragraph above, and investigate options in providing counseling and support to students with disabilities. There is a *huge* need for professionals with expertise in this area (though, again, it's open to question how many schools will have the money to actually hire such professionals...)
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any follow-up questions about academic advising. Best of luck to you!
posted by Kat Allison at 11:19 AM on August 23, 2011
My big concern about it, if you're committed to staying in Calif., is how many jobs there are likely to be in the future. I know that in my own state (WA) all public colleges/universities are under a pretty hard hiring freeze which shows no signs of thawing any time soon, and in general academic administrators tend to see advising and student services as "soft" and easy to cut when times are tight. One website you might want to check from time to time, just to get a sense of what's out there, is the NACADA Position Announcements for your region. Also, this page at the Chronicle of Higher Ed has nationwide listings. Certainly not everything is going to show up on these sites, but it'll give you an idea of what the market is like. For these kinds of positions, a Masters in Ed with a counseling focus should be fine.
One thing to be aware of is that people in this line of work inevitably have to deal with a certain level of stress and hostility -- from students who are flunking out, or can't get into the courses they need, or the major they want, or have lost their financial aid, or are having conflict with their faculty, or or or.... (And of course, the parents of students in all above situations.) Comes with the territory, but it's (generally) nothing like as stressful as social work or mental health counseling.
Were I in your shoes, I might do what MultiFaceted recommends in her/his last paragraph above, and investigate options in providing counseling and support to students with disabilities. There is a *huge* need for professionals with expertise in this area (though, again, it's open to question how many schools will have the money to actually hire such professionals...)
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any follow-up questions about academic advising. Best of luck to you!
posted by Kat Allison at 11:19 AM on August 23, 2011
Best answer: Let me tell you about the current field of HS/MS/education counselling.
1. To be a high school counsellor, you need a Master's in Counselling (different than an MA in ed or an M.Ed) and a special credential. California has some pretty high standards. Even with an MA/ME.d you'd stlll need a credential to teach English too - you can do both in 2 years, but that also involves student teaching for 6 months to a year.
2. When I started at my current high school, there were five counsellors and a college advisor for 1300 students. The next year there were four and a college advisor. The next year there were three and a college advisor. Now, there are three and no college advisor. There haven't been counselling openings for literally years. The field, like librarian/library sciences, is saturated and wlil be for some time. Some of those people filtered up into CC but...
3. Counselling postions aren't that straightforward or easy to come by in college. If you're set on being a counsellor in a community college, contact them directly to make sure that an MA would be helpful. I had a friend get a job as one with just a BA, and I've heard of other programs where it's more likely an administrative position with little actual counselling.
4. Colleges are set to lose massive amounts of funding in CA due to the budget crisis. I don't see that ending any time soon.
5. Working with people, especially young and/or broken people, is inherently stressful. Our HS counsellors work their asses off, and very rarely get to sit down for more than a minute - there's always more to do and no time.
I'm not saying don't do it - but if that's what you're passionate about, research, research, research. Call all the colleges in your area and check. Don't forget about private colleges - you may not even need another degree. Edjoin.org has lots of education jobs in CA and community colleges use it too.
Good luck - I wish all college/career counsellors had a passion for what they do, as you seem to.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:37 PM on August 23, 2011
1. To be a high school counsellor, you need a Master's in Counselling (different than an MA in ed or an M.Ed) and a special credential. California has some pretty high standards. Even with an MA/ME.d you'd stlll need a credential to teach English too - you can do both in 2 years, but that also involves student teaching for 6 months to a year.
2. When I started at my current high school, there were five counsellors and a college advisor for 1300 students. The next year there were four and a college advisor. The next year there were three and a college advisor. Now, there are three and no college advisor. There haven't been counselling openings for literally years. The field, like librarian/library sciences, is saturated and wlil be for some time. Some of those people filtered up into CC but...
3. Counselling postions aren't that straightforward or easy to come by in college. If you're set on being a counsellor in a community college, contact them directly to make sure that an MA would be helpful. I had a friend get a job as one with just a BA, and I've heard of other programs where it's more likely an administrative position with little actual counselling.
4. Colleges are set to lose massive amounts of funding in CA due to the budget crisis. I don't see that ending any time soon.
5. Working with people, especially young and/or broken people, is inherently stressful. Our HS counsellors work their asses off, and very rarely get to sit down for more than a minute - there's always more to do and no time.
I'm not saying don't do it - but if that's what you're passionate about, research, research, research. Call all the colleges in your area and check. Don't forget about private colleges - you may not even need another degree. Edjoin.org has lots of education jobs in CA and community colleges use it too.
Good luck - I wish all college/career counsellors had a passion for what they do, as you seem to.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:37 PM on August 23, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I'm always amazed by the knowledge and articulateness of MetaFilter participants. I agree with guster4lovers that I need to do plenty of research before I invest a lot of time and energy on a degree. I am especially interested in hearing about the drawbacks, to balance the rosy picture that colleges and trade associations put forward.
As MultiFaceted noticed, I'm more interested in being an academic advisor than a counselor who deals with substance abuse and mental health issues. Unfortunately, funding is a serious concern for any education-related job. For that reason, I am putting the M.A. in Education on the back-burner for the time being.
Although I didn't mention it in my OP, I have heard that my disability might help me to get a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling for free. In fact, that one of my biggest reasons for considering this degree. But even if it's free, I don't want to go through three years of school unless I'm confident I will like the field.
Besides the thread, the best website I've found to get real-world perspectives on these careers is Indeed.com.
In case anyone else stumbles across this thread, here are some of the key points:
posted by aphorist at 4:44 PM on August 26, 2011
As MultiFaceted noticed, I'm more interested in being an academic advisor than a counselor who deals with substance abuse and mental health issues. Unfortunately, funding is a serious concern for any education-related job. For that reason, I am putting the M.A. in Education on the back-burner for the time being.
Although I didn't mention it in my OP, I have heard that my disability might help me to get a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling for free. In fact, that one of my biggest reasons for considering this degree. But even if it's free, I don't want to go through three years of school unless I'm confident I will like the field.
Besides the thread, the best website I've found to get real-world perspectives on these careers is Indeed.com.
In case anyone else stumbles across this thread, here are some of the key points:
- Rehabilitation counseling is the lowest-paid counseling occupation.
- Quite a few people describe rehabilitation counseling as tough and stressful, with high caseloads.
- Some people say that MSW's and RN's are more sought-after and have more options than CRC's (Certified Rehabilitation Counselors).
posted by aphorist at 4:44 PM on August 26, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 9:32 AM on August 23, 2011