Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 21-1012

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

O*NET task statements lead this Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Social Workers, All Other, Social and Human Service Assistants, Directors, Religious Activities and Education, Healthcare Social Workers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors: Social Workers, All Other ($72K) , Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K) , Directors, Religious Activities and Education ($52K) , Healthcare Social Workers ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-1012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations
  2. 2. Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment…
  3. 3. Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools
  4. 4. Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational o…
  5. 5. Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation
  6. 6. Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental hea…
  7. 7. Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challengin…
  8. 8. Refer students to outside counseling services
  9. 9. Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss children's progress, resolve behavioral, a…
  10. 10. Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments
  11. 11. Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or profession…
  12. 12. Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorti…

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-1012 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.4 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.4
  2. 2. Speaking 4.1
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 4.1
  4. 4. Service Orientation 4.0
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  6. 6. Writing 3.9
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.9
  8. 8. Active Learning 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.1
  2. 2. English Language 3.9
  3. 3. Therapy and Counseling 3.6
  4. 4. Education and Training 3.4
  5. 5. Psychology 3.1
  6. 6. Administrative 3.1
National median after O*NET task lead
$64,330
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations
$64K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
31,000
Annual openings
353,310
Estimated US jobs
Social Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $72K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

1. District of Columbia $80,470
2. Rhode Island $75,000
3. Delaware $74,070
4. California $86,500
5. Washington $82,670
6. New Jersey $77,910
7. New Mexico $77,880
8. Maryland $75,820
9. Massachusetts $79,930
10. Alaska $82,900

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Directors, Religious Activities and Education $52,100
  2. 2. Social and Human Service Assistants $45,930
  3. 3. Healthcare Social Workers $67,880
  4. 4. Social Workers, All Other $71,900
  5. 5. Community Health Workers $51,850
  6. 6. Counselors, All Other $50,860

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors (SOC 21-1012). The national OEWS median is $64,330 inside Community and Social Service Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Social Workers, All Other, Social and Human Service Assistants, Directors, Religious Activities and Education, Healthcare Social Workers. Lead published task: Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 31,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Master's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $80,470. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Social Workers, All Other at $71,900. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors pay-rank #5 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Among 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with a published OEWS median, Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is pay-rank #5, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 21-1012 · national median $64,330 · upper third of Community and Social Service Occupations (#5/17). The day-to-day tasks above set this role apart from peers with a similar title.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-1012

District of Columbia · top state for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

$80K published median

Rhode Island · #2 state pay

$75K · behind District of Columbia

Social Workers, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors · $72K

Social and Human Service Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors · $46K

Compare Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Community and Social Service Occupations titles sit near Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors at the top of the pay table? ▼
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is pay-rank #5 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Health Education Specialists ($64K), Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66K), Marriage and Family Therapists ($67K), Healthcare Social Workers ($68K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. Leading ones include: Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations; Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment…; Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools; Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational o…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors? ▼
For SOC 21-1012, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.4), Speaking (4.1), Social Perceptiveness (4.1), Service Orientation (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Therapy and Counseling. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $64,330 as the national median for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. The published 10th-90th range is $45,020 to $104,770. Beside Social Workers, All Other ($71,900), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 31,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors? ▼
District of Columbia ($80,470), Rhode Island ($75,000), Delaware ($74,070) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-1012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics