-: If you're starting out, get into a career center.
Get your counseling.
A lot of people that work in career centers
have counseling degrees as well, too.
Pursue that as well,
because that'll get you in the door
if you want to get into higher education as well, too.
So I would definitely say that,
but I would definitely say that if you want to teach
at the college level, a graduate degree is a must.
So one of the things too is look at
the job descriptions that are out there.
I tell students, when you are thinking about something,
look what's required of the position.
So if you go and look at the job description,
it tells you it requires this degree,
this many years experience, working with students,
doing A, B, or C, or course development,
or content development, different things of that nature,
then begin to build your skills in that area
to build up towards it, so it shouldn't be a surprise.
You should already know what's required of a position
that you have an interest in,
and create your plan of action to get there.
I did a lot of free workshops for organizations.
I mean, I just put myself out there,
did career fairs, you know, volunteered my services.
A lot of different things I did for free,
you know, in the beginning to get my name out there,
and to build my experiences, but I also went to school too.
I thought it was good for me to get a masters in the area.
There's a lot of certificate programs.
I'm a member of the National Career Development Association,
and they have a lot of programs and
continuing education things that you could do through that,
and certifications that you can get.
Go to the national conferences, or the regional conferences.
That's how you get to know people as well, too.
But I would definitely say build your skills,
'cause if you want to be a career counselor,
there's programs out there.
I know the college at New Rochelle
has a program for career counselors.
I actually taught in their graduate program
there for a couple of semesters as well.
So you have to do that research and pursue it.
I think it's great to have that background,
the educational background,
particularly if you want to teach then,
at the college level.
But I think also volunteering.
There's a lot of organizations that you can volunteer with.
One here in New York City that I used to do
some workshops with was Bottomless Closet.
Now if you've heard of Dress For Success,
they're similar to them, where they provide clothes,
interview attire, do workshops for women
coming off of welfare, or different programs like that.
So when you begin to put yourself out there,
people notice you, they may ask you to do different things,
be a part of, and that's how you
can really grown in your field.