Explore career options in counselling
Here you can find information on the types of careers and employment roles a counselling degree may land you.
You can also discover where to look for job vacancies, as well as professional associations, mentoring and international opportunities.
Opportunities
Counsellors assist people to identify and define their emotional issues and better understand themselves by explaining options, setting goals, providing therapy and helping them to take action. Counsellors may perform the following tasks:
- work with clients to find solutions to emotional, mental and lifestyle problems
- act as facilitators in group sessions
- work with other professionals such as medical practitioners, psychologists and social workers as part of a health management team
- act as intermediaries in conflict resolution.
Career fields
- Counselling services
- Children’s services
- Community services
- Telehealth counselling
- Rehabilitation services
- Youth services
- Secondary education settings
- Private practice
- Self-employed
- Mental health services
- Family and child welfare
- Hospitals—public and private
- Disability services and programs
Employment roles
- Child and family counsellor
- Alcohol and drug counsellor
- Relationship and couple counsellor
- Rehabilitation counsellor
- Crisis intervention counsellor
- Gambling help service counsellor
- Youth counsellor
- Mental health counsellor
- Family resource worker
- Student counsellor
- Domestic family violence counsellor
- Sexual assault counsellor
- Counsellor / group facilitator
- Child safety officer
- Prevocational assistance coach
- Case manager
- Behaviour therapist
Occupation snapshot
Employed
34,100
Annual growth
1,100
Weekly earnings
$1,477
Part-time share
40%
This data is based on the occupation profile for counsellors, retrieved from the Government's Jobs and Skills Australia website July 2024.
Your employability
In addition to knowledge and skills directly related to your program of study, you will also develop a range of other skills such as teamwork, analytical, communication through academic study, employment, voluntary work, sporting and recreational activities and life experience.
Recognising the value employers place on these skills is an important factor in your graduate job search. You can further develop your employability with these resources:
Vacancies
Information on relevant vacancies can be found in a wide range of sources:
- CareerHub
- Prosple(formerly Grad Australia)
- GradConnection
- Australian Public Service Jobs
- Brisbane City Council vacancies
- Australian Local Government Directory
- Queensland Government jobs
- Queensland Government Graduate Portal
- Seek
- Qld Council of Social Services jobs
- Council of Social Service of New South Wales (NCOSS) jobs board
Job application resources
Craft a stand-out resume and cover letter, and learn how to prepare for job interviews.
Approach potential employers
Many work opportunities are not advertised, so we recommend approaching potential employers with the aim of researching their needs and how your skills, experience, interests and qualifications could match theirs.
This is called informational interviewing and will benefit you by:
- clarifying your specific career direction
- enhancing your professional network
- increasing your chances of being offered a job.
Industry outlook
The Your Career website includes helpful information such as job descriptions, employment prospects, average weekly earnings and skills requirements. Every job title in the database has a skills section to help you identify and describe essential skills for your future career.
The My Future website also has job descriptions and a useful career insight section.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has up-to-date information on graduate salaries, especially the Graduate Outlook Survey (GOS) National Report, which contains undergraduate salary figures.
More detailed information is available at the Labour Market Insights portal.
Professional associations
Joining a professional association is a great way to interact with people in your field who can assist you to explore your career options and potentially find employment opportunities. These associations hold regular professional development and networking events:
Students are welcome to join and often receive a discount on their membership.
Mentoring
The award-winning Industry Mentoring Program provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your employability and build professional networks.
The program is available to students with more than 80CP as well as recent graduates.
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) and is committed to promoting decent work and economic growth, advancing the principles of responsible and sustainable consumption and production, and advocating for peace, justice, and resilient institutional frameworks.
Further careers information
Careers counselling
Individual career counselling sessions are available to all current students and recent graduates.
You can book an initial appointment via CareerHub.
Career planning
Our website has an array of career planning resources you can explore at any stage of your student journey.
Career Readiness
Check out our Career Readiness site in Learning@Griffith for additional information and resources for your career development learning:
Similar career options
Please note: The content on this webpage is a guide only. Please refer to degree-specific information and accreditation requirements of your profession on the Degree and Course Finder website and with the relevant professional accreditation body for your degree.