Camilio Pascual said:
Do we really want to take advice from somebody who ended being a high school counselor?
This is a very condescending -- and cheap -- shot. I have worked with several Counselors (HS, JC, University) and as a class of workers I don't know any other field where you'd find such dedicated and committed people.
Think about it. Teachers complain about Student:Teacher ratios getting over 20:1. How'd YOU like to be a Counselor, with a ratio of over 200:1
of the MOST confused, distressed, upset, directionless, angry, sensitive or disconnected students in the whole school? (Cuz that's who the Counselors get.) And -- not that "funds" are the answer to all counseling problems, but -- they get the most miniscule budget to work with.
Such restrictive work with so many brats. They deserve MEDALS, not scorn.
This is not to say ALL Counselors are Saints. Like in ANY position, from CEO on down, you'll encounter some people who failed their way into the job and spend all their time stumbling from one near success to another "Oops!".
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Think about this, from one of my seminars: (Depending on the source) 75 - 82% of workers don't like their job. 50% of managers are "dead wood." And Managers say 70 - 75% of their employees are inadequate performers.
It is my contention that about half of the above mess is because starry-eyed college kids chase "dollars" over job-compatibility ... or they go into "x" field because they've "always known" they were destined to it ... or because someone they admire is an "x" (but they are a poor match to "x" when you examine their competencies). As Peter Drucker says,
Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong. People know what they are not good at more often — and are still usually more wrong than right.
IMO, about half the Counselors have pretty good career choosing tools at their disposal ... and about half of *them* use them pretty well. If your Counselors don't, it's still YOUR responsibility to go find what you are good at, what "turns your crank" and what will give you career fulfillment. [End of speech.]
- KK