Why Did You Get A Masters Degree In Counseling?

Video Transcript

Host Question: Why did you choose to get a master’s in counseling?

Guest Answer: Multiple reasons: I think, first of all, I wanted to know more about what was going on in my own family and kind of make sense to my experience. And then I also wanted a job where I can invest in myself. I mean, what other job do you really get to learn skills that you get to apply to yourself and like better your life? And of course, you know, there’s also the piece of wanting to help other people in their journey of healing.

Guest Answer: So I started my career actually as a teacher, and I was in the classroom for five years and teaching and working with high school students and all of the different challenges that would emerge, develop mentally, academically, socially, in their lives. And I actually had the mom of one of my students that was like, have you ever thought about getting a master’s degree in counseling? And the next year, my assistant principal was like, have you ever thought about getting a master’s degree in counseling? So I feel like it was put into my mind by a couple of people, and during my fourth year of teaching, I started my degree program, actually part time as a post baccalaureate student, and then applied for admission to the program and earned my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

Guest Answer: So I think definitely I was inspired by wanting to help people and always really had an interest in this emerging adolescent’s coming of age population. I got a master’s in counseling because I really wanted to work with children, but I did not want to be a teacher. And I started working with children in various nonprofits and I really enjoyed the guidance perspective of it. And that led me to pursue a master’s in counseling because in most states you do have to have a master’s to become a school counselor.

Guest Answer: I really enjoyed working with children. However, I liked the aspect of working one on one with students, rather than an entire classroom. And I felt like school counseling was the perfect fit to work in a k-12 education setting, but have that opportunity to work a bit closer with students and also helping students reach their potential and also offer support and guidance in their social, emotional and developmental growth.