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Salaries for Community
College Counselors
If you are trying to decide between becoming a school counselor in a K-12
setting versus and community college setting it may be beneficial for
you to know the differences in pay between the two. According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics the median income for a K-12 counselor in 2000 was
$42,110. When you contrast this with the community college counselors'
median income of 37,040, you start to see some differences between the
two placements. This is however national information, and in the San Jose
area things tend to be a bit different.
Starting Salaries:
There are three main community college districts in the San Jose area.
These are the DeAnza/Foothill, West Valley/Mission and the San Jose City/Evergreen
community college districts. If an individual with his or her Master's
degree were to become employed at one of these colleges with no experience,
that individual will stand to earn between 45,945 and 50,664 in their
first year. This is with only a Master's degree and no other post-graduate
work. We can see already that these starting salaries are already way
above the national average. Where would you place and how does this compare
with K-12?
Pay Scale Advances:
When an individual begins employment at these institutions and they have
more than the minimum Master's degree requirements, as in additional post-graduate
work and/or experience, they stand to make more money. The more units
post Bachelor's degree you come in with, the higher up in Class you will
go. The more years of experience you come in with the higher Step you
will be. Higher Classes and Steps translate into more money. So for example,
if an individual graduates with an MA and a PPS credential from SJSU and
has interned for a year at a community college, he or she would make between
51,308 and 56,607. This is because the person is coming in at Class 4
(60+ post BA units) and Step 2 (1-year experience). This is where the
average SJSU graduate from Counselor Education would be placed. If we
compare this with Santa Clara Unified School District (a well paying K-12
district) the same individual would make 52,477. Depending on which community
college district one enters, there is a good chance that they will be
able to make more their first year then at a K-12 school district. The
key is to go where you feel most comfortable and to not worry about how
much you will be paid.
Helpful Links:
www.fhda.edu
DeAnza/Foothill Community College District
www.sjeccd.cc.ca.us
San Jose City/Evergreen Community College District
www.wvmccd.cc.ca.us
West Valley/Mission Community College District
www.edjoin.org
Database to find counseling jobs throughout the entire state of California.
www.bls.gov
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The range
of salary of a public school counselor is based on the school district and
the experience of the counselor. The median annual earnings of elementary
and secondary school counselors in 2000 was $46,850.00.
On the Santa Clara County Office of Education
website, all districts are listed with a link to their individual district
websites. On most of these sites, the certified teacher salary schedules
are available. Also explained in the salary information of a district
are the bonus structures, salary step definitions, and class levels.
Example:
In the Santa Clara Unified School District, a Class III step 4 would earn
$48,278.00 annually. A Class III is described as a teacher with a Bachelor's
Degree plus 30 semester units or a B.A. and a completion of a teaching
credential program. A step 4 is equivalent to one who has 3 years of full
time experience. Full time service is a186 work year. Although district
salary structures may seem somewhat complicated, they are explained in
each individual website
The following websites are excellent resources
for career information, salary listings, and structures.
www.K12jobs.com
Provider of job search on a national level.
www.edjoin.org
Education job opportunities information network/provider of job search
in public education.
www.bls.gov
Bureau of Labor Statistics
www.aft.org
American Federation of Teachers
www.sccoe.K12.ca.us
Santa Clara County Office of Education
www.sjusd.K12.ca.us
San Jose Unified School District
www.scu.K12.ca.us
Santa Clara Unified School District
This page provides information regarding
the current salaries of counselors working in hospitals and community
agencies in the Bay Area. This information can be valuable to new students
looking for jobs. It can provide them with clear realistic information
and bargaining tools to negotiate salaries.
The information presented here has been gathered through a search of career
and job web sites and community agency web sites. An overwhelming number
of such sites exist. From those searched, links have been established
to those found most relevant .
Earnings
www.bls.gov/oco/ocos067.htm
The Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Dept of Labor
provides the following data for counselor earnings in the year 2002-2003.
Median annual earnings of substance abuse
and behavioral disorder counselors in 2000 were as follows:
Local Government $31,640
Hospitals 31,600
Health and Allied Services 28,170
Individual and Family Services 27,030
Residential Care 24,930
Median annual earnings of mental health counselors
in 2000 were as follows:
Local Government $34,480
Hospitals 30,900
Health and Allied Services 28,690
Individual and Family Services 28,040
Residential Care 22,920
Median annual earnings of rehabilitation
workers in 2000 were as follows:
State Government $34,470
Hospitals 31,140
Individual and Family Services 23,650
Job training and family services 23,070
Residential Care 20,360
Earnings of Counselors in California
http://swz-vault.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_newsearch.asp
Vault is a career organization which provides median base salary figures
based on national averages and adjusted by geographic salary differentials.
Figures for counselors in California and nationwide for July 2002 are
as follows.
| |
Low |
Median |
High |
| California |
$27,567 |
$31,906 |
$38,414 |
| United States |
$23,950 |
$27,720 |
$33,375 |
COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCIES
These agencies provide a variety of services to children, youth, adults
and families. Counselors and clinicians are hired to work in the following
areas:
Useful Links
Eastfield Ming Quong http://www.emq.org/index.html
Catholic Charities http://ccsj.org/
Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Program
http://claraweb.co.santa-clara.ca.us/probation/dvolist.htm
Santa Clara County Social Services http://www.socialservice.com/web/states/ca/ca_job.htm
Nova http://www.novapic.org/
Job Star http://jobstar.org/
Vault http://vault.com/
America's Job Bank http://www.ajb.dni.us/
http://www.socialworkers.org/naswprn/income2.pdf
http://ccsj.org/
HOSPITALS
Hospitals offer counselors and clinicians employment in several areas
including rehabilitation services, discharge planning, geriatric programs,
pediatric services, substance abuse, mental health services and public
awareness and education programs.
Useful Links
Kaiser Permanente http://www.kaiserpermanentejobs.org/
Lucille Packard Children's Hospital http://www.lpch.org/
Stanford Hospital http://www.stanfordhospital.com/
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center http://www.sccjobs.org/cat4/jobindex.html
El Camino Hospital http://www.elcaminohospital.org/
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