Becoming a school counselor in New York (PhD, doctorate, masters degree)

[HYJ123]

Hi, I am currently a masters student in counseling psychology program at a school in NYC

I intend to specialize in school counseling.. but nowdays I am having second thoughts..

First of all, I am hearing from others that it's quite hard to find a school(guidance) counseling job in NY since many schools are closing in these days when there are already only few counselors at each school.

In fact, I saw some postings on this website, that someone couldn't find a school counseling job in Long Island..and he felt that it was complete waste of time and money getting his masters degree in school counseling.

Also, I want to make sure one thing... that getting a certification in NY does not allow me to work as a school counselor in other States. Am I correct?

I am an international student...and I feel like that if this is the case, school counseling degree would be somewhat very limiting.. in terms of getting a job in related field.

Second, I am not interested in becoming a therapist or mental health counselor at all.. so I wouldn't really consider getting a degree in mental health counseling. In fact, I am interested in academic advising, college counseling, and other education related issue. I am also interested in academic motivation.. Therefore, my ultimate goal is to get a Ph.D degree in educational psychology or human development psychology.

Relating to my first question.. let's say I apply and get into some other doctoral programs in educational psychology that is in other states/coutnry. In that case, I wonder if the masters degree in school counseling would be useless outside NY..
It seems like I first get a provisional certificate after I get the degree, and I have to get a permanent certification within 5 years I obtain the provisional certification. And one of the requirement is to work as a school counselor in NY for two years.
So..if I leave NY state and decide to do a ph.d outside of NY, would my school counseling masters degree be useless?

Recently, I have been considering about switching into other programs because of the aforementiond reasons. I am thinking about three different programs.

1. Psychology in Education
2. Developmental Psycholgy
3. Organizational psychology

Among these three, I am wondering if #3 would provide me with the most opportunity in terms of getting any job with a masters degree. I am asking this because I assume that Organizational psychology would provide oppotunity in Human Resource position, and other positions in different company.. whereas #1, 2 wouldn't really provide me with much "job opportunities" without obtaining a doctorate degree in the field.

Although I want to get a ph.d in educational psychology/human development, I also want to have some backup plans in terms of getting job soley with a masters degree..in the case I don't end up getting a ph.d degree.
Initially, I thought of school counseling degree as the back up plan, but now I wonder if it would be much useful...considering its limitation..

Thanks

[barbiee7536]

Please, I beg you DO NOT get a school counseling Masters. It is extremely useless outside of working in a school and you may not get a job for years with the DOE in NY as we are still on a hiring freeze. There are also quite a few teachers with state certification in counseling that have not been able to transition to a counseling job because there are very few positions now a days. All of the big schools are closing and the smaller schools only have a limited budget. They will take a Social Worker over a guidance counselor any day. So here are some solutions: 1. Get a MSW 2. Move forward with a Phd 3. Mental Health Counseling: although you state you don't want to do that this is what private industry or health and hospitals is looking for...not school counseling. If you have Mental Health Counseling you can do 10 times more than you can with a school counseling degree....
Just some thoughts from a school counselor who was a teacher 1st and had to wait 2 years after my degree to find a job in school counseling.