My 19 yr old gndson has just started college for mechanics but now has realized he has a gift for counciling. Which is the better road for him to take? My suggestion is to finish out this year with mechanics so he can fix his own car & save money. Then consider a counciling career.
We did the plusses & minuses. Mechanics=dirty, hard work, smell like oil/grease, hot in summer, cold in winter vs counciling=clean, airconditioning, no hard labor but have to deal with problems all day.
It seems the pay is similar but the schooling is longer. What's people's take on this? Which road should he take?

He definitely will need to decide for himself. Obviously, the employment outlook for each career would be a big part of the decision. Some people prefer to work outdoors, others inside. It would depend on the type of counseling, also. There are school counselors, addictions, marriage, etc. He should speak to people in both fields before making a decision like this.

Thank you teacherjenn4, this is what I told him too. He already looked up different levels of councilers & has a lot of time for consideration. Yes he will speak to people in both fields before making his final decision.
His mom has sociapathic tendencies & has pushed everyone out of her life because of it. He is the only one still talking to her at this point & he says all the right things at the right times. It amazes me because he does this without having any book learning on it. He is a gift to our family & I think he will be very good in the Psychology field.

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Originally Posted by pd in full 4 me

thank you teacherjenn4, this is what I told him too. He already looked up different levels of councilers & has a lot of time for consideration. Yes he will speak to ppl in both fields b4 making his final decision.
His mom has sociapathic tendencies & has pushed everyone out of her life because of it. He is the only one still talking to her at this point & he says all the right things at the right times. It amazes me because he does this without having any book learning on it. He is a gift to our family & I think he will be very good in the Psycology field.

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That's great! There is a lot of Math and Science involved in counseling, so from a teacher, make sure he is able to pass these types of courses.

You can get a master of arts in counseling and not have to take a lot of math and science (more humanities courses), and you can get a master of science with a strong background in math and science (stats, testing, human biology/chemistry and drug interactions). Even just a basic education and certificate from a community college for addictions counseling can jumpstart a counseling career.

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Originally Posted by teacherjenn4

That's great! There is a lot of Math and Science involved in counseling, so from a teacher, make sure he is able to pass these types of courses.

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Fortunatly he's very smart & should have been in the gifted program in his school. He was bored to death in regular classes. He doesn't have a strong point as most people do, he excels in everything he does & I'm so jealous of him. His biggest prblm is, as he says,"I don't like people." But I said that might be a good thing because then he won't get too involved in their issues & bring them home with him.

If he doesn't like people, counseling is NOT the career for him.

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Originally Posted by pd in full 4 me

Fortunatly he's very smart & should have been in the gifted program in his school. He was bored to death in regular classes. He dosn't have a strong point as most ppl do, he excells in everything he does & I'm so jealous of him. His biggest prblm is, as he says,"I don't like people." But I said that might be a good thing because then he won't get too involved in their issues & bring them home with him.

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You need to be a people person for counseling!

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Originally Posted by teacherjenn4

You need to be a people person for counseling!

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He doesn't hate people. He's super shy & doesn't know what to do/say around people he's not familiar with. He's the victim of the new generation who lives on the puter but has no social skills. He has a great comedic personality but only those closest to him get to experience it. I hope college will help that get better.

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Originally Posted by pd in full 4 me

He dosn't hate ppl. He's super shy & dosn't know what to do/say around ppl he's not familiar with. He's the victim of the new generation who lives on the puter but has no social skills. He has a great comedic personality but only those closest to him get to experience it. I hope college will help that get better.

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I hope so, because patients will be strangers, at first.

You said earlier, His biggest prblm is, as he says,"I don't like people." And then you mentioned his comedic personality. I'm still leery of encouraging him to be a counselor. Comedy doesn't go over real well with emotionally and physically abused women and children, people with addictions, couples with marital problems, etc.

Has he ever taken an interest/career test or the Myers-Briggs test to find out his personality type?

Thank you Wondergirl for your input. I think he'll know when & when not to interject any humor into the sessions. As I also said he's very smart & with all the schooling he'll get I'm sure he will be able to confine his humor when he's working. He does have a serious side too.
Thanks also for the info about the career test. I will let him know about it. Interesting stuff Wondergirl your info was helpful.

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Originally Posted by teacherjenn4

I hope so, because patients will be strangers, at first.

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Yes I realize that Teacherjenn4 but hopefully with all the schooling he'll get he'll be able to bond with people easier. I spend a lot of time with him & I think he'll be OK with this issue. He's grown a lot in just the past year.

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Originally Posted by pd in full 4 me

Thanks also for the info about the career test. I will let him know about it. Interesting stuff Wondergirl ur info was helpful.

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His high school, college, or an area community college will give him an interest test and the Myers-Briggs for free plus information on how to interpret the results.