A Career Doesn’t Always Mean College

Career planning often assumes college, and many careers do require a degree. However, college is not the right choice for everyone, and counselors must be prepared to assist clients who do not have a degree or do not plan to pursue one. Feliss Goree, MA, NCC, LPC, CRC, shares her experience working with this population.  

What are some reasons college might not be a part of someone’s career path? 

I tell my clients or veterans I’m speaking with that college just isn’t for everyone. Some people get through high school and they’re like, “I’m done with school.” Maybe sitting in a classroom setting just isn’t their thing, or there may be disability-related factors. Of course, there’s a lot of hard work and dedication that goes with higher education. Some people are just not wanting to commit to four-plus years. That’s a long time to commit to additional schooling. Whatever the reasons are, college isn’t for everyone. 

I feel like we are in this climate where “everyone goes to college” is the new standard, like graduating high school previously was, and it almost discourages people that don’t want to go that route. Because “what other options are there?” Even high schools are gravitating toward pushing kids to apply for college and not really, in my opinion, explaining well what other options are out there.   

As you noted, college is often viewed in our society as a career necessity. Is there a stigma around not attending college? 

There’s often an assumption: “Oh, what college did you go to? What degrees do you have?” And I can understand why a lot of people are self-conscious about saying “I don’t have a college degree,” because it’s almost like not having a high school diploma. People put it in that same realm.  

So, I think there are a lot of assumptions or a stigma around not getting a degree. People don’t really realize the other opportunities out there, which sometimes can earn more money than a college degree. There are different trades and other roles that a lot of people tap into that others might not realize are just as great as getting a degree.  

How can a counselor avoid harmful assumptions about clients who do not attend college? 

The main thing is being mindful in looking at the client for what they want to do. Assuming first going to college, you want to do something that requires a degree—that’s a bad assumption. The first thing we need to ask is “What do you want to do?” Whether they have the position in mind, they know the title, or if they just have the task that they would like to complete: “I like working with my hands. I like helping people.”  

My approach is honing in on the client’s interest and how we can make that employable, and then we can start breaking it down from there. I like to start broad and then specify. Instead of saying “What degree do you want to get? What college do you want to go to?” let’s start with “What do you like to do? What are your interests? What are you good at doing?”  

Once you start honing in, then you can see, does this even require a degree? Maybe. And if it does and that’s not something that they’re wanting to do, then how can we kind of shift? What can we do if they don’t want to go to college? If they want to help people, that doesn’t have to be counseling, which of course requires a master’s degree. Helping people could be a store greeter or a receptionist. You don’t need a degree for that. 

I’m a big advocate of, “If you don’t need the degree, don’t get it.” I tell my clients that all the time. As clients come in and see the letters behind our names and the degrees on the wall, they may even be intimidated by that. And I will tell them, straightforwardly, if I didn’t need to get a master’s degree to become a counselor, believe me, I wouldn’t have gotten a master’s degree. These are just the things that come with my career. If you don’t need a degree, what are we talking about it for? Let’s find what’s going to be best for you. 

I think that’s a big thing for all counselors, just being humble about it. We know what we went through to get our master’s, but we know if these requirements weren’t there, we would not have done all these things. Some of us? Sure. But that’s not everyone’s story. And that’s OK. I think if we bring that kind of humbleness to our clients, it relaxes them, and it makes them feel more comfortable moving through the process of meeting their goals.  

College is traditionally associated with a certain age, but nontraditional students are more common than ever. Should counselors encourage older clients to pursue a degree? 

I definitely wouldn’t discourage anyone for any reason, if that is what they want to do. But for me, as a counselor, my job is to help guide. I always tell my clients, “You’re driving this bus. I’m just pointing out the directions.” So, if this is something you really want to do, then let’s go into detail about what that’s going to look like. It’s very important for us to establish attainable goals.  

If I have a 60-year-old client telling me they want to become a professional counselor, I’m not going to discourage it, but we are going to break down what this looks like for them. Is this something that is attainable for them and the goals that they have? We’re going to look at all the goals: 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, 20-year. Let’s really break this down and ensure that the client understands what all comes with this and what the requirements are to ensure that it is an attainable goal. It’s not that they can’t do it, but does this really align with what they’re wanting to do ultimately in their life, in all aspects? Because it’s not going to just affect them. It’s going to affect their loved ones, their current work. It’s going to be a change, so let’s look at the whole picture and ensure that this is an attainable goal for them.  

What are some other ways counselors can support a client who has chosen against, or is unable to attend, college? 

Making an individualized plan is fundamental. I have a background in working in state voc rehab and in federal voc rehab, and it can get redundant; it can get very easy to just kind of copy and paste one-size-fits-all. There may be a culture of “just get them in and out.” Recognizing each client as an individual and their goals individually is going to be important. Just because you’re used to sending all your caseload to college doesn’t mean that is the standard for all your clients.  

It helps maintain rapport with your clients because they know you care. They don’t feel like just someone on your caseload; they don’t just feel like checkboxes while moving through the process of your job. These are people. They do have goals. They have lives. Everyone’s just trying to be employable, to get good careers. They want to retire. They want to make a good living, a good earning for themselves, and a lot of times that’s directly associated with “I need to get a degree.” But that’s not always true, and I think the more that we are informed as counselors, knowing what all is out there—the options that aren’t necessarily degree-oriented—we can help clients see that you don’t necessarily have to get a degree to make a living or to have good quality of life in a great career. 

It’s sometimes easier said than done, especially as a counselor who cares, to let our clients kind of fall sometimes. I have had clients that I can understand and see that college probably isn’t the best route for them, but they want to try. That’s OK. Let’s try. But we’re going to discuss the possible outcomes, the pros and the cons. There’s that attainable goals piece again. We can look at, if everything works fine, this is the route we’re going to take, but let’s also talk about if things don’t go as planned. What are our backup plans? What are some other things you might be interested in? Or what’s another route we can take? 

I’ve had those clients who try college, and it just didn’t work out. But I was there with them, hand in hand every time, and it’s like, “This is what we talked about. It’s OK. I understand that it’s defeating, but we were prepared for this.”   

Feliss Goree, a Houston native, began her academic journey at Trinity Valley Community College before transferring to Stephen F. Austin State University, where she earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and rehabilitation services. She went on to complete a graduate degree in professional counseling with a concentration in clinical rehabilitation counseling, graduating with honors. During her graduate studies, she was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Society and Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International. 

Goree is a National Certified Counselor, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas, and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. She is the founder of Liberated Counseling, a Texas-based private practice where she provides teletherapy to high school-aged individuals and adults. Her professional experience includes working with high-risk clients in a local mental health authority setting and providing vocational rehabilitation counseling to veterans and other individuals with disabilities in both state and federal sectors. 

 **Opinions and thoughts expressed in NBCC Visions Newsletter articles belong to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of NBCC and Affiliates.