You lead career development programs and services. As a Career Strategist, you're analyzing labor markets, designing career frameworks, and advising clients on long-term professional planning. The role is more strategic than tactical—you're thinking about career architecture, not just resume tweaks.
Career Technical Counselor pay typically runs $52K–$83K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to grow 4% through 2034.
Career technical counselors often support vocational and technical education programs—helping students in CTE (career and technical education) pathways understand industry options, connect coursework to career outcomes, and navigate credentialing requirements. The work sits at the intersection of academic advising and workforce development.
Understanding specific trades and technical industries is essential. If you're counseling students in healthcare, construction, IT, or manufacturing programs, you need enough industry knowledge to give relevant guidance—knowing which certifications matter, what employers look for, and what realistic career trajectories look like in those fields.
People who thrive tend to have practical, applied orientation and genuinely respect technical career paths. If you can help a student take welding seriously as a profession—understand the income potential, the advancement pathways, and what mastery actually looks like—you're providing something valuable. The work tends to reward people who bridge the gap between the academic world and skilled trades, without looking down at either.
Don't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Don't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Social Services roles →You lead career development programs and services. As a Career Strategist, you're analyzing labor markets, designing career frameworks, and advising clients on long-term professional planning. The role is more strategic than tactical—you're thinking about career architecture, not just resume tweaks.
Median pay for a Career Technical Counselor is about $65K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $44K to $106K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, and Writing.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 3.5% through 2034, with roughly 342,350 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Career Counselor, Placement Coordinator, and Vocational Examiner.
Do one small thing to grow in your career this week. Pick one of these; each comes with the words to use.
More career advice
We believe careers grow through small steps taken often, more than big leaps. So we’ve collected hundreds of them for you to try.
Browse career adviceIt's your career.
Take the wheel.
Don't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.