Question by Josefine: How do i become a counsellor?
I’m considering studying abroad (The US) I don’t know anything about Bachelor degrees or Master of Arts etc. I’ve read everything i could find but it doesn’t make any sense.

The educational system in Sweden isn’t the same as in the US and i’m currently studying “nursing” on a upper secondary level. I’m not sure what the equivalent of gymnasium is in America. But i do know that the most correct comparison to gymnasium is High School, only it’s a vocational education.

I would like to study at college or a university for an uncertain amount of time, but i don’t know how long i have to study and how to go about it. Do i need some sort of degree and if so, what or which?

Is it possible to get the degree i need in 2-4 years and at one location and study-period?

Best answer:

Answer by Ericka
Sorry but I don’t understand your educational system at all.

In the united states, we have high school which is sometimes called “secondary education”, which most teenagers complete.

Then you have Undergraduate 4 year programs that offer a B.S. (Bachelors of Science) or B.A. (Bachelors of Arts) or sometimes other degrees but those two are the main ones. You can get a B.S. or B.A. in anything-Psychology, Ecology, Biology, Environmental Studies, Communications, English, Creative Writing, Fine Arts, Photography, etc. If you want to become a counselor, it is best to major in Psychology for your undergraduate degree.

Then after you complete your Bachelors degree (above), you can go onto a Masters program. Masters degrees come in anything as well, but you must have a Bachelors degree to get into a Masters program. Masters degree programs are generally 2-years. You can get a Masters degree in Counseling/Psychology and get a licensee to practice in the state that you live in. (you need a separate license for every state in the united states). If you get your degree in California, for example, you have to get licensed there, and if you want to move to New York, you’ll have to get licensed over there again. Each state has their own requirements for what a counselor should know. However, for the rest of the masters degrees besides counseling, you don’t need a license in every state you want to live in. It’s only counseling. The proper term for someone who has an MA in this would probably be “therapist”.

After masters degrees, you may want to get a PhD. PhD programs can take anywhere from 4-9 years. With a PhD, you can teach at a college or university. You can also get a PsyD in Psychology instead of the PhD, but these tend to be more expensive because you don’t get government stipend funding to pay like you can with many PhD programs. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology, Counseling or School Psychology, you can be a lisecned Psychologist. This pays the most, and you can work virtually anywhere, since being a Psychologist is at the top of the “counseling” totem poll. Note that PhDs in Psychology are MORE DIFFICULT to get into than MEDICAL SCHOOL. It is very competitive and the PhD is heavily research based, so brace yourself for statistics and studies all the time.

My brother’s bosses’ wife was from Sweden, and she had an Undergraduate B.A. from Sweden, but unfortunately, it didn’t “count” here in the United States, which was really sad. So she was going back to school here in the United States to get a B.A. undergraduate degree here, but she got sick of the United States and moved back to Sweden.

If you are going to complete a whole degree here, it is best for you to plan on living here permanently or contact the university to see how it works.

If you just want to study abroad for 1 semester, then you could do that, and I’m sure the units might transfer over. Ask your current college and ask the college’s in the united states.

Too bad all degrees weren’t universal.

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