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What is an Academic Advisor?

Navigating through an academic journey at any level can feel exciting but also daunting without support. That鈥檚 where academic advisors rise to the occasion and help students plan their learning pathways toward meeting educational goals.

If you have a passion for guiding and assisting students, an academic advisor career may be a great fit for you. This guide is a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know.

What Does an Academic Advisor Do?

On a daily basis, an academic advisor鈥檚 main priority is creating effective, achievable academic roadmaps for students by assessing interests, selecting courses, ensuring requirements are met and more. They also assist students during their educational journeys with academic progress, time management, transfer credits, degree advising, graduation planning or career preparation.  

It鈥檚 also a highly collaborative role where you鈥檒l lean on other teams to best support the student through available resources. Additionally, the intentionality of academic planning plays a role in student retention and satisfaction. 

Daily tasks might differ slightly based on the environment 鈥� colleges, universities, high schools, career agencies 鈥� in which the advisor works, as well as their specific role. For example, a high school counselor focuses on helping students choose elective courses, select a major or get admitted into a college. Whereas a college advisor focuses on ensuring students meet curricula requirements and creating customized course plans. 

Their pride and joy is to see students reach their potential and meet educational goals.

Skills and Qualities of an Academic Advisor

Academic advising involves wearing many hats that require a certain set of skills to be successful. 

• Communication: Collaborating with colleagues and, most importantly, assisting students, requires you to communicate clearly and effectively. 
• Problem-solving: Students come to you for help and guidance, so you鈥檒l need to have a student-first mindset and a knack for finding impactful solutions for complex challenges. 
• Leadership and coaching: Making decisions about your educational journey can feel intimidating for students, so you must have leadership and academic coaching skills that set students up for success and build their confidence.  
• Empathy: When a student is in distress, showing compassion and empathy allows you to build trusting relationships with them that position you as a mentor and collaborator in their journeys. 
• Academic knowledge: Working with students requires familiarity with the operational components of the environment in which you鈥檙e working 鈥� high school, higher education, etc. 

Academic Advisor Qualifications and Education

Ensuring you have applicable education and qualifications is the starting point for how to become an academic advisor. 

• Bachelor’s degree: Choose a relevant field like education, counseling, social work, psychology or student affairs. 
• Master’s degree: Specialize your knowledge with a program focused on student affairs, counseling, higher education administration or a related field. Note: A graduate degree is not always required, but it鈥檚 sometimes preferred if you want to become a college advisor.) 
• Relevant experience: Spend time in student support services, advising, teaching or related roles in higher education to prepare for an academic advisor role. 

Academic Advisor Salary and Job Outlook

A career in academic advising, especially in colleges and universities, includes great opportunities to advance to leadership positions or even transition to similar higher education jobs. 

You can start as an entry-level academic advisor and progress to a lead advisor, then senior advisor and, ultimately, a director of academic advising. If you are passionate about the field but want to support students in other ways, you can work in areas like student affairs, enrollment or academic success. 

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