If you happen to be on the lookout for a career which is centered on helping people, you can try to go for a counseling career. Now, the type of counseling certification you go for all depends on what you choose to focus on. If you want to be the person who aids in the diagnosis and the treatment of substance abusers it is but natural for you to want to become a substance abuse counselor. But before you think this is all there is to making a decision, you have to think about the many pros and cons of getting substance abuse counselor certification. Perhaps it is a good idea to have a look at career opportunities for people with this certification. As it happens, you will not have a hard time looking for a job as a substance abuse counselor because the demand for such jobs is predicted to increase in the coming years. You do not have to worry about spending so much for a substance abuse counselor certification course and not being able to get a job with it anyway. While it is true that you can become a substance abuse counselor with no more than a high school diploma, you will find yourself being passed over for the people who do. You will also like how getting a certificate can lead you to other places in the country because once you get certification you can practice wherever you want in the country. This is a big bonus for those of you who want to build a career as substances abuse counselors in other states. One pre-requisite you need to fulfill to get certification is to go for graduate studies first. However, this should not be an issue not when there are so many online graduate programs available for you to take. You may even find substance abuse counseling programs to enroll in online.
If you like the idea of counseling but you cannot find yourself specializing in substance abusers, you may want to check out other counseling careers. for a lot of people, building a career that specializes in grief counseling is also very fulfilling. You may encounter the occasional substance abuser still but your practice will not focus on them. You may not work with substance abusers but you will still be working in a highly stressful environment.
Before you make any decisions, it would be best for you to check out the details of each job. You can go to that of website of AIHCP because they will have some very important information you will surely wish to see. as long as you are there, you might as well have a look at the certificate courses they have for you. You should also see their requirements for each course and this is something you have to check out so you see if you qualify for the programs.
