Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Provides information and assistance to students and families, including information on student loans and other sources of financial aid. Leads group presentations or provides individual counseling and assistance with the application process; may also solicit and review applications for specific scholarships.
Job Outlook
There were 256 Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 9862 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist industry, which includes the Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $40,156.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $36,534.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $34,333.
Education and Experience
Posted Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 15% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 48% |
| Master's Degree | 14% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0% |
| Other | 23% |
Posted Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 58% |
| 3 to 5 years | 39% |
| 6 to 8 years | 2% |
| 9+ years | 1% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication Skills (52%)
- Detail-Oriented (30%)
- Microsoft Office (29%)
- Microsoft Excel (27%)
- Organizational Skills (26%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Customer Service (32%)
- Financial Aid Experience (27%)
- Financial Aid Eligibility (13%)
- Peoplesoft (8%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Budgeting (18%)
- Packaging (15%)
- Data Entry (14%)
- Accounting (12%)
- Vaccination (11%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Financial Literacy (7%)
- Loan Processing (7%)
- Financial Aid Management (6%)
- Financial Aid Counseling (6%)
- Financial Aid Documentation (5%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Title IV Eligibility (2%) – marginal value $3,043
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Financial Aid Counselor
- Financial Aid Advisor
- Financial Aid Officer
- Financial Aid Specialist
- Financial Aid Assistant
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Financial Aid Director
- Student Affairs Administrator
- Director of Student Affairs
- Admissions Administrator
- Program Coordinator, Higher Education
- Admissions Director
- Administrator, Higher Education
- Enrollment / Admission Counselor
- Registrar
- Associate Dean, Higher Education
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Financial Aid Counselor / Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- University Of California (129)
- Keiser University (106)
- Pennsylvania State University (104)
- Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (98)
- Texas A&M University (81)
North Carolina
- University of North Carolina (37)
- Elon University (12)
- Wake Forest University (10)
- Wake Technical Community College (9)
- Guilford Technical Community College (9)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Leadership in the Public Sector Undergraduate Certificates
- Leadership in the Public Sector Undergraduate Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.