How to Become a Mentor: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Job Profile, Salary, Scope

What Does a Mentor Do?

A Mentor listens to the students and helps them to overcome their problems. They generally listen to the problem, plan them and then execute it. Following are the roles of a Mentor:

Academic Performance of Students

The most important role of a Mentor is to improve the performance of the students academically. They do so by having counselling sessions with students, preparing detailed study plans, trying to make topics and subjects interesting, making small individual goals and personalizing the topics and subjects.

The counsellor sometimes takes sessions with teachers advising them what are the best practices for teaching different types of students.

Social and Personal Development 

Apart from academic growth, Mentor also looks into students’ social and personal development.

The counsellor tries to create a secure and healthy environment for students in school and give a helping hand when they are facing any social or personal issue with proper guidance.

Career Development 

Historically, Mentor was seen guiding a student to choosing the right path of career. They help the student to choose the subject, course or colleges which suits them and their personality.

Bridging Gap between Students and School Environment

The counsellor acts as a mediator between the students and school authorities.

They do so by having clear communication, looking towards both parties' needs, suggesting a correct and fair solution to any problem and creating a school environment more safe, secure and healthy.

Steps On How To Become A Mentor 

Anyone who wishes to make a career as a Mentor in future, must take decisions in time to build and grow their career in this field. The various steps that can be followed to become a Mentor are as follows:

Resoluteness 

A student can decide to become a Mentor from as soon as in school or after completing a bachelor’s degree. A student should do research about the role and duties of a Mentor before pursuing it as the job of counsellor is challenging and overwhelming.

To be a Mentor in India, a student needs a master’s degree and postgraduate diploma in psychology and guidance and counselling respectively.

Opting An Appropriate Subject

For being a counsellor, Psychology is the most important subject as it teaches you what is human behavior in different situations, it also builds the skills such as empathy, listening, communication, observing which are important for counselling.

Entrance Preparation

Most of the colleges select students on the merit-basis of 10+2 or bachelor degree scores.

However, some colleges do select students on the basis of entrance exams such as Delhi university conducts DUET and Tata Institute of Social Sciences conducts TISSNET.

Shortlisting the Finest Colleges 

Selecting a college to pursue bachelor, master or diploma degree is most important. A student should check the faculty, campus, internship programs and tech before choosing the college.

The students should also check the selection basis of the college so that they can prepare accordingly.

Post-Qualifying Exam

After qualifying the master’s degree and diploma in counselling and guidance, the student is now certified to be counsellor in any school and pursue its career.

Mentor is a new and emerging industry in India, so it's not mandatory to get a license from Rehabilitation Council of India but in near future it could be mandatory by the government of India.

Types of Mentor

The following mentioned are the types of Mentor:

Middle Mentor 

A Middle Mentor caters to the student from class 6th to 9th. They specialize in counselling, development, and academic growth of the students of the age group between 10 to 15 years.

They are an integral part of the school and do not work in isolation. They closely work with teachers, staff and parents for children's overall growth.

High Mentor

A High Mentor specialize in counselling of age group from 16 to 18 years. They focus on students' career choice, social issues, and career paths.

They guide the students in choosing their career, helping to cope with issues such as anxiety, bullying, unemployment and other social and academic development issues.

Mentor for Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities will face issue in school such as stereotypical thinking, non acceptance, bullying, discrimination. A Mentor job is to be a counsellor and be a helping hand for such students and help them grow and develop at their own phase.

They also organize workshops for teachers and parents and for students to help the students. They also help parents and students to know their rights and opportunities provided by the government.

How to Become a Mentor in India? 

• To be a Mentor, the candidate has to have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology or in related fields such as Human Resource Development, special education or education.
• After completing the bachelor's degree, candidates need to pursue Master’s in Psychology or Master’s in Psychology Counselling.
• After completing the master’s degree, candidates need to pursue 1 year full-time or distance Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling to be practicing as a Counsellor in India.

School Level Preparation

School guidance counselling is a dynamic and overwhelming job, so it's better that a student understands the job, responsibility and duties of a Mentor before diving into the world of counselling and psychology.

• Students can take Psychology as a subject in class 11th with the core subjects to get an idea what psychology and counselling is all about and do they see themselves to fit in the job role in future.
• A student from any stream can pursue to be counsellor but to have research and knowledge from school level will help them in future.

How to Become a Mentor After 12th?

After completing class 12th, students can pursue a Bachelor's degree in Psychology or in related fields.

However, BA or BSc in Psychology is preferred by most of the private and government institutes that offer the course.

UG Preparation

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology or in related fields such as education, special education, human resource development.
• The program is usually 3-year long where the candidate gets introduced to psychology thoughts, psychology, human difference, social psychology, behavior psychology,development and organizational psychology also.
• The eligibility for these courses is a minimum aggregate of 50% marks in 10+2 for most of the colleges.
• For Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology, the selection of the students are mainly on the basis of merit that is a cutoff declared by institutes but some universities conduct entrance exams such as Delhi University, Manipal University.
• For Bachelor of Science in Psychology the popular entrance exams are NEET, LPU NEST, AP EAMCET, NMIMS NPAT, UPSEE.

PG Preparation 

• A student cannot be a certified Mentor just after completing the bachelor’s degree. It is mandatory by the government of India to have a Master’s in Psychology or Master Psychology specialized in Counselling.
• The candidate can pursue a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Psychology. The program is 2 years long and most of the colleges select the students on the basis of merit.
• The eligibility of the course is a minimum of 50% marks in bachelor's degree in related fields such as education, special education and social work.
• The candidate can also pursue a Master’s of Science (M.Sc.) in Psychology.
• The program is 2 years long and most of the colleges select the students on the basis of merit, however some colleges do conduct entrance exams.
• The eligibility of the course is a minimum of 50% marks in bachelor's in related fields such as education, special education,social work.

Postgraduate Diploma Preparation

• After completing the Master 's degree in Psychology, the candidate has to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counseling of 1-year to be specialized as a Mentor.
• The government institutes of India only recruits candidates as a Counsellor who have a PG Diploma degree.
• However, some private institutes may hire individuals with only a Master’s degree in Psychology with counselling as a specialization as well.

Courses to Become a Mentor in India 

Following are the list of courses that a student can pursue in India to be a certified Mentor:

BA in Psychology

Candidates who are looking forward to becoming a Mentor in future, can opt for BA Psychology as their major’s degree in graduation years.

This is an undergraduate degree course that is 3 years long where a student is introduced to psychology, human behavior, mental health, and different areas of psychology.

The course also develops skills such as communication, listening, empathy, self-awareness, being non-judgmental and much more which are important for a counsellor.

Admission Process

• The admission is mainly done on the basis of merit, that is the cutoff declared by the colleges.
• After application, the colleges announce the merit list, if the candidate is selected, they are called for a counselling session where they are alloted seats.
• Not all universities consider admissions on merit-basis, some universities like BHU, conduct their entrances for selecting the meritorious students on the basis of marks scored in the entrance.

Eligibility Criteria 

• The candidates should have passed 10+2
• The minimum percentage in 10+2 should be 50%
• A relaxation of 5% in minimum score requirement is given to reservation categories such as SC/ST, that is, 45%

MA in Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Psychology is a 2-year postgraduate program where a student learns the Psychology subject at a deeper level. To become a Mentor in future, MA in Psychology is considered as the best and appropriate course to pursue for this profession after graduating.

The students learn about clinical psychology, health psychology, industrial psychology and social psychology. They also understand psychometry, neuropsychology, and paradigms.

The top colleges offering the course are Hindu College, Delhi University, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, Fergusson College etc.

Admission Process 

1. The admission procedure in M.A. Psychology varies from one institute to another.
2. In most of the universities, admission is purely done on merit while some conduct their entrances and Personal Interviews (PI Round).

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate should have graduated from a recognized college
• Minimum percentage in graduation should be 50%
• Some colleges prefer students with graduation in psychology

Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling 

Post Graduate Diploma course in Guidance and Counselling is a 1-year program where a student specialize in counselling specially in school counselling.

The student learns a different approach of counselling, how to counsel different age groups of children from nursery to college.

The top colleges/universities offering this course are: Jamia Millia Islamia, University of Lucknow, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Admission Process 

1. The admission procedure in PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling course varies from one institute to another.
2. In most of the universities, admission is purely done on merit while some conduct their entrances and Personal Interviews (PI Round).

Eligibility Criteria 

• The candidate should have graduated from a recognized college in Psychology or related field.
• Minimum percentage in graduation should be 55%, 5% relaxation for reserved category students.

How to Become A Mentor Abroad

Although being a Mentor in India is a very responsible job, some students prefer to pursue courses from abroad in order to become a Mentor. If one wishes to pursue a career as a Counsellor outside of India, the admission and employment processes are nearly identical.

Many students apply for the course in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

How to Become A Mentor in the UK 

To become a Mentor in the United Kingdom, candidates are advised to go through the details regarding the educational requirements, top colleges and universities that offer the course and the program fee mentioned below.

Educational Requirements 

To become a Mentor in the UK, candidates are advised to carefully go through the points mentioned below regarding the educational requirements that one must meet while pursuing Counselling studies, that will help them in training as well as education.

• Introduction to Listening Skills

This is the introduction level for being a counsellor where a student develops the most important skill of counselling that is, listening skill. The training is a total of 10 weeks,1 day every week of 3 hours.

• Introduction to Counselling Skills

At the second level, students start learning about counselling theories and approach to counselling.

At this level, students also learn skills such as self-awareness, moral values, empathy, reflection and paraphrasing. The training is a total of 10 weeks,1 day every week of 3 hours.

• Diploma /degree in counselling:

This is the last stage of being a Mentor. At this level, the student chooses the diploma/degree they want to pursue and master in. The degree can be in BA in Psychology, Diploma in Psychology, MA in Educational and Psychology Child.

The classroom hours would be around 100 to 200 hours, 1 day, every week for 2 to 3 years depending upon the course.

Other than the classroom hours, most of the courses give placement of minimum 100 client hours where the candidate has to deal with real life clients, 1.5 hours of supervision from supervisor where supervisor guides the candidate for client session.

The students are also required to go for personal therapy for 20 hours in a year.

Top School Counselling Colleges in the UK

To become a Mentor in the United Kingdom, a few top universities that offer the course, along with the course fee are tabulated below:

How to Become A Mentor in the USA 

To become a Mentor in the United States of America, candidates are advised to go through the details regarding the educational requirements, top colleges and universities that offer the course and the program fee mentioned below.

Educational Requirements 

To become a Mentor in the USA, candidates are advised to carefully go through the points mentioned below regarding the educational requirements that one must meet while pursuing Counselling studies, that will help them in training as well as education.

• Graduation Degree

The first step for being a Mentor is to have a bachelor degree. The bachelor's can be any field but some institutes prefer students with Bachelor's in Psychology, counselling or related fields.

• Master’s Degree in School Counselling

After completing graduation, the candidate has to pursue a Master’s degree in Psychology or school counselling or a related field. The program includes practical training as well as internship.

In practical training, the student interacts with the clients or students and understands the procedure once a week, but in internship the candidate is deployed In school and given a few sessions under supervision.

• National Counsellor Examination

After completing a master’s degree a candidate is a licensed Associate Counsellor. To be Lieutenant Professional Counsellor, the candidate has to appear for the National Counsellor Examination.

After completing master degree and the examination, the students are now licensed to be Mentors.

Top School Counselling Colleges in the USA

To become a Mentor in the United States of America, a few top universities that offer the course, along with the course fee are tabulated below:

How to Become A Mentor in Canada

To become a Mentor in Canada, candidates are advised to go through the details regarding the educational requirements, top colleges and universities that offer the course and the program fee mentioned below.

Educational Requirements 

• Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in Counselling, career development, education or social sciences.
• Master's degree in Counselling Psychology or a related field such as educational psychology.
• The candidate must score above 6.5 in IELTS, 88 in TOEFL, 70 in CAEL, and 65 in PTE for admission to Counselling courses in Canada.

Top School Counselling Colleges in Canada

To become a Mentor in Canada, a few top universities that offer the course, along with the course fee are tabulated below:

How to Become A Mentor in Australia 

To become a Mentor in Australia, candidates are advised to go through the details regarding the educational requirements, top colleges and universities that offer the course and the program fee mentioned below.

Educational Requirements

To become a Mentor in Australia, candidates are advised to carefully go through the points mentioned below regarding the educational requirements that one must meet while pursuing Counselling studies.

• Pursue Bachelor's degree in Psychology or related fields.
• After completing bachelors degree the student can pursue master in counselling or a diploma in counselling for specialization.
• After completing a Master's degree in Psychology or diploma the candidate has to register themselves in the state teaching board.
• The candidate also has to register to ACA OR PACFA.

Top School Counselling Colleges in Australia

To become a Mentor in Australia, a few top universities that offer the course, along with the course fee are tabulated below:

Benefits of Career as A Mentor 

• Salary: Mentor is a growing profession in India and thus, the salary for the counsellor is pretty high and the world will be more incoming in the future. A fresher Mentor would earn up to INR 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 and an experienced counsellor can go as high as INR 6,00,000 to 8,00,000 per annum.
• Job Security: A profession like Mentor will never die in a society. As the society is becoming more and more self centric, judgmental, competitive, superficial and malicious, we need counsellors in school to take proactive steps at the ground level. Over 93% of schools do not have Mentor and India needs around 15,00,000 more Mentors for millions of students in India.
• Higher Studies: A Mentor can study PhD in school counselling after completing master and diploma. A Mentor can be specialized in different types of counselling such as: special education, child counselling, substance abuse counselling, career counselling, mental health counselling etc.

Skills Required to Become A Mentor

To get placed in the top institutes as a Mentor, demands high skills that the candidate willing to work as a Counsellor must have.

Below tabulated are the skills required to become A Mentor.

Salary of A Mentor in India

School Counselling is indeed a high-paying job depending upon one’s skills, experience and the organization they are working in. The salary of the Mentors is divided into some categories below:

Sector-wise 

The average salary per annum offered to Mentors based on the sectors they are working in, are tabulated below:

Experience-wise

The average salary per annum offered to Mentors based on their work experience in the field, are tabulated below: