A Brief History of Career Counseling in the United States

The author presents the 6 stages in the development of career counseling in the United States. In the 1st stage (1890–1919), placement services were offered for an increasingly urban and industrial society. In the 2nd stage (1920–1939), educational guidance through the elementary and secondary schools became the focal point. The 3rd stage (1940–1959) saw the focus shift to colleges and universities and the training of counselors. The 4th stage (1960–1979) was the boom for counseling and the idea of work having meaning in a person's life came to the forefront; organizational career development began during this period. The 5th stage (1980–1989) saw the beginning of the transition from the industrial age to the information age and the growth of both the independent practice of career counseling and outplacement counseling. The 6th stage (1990—present), with its emphasis on technology and changing demographics, has seen an increased sophistication in the uses of technology, the internationalization of career counseling, the beginnings of multicultural career counseling, and the focus on the school‐to‐job transition.