Overcoming addiction to drugs or alcohol cannot be done alone. Instead, it takes a talented team of passionate and dedicated doctors, nurses, counselors, and other mental health professionals to work with the patient and make it happen.
Does this sound like a career path you’re interested in? Do you already enjoy helping people, whether volunteering your time or giving in another way? Do you want to turn your love of helping into a career? If so, consider getting an addiction counselor certification.
2017 is just around the corner. Now is the perfect time to start anew, so if you were thinking of switching to another career, you shouldn’t wait to make it happen. Need some convincing? Here are five fantastic reasons to get your addiction counselor certification in 2017 so you can start helping people professionally.
- You get to learn — As you begin earning your substance abuse counselor certifications through the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals or NCC AP, you’ll need to log a lot of hours. It takes thousands and thousands of hours of classroom and working time to get your National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level I or NCAC I, your National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level II or NCAC II, and your Master Addiction Counselor with Co-Occurring Disorders Component or MAC. However, the lessons you learn during that time are invaluable.
- You get to move up educationally — When you enroll to get your NCAC I, you only need a GED at most. However, as you begin moving up through the certifications, the educational requirements change. If you’ve always wanted to go back to school but you’ve been putting it off, you can finally focus on getting another degree while working towards a fantastic career.
- You get to apply your knowledge continuously — Of course, sometimes, you go to all the work and trouble to get a degree, but then, when you start looking for a job, you never get to use the knowledge you’ve learned. That won’t be so when you study and work your way towards becoming a substance abuse counselor. You will consistently call upon the knowledge you’ve obtained to help you earn your next certification. Even once you have the MAC, you’ll still need to remember what you’ve learned through the NCAC I all the way to where you are now.
- You get to help others for a living — If you want to become a substance abuse counselor, you’ve probably always been interested in helping others. To you, it’s just the best feeling in the world. Imagine being able to feel that way every single day, and imagine being paid for it on top of that. Of course, the higher the certification you earn, the more you can help and the more money you can make while doing it. That makes a career in substance abuse counseling quite a viable one.
- You make a difference — Not only do you get to help those struggling with drug or alcohol addiction every day, but you also get to see the difference you make. When these patients begin to learn that there’s more to life than these substances, you know you helped them with that. Once they finally leave the facility, sober and ready to take on the world, you can be proud knowing you had a part in it.
Do you want to obtain your NCAC I, NCAC II, or MAC certifications today? The Association for Addiction Professionals or NAADAC can help you get there. Through its NCC AP certifications, you can enroll and start learning more about becoming a licensed substance abuse counselor. Why wait? With 2017 around the corner, make this career shift your New Year’s resolution.
