Any careers advisers here?

[ScottishMouse]

Hi fellow Scots. I’m new here and didn’t even know this board existed. Posted the below elsewhere but was advised to post here, hopefully someone can help. Thanks!

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I’m looking for careers advisers or similar in Scotland that might be able to give me some info/advice.

I am interested in the possibility of retraining as a careers adviser. I’d particularly like to work in schools. I’m finding it a little tricky to find out what the route(s) into this are, how the role slots into schools, and what the role looks like.

Is the only route in to do a postgraduate course in career guidance & development? I am in Edinburgh and it looks like Napier offer this.
What are the job prospects coming out of these courses?
Are careers advisers who work in schools employed by the school or by SDS? If SDS, can you choose just to work in schools or would this just be a part of your role? And how does placement in schools work?
If you are a careers adviser, can you tell me a little about how you find the role, what you enjoy about it, and what you maybe don’t enjoy so much about it, and anything else that you wish you knew about it in advance?

Thanks in advance!

I already answered on the other thread, but @weebarra might also chip in

Hi, I've name changed for this but am a careers adviser in Scotland. I'm not going to say anything controversial but don't want my usual user name being linked!

I have worked for SDS for a long time. Originally, people were adult guidance or school advisers (partly because adult guidance was funded differently).

Many advisers will still have a preference, but due to budget cuts and a recruitment freeze, increasingly individuals are having to take on a dual role of school and post school. In practice, this will depend on location, many more adults use the services in cities, while every state school in Scotland has a careers adviser.

The careers landscape will also be changing due to the Careers Review and the Withers review. It is a time of change.
There are many other organisations working to support young people into employment etc and many people who work for them are qualified careers advisers.

Thanks @CASDS, all very interesting to read. I have been surprised reading about the Scottish system that it is not how I imagined, so am eager to hear anything that might be useful to me in deciding if this is the path for me.