Can classical archetypes help students find the right career path?

University counsellors often navigate a labyrinth of student aspirations, anxieties, peer pressure and academic choices. Helping students make meaningful and aligned decisions requires more than standardised aptitude tests or personality quizzes. It calls for a deeper, more intuitive approach that integrates psychological insight with modern educational needs.

During my years as a career and university counsellor, I have developed a counselling methodology and practical tools that draws on my passion for the study of archetypes to support students’ decision-making.

The archetypes: ancient wisdom meets university counselling

Long before modern career counselling, the ancient Greeks spoke of gods and heroes not just as mythological figures but as expressions of fundamental human patterns or archetypes. These archetypes – Athena the strategist, Apollo the rational artist, Hermes the communicator – still echo in the psyches of students today. 

Later, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung brought archetypes into psychological language, defining them as universal symbols and patterns that reside in the collective unconscious. He identified figures such as the Hero, the Sage, the Explorer and the Caregiver as inner guides that shape motivations, behaviour and identities.

For university counsellors, integrating an archetypal framework means engaging students not just on a rational level but at the level of myth, story and personal meaning. It invites students to reflect not only on what they are good at but on who they are becoming.

This approach helped me guide one student towards a career as a midwife, because she perceives herself as having a strong nurturing female energy and identifies with archetypes of growth and change, such as Eileithyia, Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and Demeter, nurturer and mother, often associated with midwifery in the metaphorical sense – supporting growth, harvest and return. 

This methodology also helped me encourage another student towards her dream of working in education, despite the peer pressure she felt because such careers are seen as “uncool” by her friends. 

What began as personal exploration – connecting my profession with my interest in the study of Jungian psychology, Greek mythology and intuition – gradually evolved into a set of tools including visualisation exercises, narrative exploration, intuitive dialogue and a quiz to help my students identify the inner forces guiding their career and study choices (see below).

Intuition: the missing link in guidance

While data-driven tools can offer valuable insights into a student's academic performance or vocational interests, they often fail to capture the deeper undercurrents – emotions, dreams and inner conflicts – that influence decision-making. 

This is where counsellor intuition becomes essential. Not as guesswork, but as cultivated sensitivity to a student’s symbolic language, energy and emerging identity. When combined with archetypal understanding, intuition allows counsellors to ask deeper questions:

• Is this student on a Hero’s journey, seeking challenge and transformation?
• Do they embody the figure of the Caregiver, drawn to healing professions not for prestige or personal advantage but for a sense of purpose?
• Are they a Seeker, more concerned with exploration and growth than security?

These are not abstract ideas – they are living stories that shape how students respond to choices, setbacks and life opportunities.

How to use archetypes in university counselling

1. Narrative exploration

Ask students to describe their favourite myths, stories, movies or characters. Often, the archetypes that resonate most with them will reflect their inner calling.

2. Pattern recognition

Use archetypes to identify patterns in their past decisions, hobbies and emotional highs and lows. A student who has always mediated conflict may be channelling the archetype of the Peacemaker or Hermes.

3. Symbolic career mapping

Map university majors and career paths on to archetypal frameworks. For example, engineering could align with the Builder or Creator archetype, psychology with the Sage or Healer and entrepreneurship with the Explorer or Rebel.

4. Intuitive dialogue

Trust the insights that emerge when a student speaks passionately or hesitantly. The intuitive ear can often detect when a student is choosing a path out of fear or pressure rather than alignment with their deeper self.

Why this works

This approach validates the whole student – not just their grades or test scores but their inner world. It encourages autonomy, self-discovery and a sense of destiny. When students feel seen at this level, they are more likely to choose paths that sustain motivation, well-being and long-term success.

In many ways, university counsellors are the oracles of the modern age: interpreting signs, asking the right questions and guiding young people toward lives of meaning. By drawing from the deep well of archetypal wisdom and trusting our own intuitive insight, we offer students more than guidance – we offer them the tools for self-knowledge.

Let us blend the ancient and the modern, the rational and the intuitive, to become not just advisers but initiators into the life journey each student is meant to take.

Quiz for students: what archetype are you?

What inner force is guiding your academic and career journey?

Choose the statement in each group that resonates most with you. Go with your first instinct – there are no right or wrong answers.
________________________________________
1. What motivates you most?

A. I want to make a real difference in people’s lives
B. I love solving complex problems and figuring things out
C. I crave freedom and exploring new things
D. I want to lead, build and create something meaningful
________________________________________
2. In a group project, you usually:

A. Help others stay calm and make sure everyone’s OK
B. Take the lead and organise the process
C. Come up with unique ideas or challenge the status quo
D. Focus on details and logic to make sure it works
________________________________________
3. What kind of work excites you?

A. Helping, mentoring or healing others
B. Analysing, designing or solving puzzles
C. Innovating, adventuring or starting something new
D. Building systems, leading teams or developing strategies
________________________________________
4. Your ideal future feels:

A. Deeply connected to people and full of purpose
B. Focused on mastery, expertise and wisdom
C. Open, spontaneous and constantly evolving
D. Ambitious, productive, and full of achievement
________________________________________
5. People often describe you as:

A. Compassionate and nurturing
B. Intelligent and insightful
C. Curious and independent
D. Ambitious and driven
________________________________________

Results: meet your archetype

Mostly As: the Caregiver/Healer (Demeter/the Nurturer)

You’re drawn to professions where you can support, heal or uplift others. Psychology, social work, teaching, healthcare or counselling may call you. You value emotional intelligence and meaningful connection.

Mostly Bs: the Sage/Analyst (Athena/the Thinker)

Knowledge is your compass. You enjoy critical thinking and logic, and are probably drawn to fields such as science, research, philosophy, law or engineering. You’re strategic, insightful and always seeking understanding.

Mostly Cs: the Seeker/Rebel (Hermes/the Explorer)

You are a free spirit. You value novelty, autonomy and innovation. Careers in entrepreneurship, media, travel, arts or tech start-ups may align with your nature. You’re not afraid to challenge norms.

Mostly Ds: the Creator/Leader (Apollo/the Visionary)

You’re a builder of ideas and systems. You're likely to be drawn to business, architecture, leadership roles or design. You have a natural sense of direction and enjoy turning ideas into tangible results.
________________________________________

How to use the results

Students can reflect on how their archetype aligns (or conflicts) with their current academic or career path. They can use this insight to guide subject selection, internships or extracurriculars.

Counsellors can combine this with counselling conversations to help students discover why they are drawn to certain paths – not just what they should do.