a wise industry for career changing?

For all the counseling professionals out there, I am wondering how you feel about your occupation, its future, and your future. Are jobs hard to come by? Are you satisfied in your work?

I hold a business degree and have been in the typical office atmosphere. Not too much stress, and honestly pretty boring and predictable. I am very driven to do something that will help others. I do not care for details on company figure's, I care more about details in people's lives. I love people and have a general curiosity about them. I like to learn who people are, what they feel/believe/desire/etc. I also love to share information and useful tips. Naturally, I tend to offer advice on anything I know to family, friends, co-workers, and even people I just met. I become energized by helping people with issues I have dealt with myself in life- from deciding on a college major, weight-loss and food addiction, debt management, and even legal matters (since I have a history that resulted from alchohol).

I have a strong desire to motivate and encourage change that others want in their lives.

I am wondering if perhaps a career in counseling would be for me, or if I should just look for something that has some of these elements but would not require more school beyond my BA such as recruiting/staffing, etc. I am aware that most licensed couseling work requires a masters and more, so it would be a commitment that I want to be sure on.

If I did get into counseling, I think I would be most interested in working with adolescents, juvenile offenders, and other corrections areas.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts, ideas, advice, or just general beliefs from people in this field.

Thank you for any replies! :)

Counseling is a rewarding field, however i struggle with wondering if I took the right path into it.
I'm an LPC in Ohio working in a correctional facility. I graduated with my MA in mental health counseling a year ago from an accredited program. It took me awhile to find a job- and the job itself has pretty low pay (my sister with a BA is a probation officer and makes more than me) and it's more geared towards substance abuse than mental health. I do enjoy it though. A lot of mental health funding has been cut lately- and there's a push in mental health agencies to do fee-for-service or contract work instead of being full-time with benefits. Funding has been steady for corrections though, but it is demanding, there's a lot of burnout, and there's also some role conflict between being a counselor but being an authority figure in that setting.
Social workers get paid more and are a more recognized field. Their mindset and training is different though- and although I've met some excellent SW clinicians I feel I had more counseling training which is frustrating.
I have wondered if i should have gone the psychiatric nurse practictioner route or the social worker route. I might possibly go back for my PhD too. Avoid going into school counseling in Ohio- the jobs are not there!