Indonesia faces the challenge of the nation's competition in the globalization era of the 21st century, demanding improved quality and productivity of educated people. Competitiveness can only be realized by an independent nation, a nation capable of implementing policies and development programs by relying on its own strength. Independence of the nation comes from a nation's ability to survive in a changing environment, whether the natural environment, society or the environment between nations without sacrificing identity. Therefore, all the professions are competing to make science and technology as the basis of their profession. Challenges, expectations, promises, and continuous competition as a reality faced by human beings in various settings of life, namely family, school, youth and community organizations, the potential for the emergence of various problems. This condition makes focus, attention and the field of counseling services wider, not only limited to the school environment, but also enter the wider community environment. Counseling as part of the education program in schools, so counseling as a life process has a very strategic role in the effort to help the quality of human life related to personal life, social, learning, career, family, and religious.Future counseling, is a future-looking counseling, counseling that anticipates the future, that is looking far ahead and ready to navigate the future of life so that will still exist in the running profession counseling. The anticipation of far ahead is very important given that in this modern age the changes in economic, social, and political life are happening very quickly. This is due to the rapid development in science and technology. The 21st century professional counselors in running the aid profession must be able to become effective counselors. An effective counselor is a counselor who in performing his duties produces benefits and earns trust for the people he serves. The effectiveness of the counselor in carrying out his profession because it has a convincing accountability with the support of personality ownership, formal education obtained by counselors, and the ability of the counselor is convincing through practice of evidence-based counseling and action research. 21st century professional counselors are counselors who have professional identity identity) counselor is obtained through education in the counseling profession, and has competence in the theory and practice of counseling. Through a process of professional acculturation, students and graduates adopt an identity that supports the philosophy, views, and value of the counseling profession they choose. Therefore the professionalism of the counselor is very important, because it is an absolute requirement in global life of the 21st century. Globalization alters the nature of amateurism's work towards professionalism whose performance is based on the mastery of science, cultural transformation into dynamic culture, creativity, innovation, high productivity, and quality of performance and competitive work.

Keywords: national independence, counseling, counselor, competition, 21st century