Social Work
Do you like to help people—to really make a difference in their daily
lives? To work with those with health, income, or emotional troubles? Then
social work might be the field for you.
According to the International Federation of Social Workers, "The
social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human
relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance
well-being. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social
work intervenes at the points where people interact with their
environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental
to social work."
In plain English, social work comprises services aimed at improving the
welfare of the poor, children, and the elderly. High school therapists,
foster care workers, rape crisis center employees, probation officers,
suicide hotline counselors, corporate employee assistance program workers,
substance abuse counselors: All these professions and more are involved in
social work.
What You'll Do
Social work is about helping people, whether by providing goods and
services directly or by working to effect social change. Social workers
provide a voice for the people who need the most help and are the least
heard. They counsel people who are mentally ill and help the poor find jobs
and other social services. They work with children who are struggling in
school or who come from broken homes. They prod lawmakers to fund
rehabilitation programs and to maintain current social programs.
Where They Work
Despite popular perception, not all social workers are employed by the
government to help people on welfare or to relocate abused children. In
fact, fewer than half of all social workers are government employees.
Social workers can be employed by organizations ranging from hospitals,
schools, advocacy nonprofits, and police departments to private
corporations, government agencies, nursing homes, and international aid
organizations. Mental health counselors and those who help patients return
home from the hospital represent two of the largest segments of the
profession.
Who Does Well
Social workers are typically civic-minded individuals with a superb ability
to listen and to empathize with an extremely diverse group of people.
They're also usually tough-minded—people who want to make a difference
must often have the stomach to deal with deeply troubled clients.
In addition, social workers must endure the rigors of formal education and
extensive state licensing requirements. A master's degree in social
work is required for an increasing number of positions. Analytical skills
can help, too, since lawmakers and insurance companies demand studies and
statistics to prove that social programs are working.
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Helping people demands more than a big heart—it requires substantial
amounts of education and field training. States are requiring more and more
degrees and licenses to practice social work.
If you don't have much formal education beyond high school, the field
will offer you few positions. Though agencies sometimes hire untrained
people (especially bilingual ones) as social worker assistants, such jobs
are rare and usually don't pay well. A bachelor's degree from a
university is required for virtually all entry-level jobs. Normally, people
pursuing careers in social work get a bachelor of social work (BSW) degree,
but people with degrees in related fields such as psychology and sociology
may be eligible for some entry-level positions or for admission into
graduate programs.
Increasingly, a master of social work (MSW) degree is a prerequisite for
finding employment in the field. Those who provide therapy and counseling
services, such as psychiatric social workers or clinical social workers,
must have an MSW. Many positions in school social work or agency
administration require a graduate education. Few positions outside of
academia require a doctorate in social work.
Many positions require social work degrees from schools accredited by the
Council on Social Work Education. You can check out the organization's
website at www.cswe.org.
All 50 states now require certain social workers to be licensed at the
state level, but each state has its own policies. Many states require that
social workers employed by government agencies, such as a local
county's child protective services department, be licensed by the
state. Others don't require formal licensing beyond a BSW or MSW.
Most states require licensing for social workers involved with counseling
or therapy, such as clinical social workers. Furthermore, insurance
companies will not reimburse hospitals, agencies, or private practices for
counseling services conducted by unlicensed social workers. For your
state's requirements, contact your state board.
To widen their range of job opportunities, many experienced social workers
obtain additional credentials from organizations such as the Academy of
Certified Social Workers.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social work opportunities are
projected to expand significantly between 2004 and 2014. Why? For one
thing, baby boomers are entering old age, which means they'll need more
social services. In addition, methods of caring for mentally and physically
ill people are changing.
The health care industry will provide many of the new opportunities.
Increasingly, health care organizations operating under strict HMO
reimbursement guidelines are using social workers to help cut costs. The
trend is especially apparent in the field of mental health counseling,
since social workers offer cheaper psychotherapeutic services than do fully
licensed psychiatrists or psychologists. In addition, the desire to move
patients out of hospitals more quickly has increased the demand for social
workers who can help patients find community-based recovery services. And
since home health care is cheaper than nursing homes, demand for home
health care aides is expected to skyrocket.
Schools are also hiring more social workers, especially because of the
trend toward integrating special education students into mainstream
classrooms.
Note that competition for social work jobs is usually much stiffer in urban
areas than rural areas.
One big warning: These jobs often depend on government funding. And these
days, governments from the federal level on down are operating under
extremely tight budgets. As long as that continues, the danger of funding
cuts for social services and layoffs for those in the field persists.
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The day-to-day tasks that make up a social worker's job vary according
to whether a given social worker's employer is a health care provider,
a school, a government, a private social service agency, an agency that
analyzes social policy issues, or some other kind of organization.
Human Services Social Workers
When most people think of social workers, they picture human services
social workers, the professionals hired by government, nonprofit, and
private agencies to work directly with clients (often in their homes) to
help them overcome social and economic obstacles.
Social workers hold a wide range of human services positions. Child welfare
and protective-services social workers find new homes for abused and
neglected children or work with single parents struggling to take care of
their children. Family-services social workers help immigrant families
adjust to their new communities, assist low-income families trying to get
off welfare, or match pregnant women with adoption programs. Criminal
justice social workers help parolees find work or advise families after a
provider has been imprisoned.
Not all human services social workers are caseworkers who work individually
with clients. In an effort to reduce the cost of social services, many
organizations have become more group-oriented. Such organizations hire
social workers to plan and run programs that serve many people at once.
Health Care Social Workers
Hospitals, HMOs, clinics, and private counseling centers hire social
workers to provide counseling services and to help patients cope with their
medical problems (and the causes thereof).
Many physical maladies have behavioral, emotional, or social roots. In such
cases, hospitals hire medical social workers to help individual patients
find resources for dealing with their problems. Drug and alcohol abusers,
for example, may meet with medical social workers who put them in touch
with rehabilitation programs and counseling services.
In addition, medical social workers help chronically ill patients adjust to
life outside of a hospital. They assist patients suffering from diseases
such as AIDS, Alzheimer's, and cancer.
In the field of mental health, many social workers provide direct
counseling services. In both clinics and private practices, clinical and
psychiatric social workers offer psychotherapeutic services, meeting face
to face with patients, listening to their problems, and counseling them.
Such social work is very similar to the work of professional psychologists
or counselors. (But, of course, this kind of work doesn't usually pay
what those professionals make.)
School Social Workers
Students today face daily challenges including drug use, violence, and
sex-related problems. Many schools hire social workers to help students
deal with such issues.
School social workers act much like psychotherapeutic clinical social
workers: They listen to problems and offer advice. Because the problems may
be dire—suicide attempts, heavy drug use—school social workers must be
thoroughly trained in counseling techniques. For students with severe
emotional problems, school social workers may recommend outside psychiatric
services.
In addition to therapeutic services, school social workers connect needy
students with the appropriate government, medical, or community services.
Here their jobs resemble human services work—they determine the cause of a
student's problems and then advise teachers, school administrators, and
parents about the best responses. School social workers look for signs of
child abuse or neglect and may even recommend that victimized children be
removed from their homes and placed with a local government's
child-protection agency.
In addition to dealing with emotional and behavioral problems, school
social workers help students who have learning disabilities. They also work
closely with special education teachers to make sure laws are followed and
paperwork is filed correctly.
Social Work Planners
Many social workers research social problems in order to develop new social
programs and advise policy makers in charge of government services and
welfare policies.
Social work planners, who work for nonprofit community organizations,
research community problems such as prostitution, teen pregnancy, crime
against the elderly, or youth violence. They then devise programs that
educate other social workers, police, and community members. They may also
develop and run community centers designed to help citizens affected by
local strife.
Social work planners may also be hired by lobbyists to study social
problems. For example, social work planners may study the effects of
welfare reform and then help lobbyists suggest how policymakers should
draft welfare-to-work legislation.
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Average ranges for social work positions are as follows:
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Educational, vocational, or school counselor: $25,000 to $75,000
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Mental health counselor: $20,000 to $60,000
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Marriage or family therapist: $20,000 to $70,000
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Child, school, or family social worker $20,000 to $60,000
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Medical or public health social worker: $25,000 to $60,000
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Mental health or substance abuse social worker: $20,000 to $55,000