How to Become a Social Worker in 2020
The profession of social work can best be described as the “helper profession.” There are such a wide range of jobs that social workers are qualified to do, so it is best to say that social workers serve and care for individuals and communities. The field is known for its outreach role and for meeting people where they are to provide assistance in times of stress, to alleviate crisis situations, to counsel, and to link people to needed resources.
Furthermore, social workers intervene on a “macro,” or community level to develop helping programs or agencies, or to collaborate with community leaders on policy making. Social workers can aid societies in addressing chronic problems to improve the community’s overall functioning and thereby enhance citizens’ quality of life.
You might enjoy social work if you love working with people and are very compassionate toward the needs of others. It is the perfect field if a desk job isn’t right for you and you are satisfied by having a meaningful career that isn’t always the most lucrative.
A social work career could also be a good idea if you know you like to help others, but aren’t sure exactly what specific job you would like, or if you are a little restless and might like to experience a different type of job setting every few years.
Social workers work with all populations and age groups, and are employed to assist with these problems: mental illness, physical illness, addictions, aging, poverty, stress, or disabilities. They work in a variety of settings, such as schools, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, hospice programs, mental health agencies, child welfare and public social service agencies.
Social Work Education and Licensing
Professional social workers have a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree in social work from an accredited university, as well as a license to practice. The most job opportunities are available for master’s level social workers (MSW). The MSW degree includes the following types of courses: human behavior, practice, ethics, statistics, macro practice, psychopathology, group therapy and areas of specialty like gerontology and addictions. There are also required internships that provide experience and insight into types of jobs in the field.
Social workers are licensed by state and unfortunately there is not an option to get nationally certified. The types of licenses and requirements to obtain licenses vary by state. The licensing process will most likely require an exam, a background check, client contact hours, a certain amount of years of experience, supervision hours, and fees. It is common for there to be several levels of licensing, such as a Certified Social Worker (CSW) which bachelor’s level social workers are eligible to receive.
The LSW is the master’s level license which you can apply for after receiving the graduate degree. The clinical license (LCSW) typically requires two years of full-time work with clients under supervision after receiving the LSW. Once you have gotten the clinical license you are permitted to work in private practice to provide psychotherapy services. The LSW and LCSW exams are nationally recognized, so you will not have to take different exams to become licensed in additional states.
How to Become a Special Education Social Worker
A special education social worker is a professional who works within the school system to provide social services to special needs students. As part of their daily work, they discuss the educational and social needs of these students with both teachers and parents, helping to develop individual educational plans to better fit the unique needs of each student.
The primary goal is to foster an educational environment where vital social, educational, and communication skills can be learned by these students, thus improving the likelihood that they can one day become functioning members of society.
The minimum education requirement for this position is a bachelor’s degree in social work. Many school systems, however, require that these professionals have master’s degrees, as well as a state license. Occasionally, a year-long internship in special education social work is required in order for the person to get a full-time job.
Professional licenses are issued either through a state’s department of education or the board of social workers. Obtaining such a license usually requires that candidates meet certain requirements as well as pass examinations administered through the board.
The social worker is essentially a liaison between the parents and teachers. They help parents understand the services available for their children, and then work with the teachers to develop strategies and ideas for both educational and behavioral management.
They also work one-on-one with the special needs students, providing them with the community resources available which may be required for them to receive the help needed. Examples include helping students obtain treatment for mental health problems and drug abuse.
Such a work schedule is generally hectic and requires that these social workers spend hours each day juggling multiple cases simultaneously. They must be adept at conflict resolution, assessing potential mental, emotional, and learning problems, as well as developing realistic goals for the children whom they’re tasked with helping.
In 2018, the BLS averages salary of a social worker at $49,470 per year and the growth is predicted to increase by 19% within the next ten years. Overall, there is an increased demand for such work, particularly in specialties that relate to helping children and the elderly. So special education social workers are poised to benefit from the increased demand in years to come.
Most Popular Social Work Careers
According the NASW* (National Association of Social Workers), the career of a social worker is one that allows for caring about people, helping to make things better, alleviation of suffering and making a difference. The field of social work contains its own knowledge standards, code of ethics, standard practices and credentials.
There are a variety of careers to be found within the social work community and the most popular social work careers can have a wide spectrum of varying education requirements as well as salaries.
The following lists the top ten most popular social work careers. There are listed in no particular order:
Hospice Worker
Hospice staff provides support to patients and families of patients suffering from terminal illnesses. They may also provide grief counseling to the remaining family members once the patient is deceased.
Nursing Home Director
This is an administrative position that oversees nursing home staff and may coordinate the overall operation of nursing home functions.
Therapist
Therapists may work in a variety of settings such as outpatient clinics to private home practices. They may provide counseling to individuals, families or a variety of groups.
Charity Administrators
Many non-profit organizations employ social workers for coordination of volunteers and general employment. Social workers are usually educated in the knowledge standards that may be required for start-up and operation of many charitable organizations such as food bank, homeless shelters, and abused women’s shelters.
Child Protective Services
Social workers may be found at all levels of child protective service organizations. The premier job for social workers may be providing parental education and counseling as well as interacting with the children.
Hospital Staff
Social workers may be found on hospital staffs to assist patients with discharge planning. They may also provide group and individual therapy sessions.
Psychiatric Crisis
Social workers may be used to assess patients who may require psychiatric services.
Education
Colleges and universities hire social workers to establish and teach in social work departments and social worker assistant programs. Degree programs vary from professional certificates, associates, bachelors, masters and Ph. D.
School Social Worker
School social workers may provide individual and group counseling to students as members of the school in-house staff. They may also serve as liaisons between students, parents and teachers.
Prison Social Worker
Prison social workers assess inmates for psychiatric needs and may provide some of the psych services. They may also assist inmates with integration back into society upon their release.
*For more information, please visit:
http://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/the-five-most-popular-social-work-careers/
http://www.collegecrunch.org/jobs/10-jobs-a-masters-of-social-work-degre…
http://athenstech.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2013-2014/Catalog/Business-and-P…
Community Social Worker
At one point or another you may have heard the term “social worker” but did you know that there are different types of social worker professions? A community social worker is one of them. But what does a community social worker do exactly?
Social workers tend to work within the communities and families of those that are trying to cope with problems and difficulties in their everyday life. They may treat people with behavioral, mental and emotional problems. A clinical social worker will treat and diagnose mental health issues but a community social worker would not usually have to deal so diligently with the treatment and diagnostic process of mental health.
Community social workers will have to deal with the general public where family issues have been raised and are causing concern. The community social worker will deal with children as well as adults.
Although, they may have an office center for their administration work to be completed, a social worker in the community will be carrying out much of their work in the field. This means visiting peoples’ homes, schools, hospitals, and health clinics.
The median pay for a social worker was about $44,200 in May 2018. Moreover, from 2018 to 2028 the employment demand in this sector is continuing to grow by 19% which is faster than average. Therefore, the demand for healthcare and social services may grow in our communities quite quickly.
A community social worker will certainly have their work cut out as everyday will bring a fresh new challenge, some of which can be demanding. However, it is considered a very well paid role but to become a successful community social worker you should consider getting a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) for starters.
Some community social workers that work at senior positions within the system also have a bachelor’s degree in sociology or psychology.
If you prefer obtaining a master’s degree in social work (MSW), you could do so without having to receive a bachelor’s degree first. You may begin pursuing the degree course as soon as you leave high school and go into university.
The master’s degree is usually a program undertaken by clinical social workers and most community social workers may not need this degree to gain employment in this role.
Bachelors in Social Work
To earn a bachelor’s degree in social work, students must look at coursework that includes 125 hours work emphasizing on part theory and part academic. There are also weeks of practice work to be carried out and a skills induction and ongoing module that would usually take a full year, working in a full time capacity.
All Bachelor of Social Work Degree students must start off in a pre-social work major. The pre-social work major will take up to 3 years of coursework to complete but many students work this through full-time and include the summer break to get ahead and complete the course with two years.
Once the pre-social work major has been completed, students will go on to complete a supervised internship. This is where the student will gain hands-on work experience and even take part in discussions and practice sessions while being fully supervised.
There are a number of courses that will need to be completed to gain a Bachelor’s in Social Work degree and these include course work, often termed Field Practicum, where the student fulfils a semester of hands-on experience “in the field.” Social Work Practice is another required course that must be taken and these four papers will involve a mixture of role play and real life situations of social work activity.
There are two papers on Social Work Policy to complete; these will look at the laws, rules, regulations and other factors that are pivotal to the workings of anyone employed in the social work environment. There are another two papers on research, where the students will have to examine changing trends in the industry and assess ways to improve once in the role.
Finally, the student will need a further two papers on Human Behavior, where the student will learn about body language, aggression, grief, psychology, violent tendencies, depression, mental illnesses and many other ways to deal effectively and positively with a person suffering from behavioral issues.
In the first year of taking the bachelor’s degree in social work a student must go through an induction where they will learn about the basics of social work and psychology. The initial coursework will also touch on subjects like Human Biology and Mathematics. Students that take the Bachelors in Social Work in the U.S. may have to touch on American History and American Law, although this is not mandatory in every state.
Masters in Social Work
A Masters in Social Work is a professional degree that allows the holder to practice social work autonomously after finishing a specific number of hours of supervised practice. These hours are different from state to state and even on different universities.
On average the Masters in Social Work could be acquired after 2 years of full time study with another 2 years of 900 or more hours of internship. It is important to know that this degree can be received only from a graduate school that has been permitted by the Council on Social Work Education. In this way the graduate can see future licensure.
Normally students that want to get Master’s degree should first have a Bachelor of Social Work degree. Many Masters in Social Work programs accept applicants that have only undergraduate degrees. Some programs allow students with Bachelor degrees to get a Master’s degree in a shorter period. Thus, they can finish the program in one year instead of 2 years.
Many MSW programs allow students to choose a clinical practice track meaning they can directly practice with clients or a macro practice track with a focal point on community organizing, human services management and similar fields. Many graduates of a Master’s in Social work later pursue a career in Counseling Psychology.
Some universities are offering joint degrees like MSW and Law or MSW and Public Health. This is a great opportunity for those who are focused on studying because they can get a joint degree and increase their chances to find work.
Since there are different requirements in different states we have made a list of several Universities that are offering Masters in Social Work and what they require.
1. University of Michigan
According to some relevant sources, The University of Michigan School of Social Work has one of the best programs in the USA. After students finish this program they can be sure that they can work on local, national and international level. All the programs are lead by experts and some of them are known internationally. In the recent years, the Peace Corps Master’s international Program is getting very popular because it allows work with children and youth and integrating 27 months of Peace Corps service with the MSW program.
2. Washington University
The Brown School of Social Work is part of the Washington University which allows students to get a respected Master’s degree. They are offering various courses and it even allows students to create their own courses of study. They are offering joint degrees such as MSW/MPH degree. Brown School of Social Work also has six concentrations available for its students – children, youth and families, health, mental health, gerontology, social and economic development and individualized. It takes two years full-time to earn the MSW degree, but BSW degree might help students get their degree in less time.
3. Case Western Reserve University
The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is part of the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio since the day this University started working more than 40 years ago. Concentrations in Community and Social Development or direct practice are available for the students. This school is also offering joint degree programs – MSW and Law, MSW and Bioethics and more. The programs can be finished in 2 years.
Case Western is also well-known or their Clinical Psychology program, which you can read more about here.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Social_Work
http://ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/
http://brownschool.wustl.edu/admissions/MSWprogram/Pages/Landing.aspx
http://msass.case.edu/academic/masters.html
A Course in Social Welfare
A social welfare course may open up job opportunities and hence is highly acclaimed by society. Several colleges and universities offer courses related to social work and these range from bachelor’s degree to masters and even PhD. Master’s degree and PhD in social welfare are pursued by students who want to go for research work, teaching and also jobs related to policy formulation.
Social welfare course from the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago offers an International Social Welfare Program* which is specially designed to tackle issues related to social welfare in the global context. Today, local issues also get influenced by global decisions and events and hence this has to be kept in the perspective while undergoing courses on social work.
The program comprises of several courses of which each student has to select at least three. There is a basic course on social policy that is compulsory. The students are also required to take up internship or study abroad or work for immigrant populations of USA at the end of the first year of their course.
The overview of the course
The courses offered under the social welfare program emphasize on international social work and social welfare practices, comparative analysis of cross-country social welfare measures and the effects of global practices on social work.
The students are given exposure to international social welfare programs and practices, and are even taught by international teachers. International scholars of excellent caliber work as visiting professors and conduct courses also. This gives the students opportunities to learn from excellent faculties from across the globe.
Field placement is compulsory under the course so that the students get direct experience of working for social organizations. The placements are chosen in agencies where the students get opportunities to work for refugee population or immigrants. They earn valuable experience on international social issues and the policies too. The students may also engage themselves in research based on social work issues.
In the study abroad program, the students are required to take up a course in an international institute. Apart from the specified programs under the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India or Human Rights Internship Program, the students may select their own internships program however it has to be approved by the university.
The students who successfully complete this program may get absorbed in firms that work for international social welfare and human rights and services. They also find openings in international social work initiatives.
*For more information, please visit: https://ssa.uchicago.edu/
How to Become a Child Protective Services Investigator
A Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator is tasked with investigating claims of child abuse and neglect. As part of their job, they must not only determine what has likely happened in a specific household in the past, but also predict with reliability what may happen in the future in regards to the child’s welfare.
Similar to police detectives, CPS investigators must begin by first gathering evidence and interviewing those people whose testimony is relevant to the investigation, including the child. At points throughout this investigation, the investigator may be aided by law enforcement, depending on the severity of the situation that is uncovered.
Their primary goal is to ultimately determine if a child may safely live within the household. To make this determination, however, requires knowing the extent of the abuse or neglect that has taken place within the family in the past and how much may likely take place in the foreseeable future.
The overwhelming majority of CPS investigators have obtained a four year college degree. In fact, most states require that such professionals have degrees in order to work for the department, although they don’t have a specific requirement as to the field of study. That being said, several investigators have their degrees in social work, human services, or psychology. In some instances, hiring preferences may be given to those who have degrees in these specific fields.
The work environment for such investigators may obviously be stressful. After all, they have to investigate what may generally be disturbing crimes involving children who are sometimes sexually and physically abused. For the sensitive person, such an environment may be psychologically taxing.
To make matters worse, many state departments are on tight budgets, requiring that investigators carry larger workloads than in previous years. Numerous investigations coupled with having to take part in court proceedings can result in brutal work schedules.
The stress is sometimes too much for an individual to bear and many choose to leave the profession after only a few years. Still, others persist and make a fruitful career of the work.
Salaries for child protective services investigators differ from one state to the next. The average salary, however, is around $74,000 per year. New investigators typically make around $60,000-65,000. A traveling stipend is generally provided, as much of the work involves driving from one location to the next within the investigator’s local region**.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for social work is expected to increase by 25% within the next ten years, much faster than the average occupation. This may be attributed to the inevitable growth of both state and federal governments as well as the need for more social workers to respond to the ever growing population.
Because of this, there may always be steady work for those who pursue careers as child protective service investigators