According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the social work field is set to grow by thirteen percent between 2019 and 2029, which is much faster than the average for other careers. Social Work can be an incredibly rewarding career choice for people who like to work closely with others to help them to improve their lives, and it's a career with excellent remuneration and opportunities for growth.

It's also a career choice that is becoming more accessible. With improvements in technology it is now possible to obtain your social worker degree mostly online, studying on a part time basis if you have other commitments that prevent you from returning to full time study.

Why Is The Field Growing So Much?

There are a few reasons why the social work field is growing. Firstly, thanks to advances in medicine and the so-called 'baby boomer' generation, the population is aging. People who choose to use their social worker degree in the healthcare sector are instrumental in helping older people and their families to adjust to new treatments, medications and the lifestyle changes that come with aging.

Secondly, an increasing number of Americans are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction or have a mental illness. Research shows that tens of millions of Americans are affected by mental illness each year, and that only half of those people ever receive treatment. The addiction epidemic is just as damaging. According to American Addiction Centers:

  • 19.7 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2017.

  • Almost 74% of adults suffering from a substance use disorder also struggled with an alcohol use disorder.

  • About 38% of adults battled with an illicit drug use disorder.

  • In 2017, 8.5 million adults suffered from both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.

Each person dealing with these issues will need a great deal of support, often from multiple social workers, to aid their recovery and help them to rebuild their lives. A social worker degree equips mental health and substance abuse social workers with the skills that are needed to support people through their treatment and recovery. There is also a growing focus on helping criminal drug offenders to engage with treatment programs, as an alternative to a jail sentence. Not only this, but a social worker will work with the families of those who are working through a mental illness or substance abuse issue to provide support and advice on the best way to help their loved one.

What Is The Career Outlook For Social Workers?

Given that the social work field is growing so rapidly, getting a social worker degree could be a great career move. 

The median salary for social workers is $50,470, which is considerably higher than the median salary for other occupations. Social workers also have the opportunity to use their social work degree to focus on the type of work that is the most meaningful for them once they have gained some experience. For example, some areas that social workers can focus on are:

  • Child and family social work. The primary duty of a child and family social worker is to protect vulnerable children and help families who are struggling. They might help families to access the services that they need, such as benefits, housing or childcare. They also intervene if children are being mistreated, neglected or abused by helping to arrange fostering or adoption, or helping to reunite families. The median salary for child and family social workers is $47,390.

  • School social work. School social workers work with parents, teachers and schools to help formulate strategies to improve students' academic performance and their social development too. Students and their families may be referred to a school social worker to help to deal with issues like aggressive behavior, bullying and frequent absences. The median salary for school social workers is $47,390.

  • Healthcare social work. Healthcare social workers work with patients to help them to understand their diagnosis and make necessary adjustments to their lives, for example learning how to adjust to a new medication or treatment regime or making changes to housing. They might help patients who have been in care for a long period of time to readjust to life at home or in the community, or they might help patients to find support to help them to deal with the emotional issues that come with a physical illness or injury. As well as helping patients, they might also help to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers by helping doctors to understand the emotional needs of their patients. Healthcare social workers might choose to specialize in a particular branch of medicine, such as geriatrics or hospice and palliative care. The median salary for healthcare social workers is $56,750.

  • Mental health and substance abuse social work. This type of social worker will utilize the communication skills earned during their social work degree to help clients with mental health issues or addictions to locate twelve step programs or other types of support, as well as helping their families. The median salary for mental health and substance misuse social workers is $46,650.

The fastest growing area of social work is mental health and substance abuse, which is projected to grow seventeen percent by 2029. 

How Do You Qualify As A Social Worker?

If you are someone who thrives in a person-centered job role where you can feel that you are making a difference to people's lives then social work could be the career for you. 

Before you contemplate embarking on a social worker degree, you should think about your personal qualities and see if they match up with those that are required of a good social worker:

  • Communication skills. You will be talking with your clients about the most challenging situations in their life, and to provide effective help and support you must be able to fully understand their needs, and communicate solutions.

  • Emotional skills. Your clients will likely be under a great deal of stress and emotional hardship, so having empathy towards them and the ability to make them feel heard is a must.

  • Interpersonal skills. You will not only be working with your clients, but with other social workers and agencies too. You will need to have the skills to work effectively with a highly diverse array of people from a multitude of different backgrounds.

  • Organizational skills. You will likely be working with multiple clients, all with their own plans. Having the ability to keep yourself organized to keep on top of everything is a must.

  • Problem solving skills. The lives of your clients will be complex, and no two cases will be the same. There certainly won't be any 'out of the box' solutions available, so you will need to have the ability to think creatively and problem solve to provide the help your clients need.

There are two paths available, social work and clinical social work. Non-clinical social workers generally only need a bachelors social worker degree, and will work in a non medical setting like in the corporate world, with a nonprofit or with a charitable organization. Non-clinical social workers provide services such as job and career counseling, educational counseling or after school services. In the public sector, a non-clinical social worker might work on things like welfare policy.

Clinical social workers, like the ones discussed in the previous section, require a master's level social worker degree, followed by two years of supervised training and experience. Once this has been completed, you will need to complete a clinical licensing exam which is administered by the state. Check the Association of Social Work Boards for information on each individual state.

Obtaining a social worker degree at masters level generally takes two years to complete full time. However, more and more institutions are offering the qualification online, on a part time basis to make it more accessible to people with other commitments. For example, you could choose to study for a master's level social worker degree part time over three years. During the course, students will be able to secure a social work field placement to help them to gain valuable work experience, and the whole course is geared towards qualifying for social work licensure.

What Do Social Workers Actually Do?

Social workers work long hours. They generally work full time office hours but they may also see clients in the evenings and at the weekend, and are often on call when they aren't working. According to the Princeton review, social workers report being uplifted by their work, because they truly feel as though they are doing something of value with their social worker degree. However, they also reported that respondents to their investigation described the work as being 'emotionally draining' because of the heavy investment in the lives of their clients. This is a double edged sword. There is a high attrition rate for new social workers, but at the same time this emotional investment helps to keep a sense of the importance of the work.

They spend their days helping people who are dealing with complicated problems in their lives, acting both as a counselor and an advisor. They also act as an advocate on behalf of their client. A social worker must make it their business to know the assistance programs and services being run in their locale, and to keep abreast of their efficacy and who is eligible for them. After all, if they recommend a program to a client which is no longer running or which won't accept them, they could lose trust that it has taken them months to build and damage the working relationship.

Social workers must also be prepared for the fact that some of their clients just won't want to work with them. Over thirty percent of urban families who are assigned a social worker will miss one of their first three appointments. It's a difficult thing to remain professional and knowledgeable, whilst not coming across as interfering. Some people will never like the idea of someone getting involved in their lives and will wonder why they are qualified to do so, just because they have a social worker degree.

Often the clients of social workers will have a few concurrent problems, and social workers can find it frustrating because they are quite bound by regulation in terms of the help they are able to offer. This issue occurs less for social workers who work privately, and as such private professionals often record higher levels of job satisfaction.

Where Can You Work As A Social Worker?

Social workers can work in a multitude of organizations, and the combination of where they choose to work combined with the state they work in, and whether they work in an urban or a rural setting, will have a huge impact on how their day to day lives look. Some of the places that a social worker might work are:

  • Counseling services. Social work counselors use their social worker degree to provide listening services to their clients, often in a private setting. They use psychotherapy to assess their clients' mental health, and they will signpost to other services as necessary.

  • Child welfare services. Social workers in child welfare services primarily act as advocates for children who are at risk. They can also assist with adoption and fostering. They might work in a school, government agency or a family service agency.

  • Community mental health center. Using your social worker degree to work in a community mental health center means focusing on clients who have mental illness. They usually work as part of a larger team made up of psychologists, therapists and counselors to help their client find work, housing and other services. They will also help their clients with issues in day to day life.

  • Social services. Social workers in social services help to connect people with the right community services to help them, such as food subsidies, homeless shelters, job training and medical care.

  • Nursing home. Working with residents of nursing homes, these social workers primarily act as an advocate for their clients' wellbeing. They protect their elderly clients from abuse, and help their families to navigate decisions relating to their lives.

  • Hospital. Working in a hospital means using your social worker degree to help patients to navigate the ways that physical illness impacts on clients lives, and the lives of their families. They will also act as a liaison between the patient, the family, and doctors and nurses.

Working as a social worker is a hugely varied career path, with a lot of scope to help a lot of people. By choosing to pursue a social worker degree, you will gain all the skills you need to genuinely make a difference in people's lives, and to empower them to make decisions that will serve them well.