Which is easier to become a social worker or a teacher?

Question

Also which one pays more? Which one can make the most difference? Also which one is better for a active twenty year old? Which one has the most schooling involved?

Answer 1

I have a bachelor's degree in SW and a second degree in teaching (along with a masters). I have to say, money wise, that teaching does pay more than what I was offered right out of college for social work. You WILL need a masters in social work if you want to do anything more than work really high-stress, low-benefits job.

Benefits wise, I was better off as a teacher. I did get my masters (for one reason) to get a raise, but I didn't need it to teach. I honestly think it's easier to get a masters while you are teaching because your schedule is pretty set and the classes are typically in the late afternoons. It took longer to get my education degree because of the student teaching; my practicum for my social work degree was built into my four year degree(which is why I decided on teaching--I worked rape crisis and it just became too much for me to handle--emotionally--every day.)

Honestly, I think I have more of an effect on kids by being a teacher. I found (in my limited experience with social work) that I was just trying to help people pick up the pieces. Teaching--for me--was about helping kids build. Either way, you'll be doing both jobs with either degree. You'll be teaching with your social work degree by showing people how to make their situations better, and you'll definitely be working with kids who you will have to give advice to (or actually advocate for) on a regular basis. Good luck in whatever you decide. You definitely won't have to worry about either of the jobs not being "active" enough for you--both will keep you on your toes!

Answer 2

Teacher Or Social Worker

Answer 3

Social Worker makes more money.

A Preschool Teacher makes less then a Social Worker.

With a 2 Year Dregree in Child Development with the 12 units you can become a Qualified Teacher dealing with toddlers through K

With a 4 year Degree you can become a Teacher in a School that is K through High School with your Credentials.

A Teacher would be faster to get your units to be a Qualified Teacher then a Social Worker.

Social Worker has more schooling then a Teacher.

What I did I got my Degree in 4 areas and I went into Social and Behavorial Science in Child Development and it is in.

Teaching (infant to K Qualified)
Social Worker Aid
Marriage and Family dealing with children
Counseling in schools dealing with children
I did this with a Two Year Degree.

I hope this will help.

Answer 4

actually you don't need a masters to become a teacher. At least in Florida. In fact, if you pass a couple of competency exams that show you know your subject, general knowledge and teacher curriculum you can teach. If you get into an area that is needed desperately like math science and such, they may pay you a bit more. As a social worker I'm not sure but it does depend on where you work.

Answer 5

If you are not a passionate about either of these and just want them as a soft option then they are not really for you. Nothing worse than a half hearted teacher and a dis interested social worker and there is no point in doing something than you are not keen on for the rest of your life. That is a recipe for disaster. As you appear to free of commitments why not go abroad as a volunteer with VSO or similar and use the skills there for six months why you have some breathing space. A different perspective may then help you re evaluate your entire life. Countries like Australia list IT as a migrant choice as well.

Answer 6

both you can get a job with a bachelors but the higher the education, the more pay..the better jobs. Teaching does not pay well at all unless you are a coach or in special ed. Most BSW are known for :taking kids and not helping the family. MSW or above can actually counsel. Once you have been a teacher for a while you can be principal, school social worker, etc. You just need to decide. They are both tough programs and tough to get into. GL

Answer 7

To be licensed as a Social Worker, you need a Master's Degree. To be Credentialed as a Teacher (at least here in California) I needed a BS plus about a year of post grad training. A Master's is an option, but certainly not a requirement, especially if it is a Master's in Education, which is about as worthless a degree as you can get- it's just more PC twaddle without any real course content in core subjects. Some of our universities offer a degree in education which leads to a Credential, and wastes about half the time on subjects other than core content such as English, Math, etc. If most of the CA Teachers had to take a real college-level test like the CSET or the MSAT instead of the high school- level CBEST, they'd never get credentialed. I took both, so I know what they're like...

Answer 8

Probably Social Worker. On the low end it's about the same. On the High End Union Teachers may make more in Urban areas.

Answer 9

My sister is a psychiatric social worker and I'm a teacher. We both had tough jobs, but hers was a lot harder (and no summers off). I made more money with less education. We both had an impact in people's lives, but I'd say overall she had the greater impact as the degree of change she created for some was monumental. She also had the stress to go with the responsibility, though, and she was always researching more and more information in order to better assist her clients. I took work home with me a lot, but never to the extent she did-although I don't know that all social workers have it as tough as what she chose for herself. But truthfully, we were both content in our careers and while I know she could have done my job, I know I could never have done hers.

Answer 10

I'm a teacher and my husband's a social worker. We both have bachelor degrees. However, I had to overload classes all the time in college and he didn't. I wouldn't really say one was harder than the other, but education has a bunch more required classes usually. But they're typically less in depth since you end up covering everything. As to who makes more difference, it really depends on what you mean. Social work often is more trying to fix problems that are already there. Teaching is trying to give people the tools and life skills to not end up with those problems, or to be able to help themselves out of the problems that hit them during life. Teaching tends to be more optimistic. I think it's easier on the mind than social work. Kids have a lot of time to grow and develop, whereas some people you end up working with in social work are so far beyond the kind of help the government can give. (Don't get me wrong, a lot of people you work with in social work are just people who are down and out.) I get a slightly better salary than my husband. And honestly, even if he got a Master's it wouldn't get him much more money where we live. I think typically teachers and social workers have similar salary ranges for an area. Honestly, teachers get paid pretty well for my area (as far as teaching is concerned anyway). So I don't know which would have a higher salary where you are. Social work can be active (going out and working with clients), but it also can mean sitting in a cubicle filling out paper work all day. Teaching is really what you make of it. There's definitely never any down time when you're working. You can usually get moving some when the kids are out at recess.

What you need to think about is which you would enjoy more. I absolutely love my job. To teach you need to be good with kids, organized, able to do some paperwork, and you really need to want to do it. If you don't want to do it, it would be painful because there really is just no down time. Though you do get summers off. Social workers need to be really good with people, enjoy doing a LOT of paperwork, and able to separate themselves from situations they encounter at work. Otherwise they end up haunted by some of the terrible things they deal with at work. Think about which one you would be more comfortable as and go for it. Schooling and salary really aren't much different.