How much do social workers make and what classes or majors would I have to take in college?

Question

I am unsure of my career...but I'm pretty sure that I want to work with people. Is there any alternative careers that are well-paying but don't require more than 4 years of school?

Answer 1

no, you need a four year college degree. Once you have a degree you can do anything. Just take the extra time and do it now. Your future will be much easier.

Social Work is a great but tough field. My mother has a degree in social work and she found it to be very stressful, and you cannot support a family on it to boot. While there are very rewarding parts to the job the majority of the time she was extremely frustrated with "the system" and the government. She knew excatly what to do to help people but the government is so slow, and gov't programs would encourage bad behaviors instead of helping people support themselves. bad behaviors included rewarding people for having more children and penalizing them once they start making a little money on their own. If you really want to help people get a degree and a good paying job and voulenteer time in your community. Your faimily will be well supported and you will feel good about giving your extra time to worthy programs around your own home.

Answer 2

It would depend on what type of social work job you wanted...it is a very diverse field. There are local foster family and/or adoption agencies (which usually pay around $50k and require a masters), there are nonprofits such as the Red Cross (which require a Bachlors and pay around $40k), and then there are county jobs which will take anything from an AA on up to a PhD and pay anywhere from $9/hr to $70k/yr. Social workers are also hired by public school systems, and hospitals. As I said, very diverse.

As for what to major in; the obvious would be a Social Work degree, but you could also major in Sociology, Anthropology, or Psychology as well.

Any of these fields would be great to hold a degree in because there are many different employment options.

Good Luck & Happy Studies! ;)

Answer 3

Social workers are probably the lowest paid job for the amount of college study of any profession.

To be a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Soc Wkr) you need a Master's degree, thousands of internship hours and pass a written and oral exam. A recent graduate would expect to earn starting wages in the $35-40,000 range in major cities. In small cities, they may not pay a whole lot more than a McDonald's supervisor.

If you are interested in a higher-paying job, you might want to invest your time towards a BSN (Nursing) career. These jobs pay a lot more, and you can start your career as an LVN with only 2 years. If the counseling part is important to you, it is possible to work as a Psychiatric Nurse.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, social workers are some of this country's lowest paid employees. Their hours are long and their worth often goes without notice. They are often the victims of a system that offers them little support and they have a tremendous workload that never seems to get lighter.

The good news is that for all the good that they do, the poor money can almost be forgotten. They are often the saviours of families and children and without them, many people would go without the needed services that they deserve.

If you have a heart for doing good, and don't mind the fact that you will never be rich in this field of study, then this is the job for you. Sociology and the social sciences are usually the fields of study that social workder pursue. In addition, counseling classes are recommended. Social workers are often registered and licensed counselors.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best.

Answer 5

You can work in the profession without having the degree but you will get more money with experience and some education. If you want any type of clinical, hospital, or school social work job, you need a masters.

Your social work major will not really teach you to do any particular JOB, but it does give you a chance to find your own biases and passions within the field. You will learn the history of various organizations. Lots of psych and sociology, looking at mental health issues, social problems, cultural understanding, criminal justice issues, how govt programs work, how to find money to start a program. I have a BA in social work and it is priceless to me but you really can't get a job with it anymore.

You can get a 2 year degree in human services, criminal justice, and substance abuse. You can work in a welfare office with a high school diploma. You can work in an advocacy position with life experiences that lend themselves to that organization.

There are a lot of places where you can get that warm fuzzy meaningful job without having a social work education. You might not make a ton of money but these are just other things to consider. Other fields that dance around social work and often have a pocket of social work clients is education (special ed, alternative schools, therapeutic boarding schools, adult education, ESL, and GED) and criminal justice (at risk youth, probationers, parolees, halfway houses) and health care organizations, (eldercare, abuse advocacy, disability accomodations, rehabs, sliding scale clinics)...and the clergy. Basically anywhere people are having trouble with the regular way of doing things.

What you might want to look into if you don't want 4 years of college..is community college with a lot of courses in management and other general business. One reason is because social service organizations tend to be pretty bureaucratic and so you need to know how they work. Second is that everywhere that hires social workers, also has nuts and bolts people, managers, executives, administrators, supervisors. Caring about people is a gift, a talent, and very hard to teach. But social services take place in a business atmosphere, more and more in the for-profit sector. Business sense keeps those doors open and this is also where the money is made, but lots of bleeding heart types (I'm one, so I can say that) don't know the first thing about the business aspect of keeping a service going or managing the people who are on the front lines of that service, so its hard to promote. The good news is that the nuts and bolts of how agencies are run are highly teachable and your heart skills prepare you for working whatever population of people. Learning about the business world will prime you for working in a place where good deeds are a product and it will also give you a way to advance, make more money, and get off the front lines.

At the same time you are in school, secure an entry level job, such as at a group home, a welfare office, a shelter, a nursing home, a youth camp to cut your teeth on the whole "helping people" thing, working your way through school, working your way up the ladder, and building your skills. As you are promoted you will gain the experience and people skills needed to function within that company. As a supervisor or a manager, you will still be in the field, and you will make more as you advance.

Plus know this: Social workers burn out EASY. We tend to be martyrs, caretakers, the job is often thankless, etc. By taking business and management classes you give yourself an option of switching over without starting over. You can step out of the helping professions into another field (for a while, or for good) where customer service is important but not critical, crisis oriented. Knowing how to manage people makes you marketable anywhere.

Answer 6

Probably you would be well advised to think in terms of an MSW (Master of Social Work). Psyciatric social work probably is morre financially rewarding. Regarding salary, my wife was a geriatric social worker for several years. She took a lot of guff from low-I.Q. M.B.A. administrators and the most she ever earned was $25,000.

She went to law school, and within one year of passing the bar she was earning $106,000, In the two years since then her salary has increased to $116,000. She is very skilled and intelligent and loves what she is doing, but she also enjoyed social work and was highly valued as an employee.

Social work is very much like teaching in one aspect. Prudent people do not go into it for the money they will earn, but for the gratification they find in the work itself.

Answer 7

Social work should only require a BA, I would recommend majoring in Social work, psychology, sociology, etc.

They average pay is somewhere between 30-40K

I've listed below the DOL's analysis of social work, and it has tons of information of how to get started, majors, earnings, promotions, relating jobs, etc.

Answer 8

social workers don't make much...u would have to go to grad school after college in order to see real money and that still won't be enough. u would have to take sociology and psychology courses or major in those areas for that degree.

go to the library and research books on best careers for the 21st century...

hope this helps.

Answer 9

I've looked into becoming a Social Worker recently. They typically don't make alot of money. As far as schooling, you usually need atleast a 4-year degree in psych or human services. for more information check out:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm

Answer 10

check out salary.com for a lot of good info you can tailor to your location and your experience, education, etc...although employers will usually say the dollar amounts aren't accurate (because they don't want to pay you what you're worth)!

Also www.bls.gov for general national information. Each of these sites has general position description, type of work, type of experience needed, etc.