Social Work Salaries & Salary Outlook

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By earning your degree in social work, you’re putting yourself in a positon to help families, individuals, and non-profit organizations. This career choice isn’t just personally rewarding; find out more about salaries in the social work field.

Social work is a tough business. Social workers see what is broken in families and social systems. They work with people in difficult situations who are often stressed, unhealthy, and discouraged. If you are get satisfaction from helping others, are good at problem solving, and are emotionally mature, earning your social work degree might be the perfect choice for your future in the field.

Social Work Degrees and Training

A career in social work requires academic preparation. Although it is possible to find work with an undergraduate degree in sociology or psychology, most positions require a social work degree (specifically, a master’s degree in social work). As of 2006, the Council on Social Work Education accredited 458 bachelor’s degree and 181 master’s degree programs.

Besides academic preparation, all states require some form of licensure, certification, or registration. Although these requirements vary from state to state, you should expect that you will need up to 3,000 of supervised field work to become licensed.

What Kinds of Jobs Are Available with a Degree in Social Work?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) breaks social work into four categories: child, family, and school; medical and public health; mental health and substance abuse; and other. As of 2008, the mean annual wages for these categories ranged from the $39,630 (substance abuse) to $48,180 (other).

The top paying jobs are most often found in the public sector, working for the government (federal executive branch) or in education. Annual mean wages for social work positions in those fields were $65,490 and $56,530, respectively, according to the 2008 BLS salary reports. Private sector positions with insurance carriers had an annual mean wage of $55,590 in 2008. One of the highest paid positions for graduates of social work degree programs, in dentists’ offices, pays an annual mean wage of $111,480.

In a field like social work, the lines can blur between public and private sector because of grants and other public funding that might be paying the salaries of workers in a private company. Hospitals are a great, top-paying example, with general medical and surgical hospitals paying social workers an annual mean wage of $56,450, and psychiatric and substance abuse hospital salaries coming in at $54,170.

Although substance abuse social workers earn the lowest mean average wage, this category is projected to grow by an astounding 30 percent from 2006 to 2016, an increase that far surpasses the already healthy rate of 22 percent for all social work positions–a net gain of 37,000 workers. In terms of raw numbers of new jobs, the child, family, and school category comes out ahead, with an anticipated 54,000 new employees.

Where Should You Take Your New Degree?

Work is most plentiful in urban centers, but there is also more competition there. Across all four categories, the states that pay the best are: Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Nevada, and Hawaii.
However, if you are especially interested in medical and public health social work, you might consider employment in California. Although there is a lower concentration of jobs available, the top five best paying metro area for this category are all in the Golden State: San Francisco Bay area, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Vallejo, and San Jose. Mean annual wages range between $63,680 and $65, 390, according to the 2008 BLS salary figures.

Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but if you are looking for a career in a field that has a better than average outlook for growth, you might want further to investigate social work.

Lorraine Watkins
Lorraine Watkins is a business writer and a regular contributor to business and education websites. She is a graduate of California State University, East Bay with an MA in English.

Find Social Work Schools Near You

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