Social work careers

Looking for a career in which you can help people in need of a job, a friend, shelter or a shoulder to lean on? Getting a degree in social work might be for you.

“Social workers, for the most part, work with individuals, groups, families, organizations and communities in order to improve social functioning,” says Hugh Clark, assistant professor of social work at Texas Woman’s University.

Social workers are employed by all kinds of agencies, including hospitals, clinics, mental health centers, juvenile court, substance abuse prevention, school social work, child counseling centers, food pantries, homeless shelters, probation departments, nursing homes and disability services.

To be a successful social worker, says Clark, you must be flexible and able to adapt. “You have to be able to multitask and be able to work with lots of different situations,” he says. “Clients don’t always follow through the way you want them to. Patience is critical.”

While in college pursuing a social work degree, you’ll learn interviewing skills, counseling, human behavior, social policy, research methods and statistics. Classes can also cover topics such as crisis intervention and child abuse.

In addition to your social work classes, you’ll have to complete approximately 400 hours of field practicum, or internship, Clark says. That’s when you work at an agency and gain practical experience.

Tiffany Perris, 22, did one of her internships in Timisoara, Romania. This 2002 graduate of Malone College in Ohio mainly worked with children who lived on the streets in Romania.

“I visited the kids on the streets two evenings a week,” says Perris, who is now studying for a master’s degree in social work at Case Western Reserve University. “We went to where they lived—sewers, under steps, under bridges, the train station—to give them food and drink and invite them to our day center program. The day center provided the kids with food, clothes, a shower, Bible study, school and different workshops, (such as) woodwork, crafts and dancing.”

As part of her social work internship, Perris also surveyed the children to find out how long they’d been on the street, the last time they were in school and if they were using any drugs or alcohol.

In his first social work job, Carl Brun, now chair and associate professor of the social work program at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, helped people with chronic mental illnesses make the transition from long-term care to living in a group home.

“The persons lived in the group home for up to six months and were taught basic daily living skills, such as budgeting, grocery shopping, cooking, finding an apartment, signing a lease and applying for college,” Brun says.

“There is no typical day for a social worker,” says Clark. “It really depends on what area you work in. If you work for child protective services, you may be doing investigations, doing family preservation type things, or you may be in court. It really is as broad as can be. Everything is possible.”

According to The National Association of Social Workers (www.naswdc.org), the average salary for full-time social workers is about $44,400—an average the association is lobbying to increase. The licensing process for social workers varies from state to state; visit www.aswb.org for details.

At the bachelor’s degree level, says Clark, you’ll be trained to handle any sized system at any type of agency. You’ll be able to specialize by choosing electives and internships in the fields in which you’re most interested. If you want to specialize further, consider a master’s degree program. Following are some of the areas in which you can specialize.

Substance abuse therapy
Here you have the opportunity to work with people who are either ordered by a court or who voluntarily seek treatment for substance abuse. Some programs are educational in nature, some are therapy-based, others focus on abuse prevention. There are special programs set up to help young chemically dependent people, pregnant women with chemical dependencies, prescription-drug addicts and others.

School social work
In this setting, you get the opportunity to work with students in elementary through high school who exhibit a wide range of difficulties. On any given day, you could help children with behavioral and emotional problems, learning disabilities, grief and loss issues, abuse and neglect, alcoholic parents or social difficulties. You might also deal with bullies, transitions to new schools, drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders, relationship problems, anger-management problems, domestic abuse and suicidal teens or children.

Medical and hospice social work
In medical social work, you might offer support and therapy to people with heart, lung or circulation diseases; cancer; Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases, to name a few. You may also provide intervention and assistance to family caregivers.

Planning and policy making
As a policy maker, you develop programs that address major issues, such as child abuse, homelessness, poverty and violence. You also have a hand in groundbreaking research and analysis of policies, programs and regulations. In this field, you suggest legislative and other solutions and write grants to get funding to support programs.

Criminal justice social work
As a social worker employed in the field of criminal justice, you make recommendations to courts, prepare pre-sentence assessments and provide services to inmates, parolees and people on probation and their families.

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