Working to help others
Social workers provide essential services to communities, individuals, families, or the wider population, and work in a range of areas in order to do that. For instance, they work in schools, hospitals, senior centers, elected offices, private practice, prisons, and public and private agencies. Their roles vary and include assisting clients with disabilities, life-threatening or limiting illnesses, or those dealing with inadequate housing or substance abuse. Some work in the background, advocating for improved services, and getting involved in planning, policy development, or systems designs.
Opportunities to work in different settings
Social workers often specialize in serving specific populations or working in a particular setting.
Administration and management: Working in public and private agencies providing services to clients, social workers taking on these roles need knowledge about social policy, the delivery of social services, an understanding of human behavior, and a vision for future planning.
Advocacy and community organizing: Social workers in this field advocate for the rights of individuals and communities to gain social justice.
Aging: Working with older adults, social workers help link them to services that enable them to live independently, participate in society and have a good quality of life. This work focuses on the psychological, physical, social, and economic aspects of daily living for older people.
Child welfare: Working with vulnerable children and families, social workers in this field specialize in helping families provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children. Child welfare social workers also intervene when necessary to protect vulnerable children from harm and to support those who have experienced neglect or abuse.
Mental health and substance abuse: Aiming to help individuals, families, and communities find ways to recover and move on from substance abuse, social workers in these roles will be trained in treating a range of addictions and could be providing therapy for both individuals and groups and doing case management and advocacy for jobs and housing needs.
Developmental disabilities: Social workers assist parents of children with disabilities understand their legal rights, helping them learn to be advocates and find the right services to assist their children.
Health care: In this field, social workers help people deal with the personal and social elements that affect their health and wellness. Some will work in direct services and concentrate on individuals, families, and small groups, whereas others are placed in settings that focus on planning, administration, and policy.
Mental health and clinical social work: Clinical social workers are one of the largest providers of mental health services in the country, working in both urban and rural settings.
International social work: International development encompasses a wide range of services, such as within communities, orphanages, hospitals, and schools, and supporting the work of governments and intergovernmental organizations.
Public welfare: This involves planning, administering, and financing programs, supervising, and training staff, and evaluating standards and criteria for the delivery of services.
Good long-term job prospects
The demographics of the United States are changing, and the population is getting older. The Congressional Budget Office projects that between 2023 and 2053, 73 million people, on average, will be 65 or older, which is around twice the average number of people in that group from 1983 to 2022. This means that more social workers will be needed to help with the issues an aging population will bring.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of social workers is expected to grow 9 percent between 2021 and 2031, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Around 74,700 openings are expected each year, on average, over those ten years.
Improvements in the delivery of services
With new technology and ever-evolving approaches to societal problems, the shape of social work careers is changing. For instance, patient-centered medical home care relies on social workers as care coordinators. Technologies such as cloud computing, mobile devices, and electronic health records allow social workers to more easily coordinate care between stakeholders such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, family caregivers, and home health aides. As well as this, public-private partnerships, also known as PPPs, are creating opportunities to improve communities via collaborations with local businesses and corporate partners, increasing resources for helping clients.
Career flexibility
While many social workers begin their careers specializing in helping a specific client population, they can move in a different direction without completely changing careers. For example, someone may work with children with disabilities and then change to helping senior citizens or switch from being employed in a government agency to offering counseling at a private practice.
Career progression and personal rewards mean a commitment to lifelong learning and development. This could be going on particular courses, taking extra qualifications, attending webinars, or reading clinical papers. It is also important to be aware of societal changes and popular culture so that practitioners can relate to their clients and groups. This could be by reading newspapers, magazines or listening to podcasts.
Getting the right qualifications
In order to become a social worker, candidates must get the right qualifications. Cleveland State University’s online masters in social work is ideal for students looking for a rewarding career within social work who have a bachelor’s degree in any field.
The experience within the community is a vital component of the degree. It is guided and directed by the CSU faculty in collaboration with an on-site field supervisor at the agency where the hours are to be completed.
Candidates can choose from two specializations – Advances Generalist Social Worker or Clinical Social Worker. The coursework is 100 % online, with 900 field practicum hours in the community. The MSW is offered as both a part-time and full-time course so it can fit into applicants’ professional and personal lives as they study for their degree.
More information can be obtained from CSU enrolment advisors to help candidates make the right decision before embarking on their new career within social work.
