Social Worker- help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday life
Daily Tasks:
- Help clients adjust to changes and challenges in their lives, such as illness, divorce, or unemployment
- Research and refer people in community to community resources, such as food stamps, childcare, and healthcare.
- Counsel families to find better solutions to their problems; intervene when children are in danger of neglect or abuse.
Work schedule: Generally work full time. They sometimes work evenings, weekends, and holidays to see clients or attend meetings.
Work Environment: Hospitals, primary care settings, and clinics, including veterans clinics.
- Settlement houses and community centers
- Mental health clinics
- Private practices
- Schools, colleges, and universities
- Substance abuse clinics
- Correctional facilities
- Child welfare agencies
Issues/ Problems that may occur:
- Work load/ limited resources
- Stress/ compassion fatigue
- Challenging clients
- Low pay
Benefits (paid holidays, breaks, retirement, etc.)
- Usually cannot take holidays because of work overload
- Flexible hours
How do they help children/ families?
- Counsel families to find better solutions to their problems;
- Place abused children in loving homes;
- Find employment and housing for homeless families;
- Help pregnant women, adoptive parents and adopted children navigate the adoption system; and,
- Help children and families make best use of the welfare system.
$$$$ Salary $$$$
- Salary: $$ 22.07 per hour
- Medicals and Public Health Social Workers $43,800
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers $38,030
- All other Social Workers $44,810
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) is most common requirement for entry-level positions.
- Some may hire workers with bachelor’s degree in related fields, such as psychology or sociology.
- License
Work Skills:
Communication skills. Clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives. To effectively help, social workers must be able to listen to and understand their clients needs.
Empathy. Social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations. To develop strong relationships, they must have compassion and empathy for their clients.
Interpersonal skills. Being able to work with different groups of people is essential for social workers. They needs strong people skills to foster healthy and productive relationships with their clients and colleagues.
Organizations Skills. Social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment.
Problem-solving skills. Social workers need to develop practical and innovative solutions to their clients’ problems.