A Social Work Career? Here Are Five Important Checkpoints

There is a wider range of career options than you might think for people who earn social work degrees. As our population ages and the government safety nets expand, social workers have workplace options that include health clinics, schools, family support agencies, in-home care institutions and the criminal justice system. If you want to work with children who are at risk because of family situations, a social work degree will provide you that opportunity. If you are interested in making the lives of senior citizens richer or rejuvenating the lives of addicts, you'll develop those skills while you earn your degree and you'll find that job opportunities are growing rapidly in the field.

There are several steps you should take before you sign up for an education in social work. Every career choice deserves careful consideration; these touchstones will help you make your decision and lead you towards your area of concentration within the institutions that deliver social work services.

Make a detailed study of the entire field.

The U.S. Department of Labor provides three categories of social work in its Occupational Outlook Handbook. The first is in the areas child, family and school; second is the medical and public health support system; and third is the field of mental health and substance abuse. Each of these areas requires differing skills and understanding of the client base. One of them may become your primary interest and if so, you may want to tailor your college major accordingly.

Talk to experienced professionals.

The study of socialwork at an accredited school will usually require an internship or hours as an understudy at an existing facility, so the veterans that run these social service clinics and offices are accustomed to working with inquisitive students. Most will be willing to grant you the time to discuss the services of their particular facility and the nature of the work for the professionals who staff it.

Visit a mixture of social work sites.

You need to see how the varieties of social services are provided. Visit a public health clinic to see what sort of social work goes on there. You can decide, for instance, if you want to deal with the evidence of child or spousal abuse that is seen every day in such clinics. Call on a large school in an impoverished neighborhood and learn about the variety of outreach services that key on the student but reach into the home. Visit a homeless shelter to see what acute social work looks like. These are three examples of the rich detail you'll find on the nature of the profession by visiting work sites.

Match up your interests with your academic options.

The coursework for degrees in this field can vary significantly, from social science theory to intervention skills. Degrees in this field can range from public health to mental health counseling - you'll need to sort through the academic choices until you find a school with a socialwork degree program that suits you.

Look into licensing requirements.

All states require licenses of their resident social work professionals, and those requirements must also align with your academic choice. Many states require up to 3,000 hours of field work as an intern or understudy. A number of online schools have arrangements for this requirement with local facilities. Licensing is a third component that should be in sync with your interests and your academic choice.

Working with the poor, the dysfunctional and the abused is one of those noble professions for which the rewards are internal. Nevertheless a substantial number of people are drawn to it and according to the U.S. Department of Labor it's a field that will be adding jobs rapidly in the coming years. A social work degree is not easily earned; many jobs in the field require education at the master's level. However it will put you in a dynamic field where increasing specialization will allow you to look for a career opportunity that matches your interests. Social work is an excellent choice for people who are rich in compassion.

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Robert Hartzell is a writer for GetDegrees.com. You'll find a comprehensive selection of schools with social work degrees on the site.

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