SOCIAL WORK
The Social Work profession promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance their independence and happiness. If you are willing to be a partner, negotiator, supporter, communicator, re-framer, and reflector and if you feel a great deal of compassion towards social issues, then this can be an excellent career option for you
Social work is all about determining people's social, economic and emotional problems. Social workers work towards the solutions of these problems through counseling, arranging conferences, increasing resources, spreading public awareness and starting social programs and health services. Assessing and treating, mental health and emotional problems is also the job of a social worker. Social work offers diverse opportunities because every individual and society deal with different kinds of problems.
Social Work Career Settings
Someone considering becoming a social worker should think about what kinds of populations they would like to work with. Depending on the type of social work you would like to practice, your typical client could be quite varied. Children, older adults, victims of abuse, veterans and recovering addicts are among the different types of clients that you could encounter in your social work career. Social workers work with disadvantaged populations and that could apply to many different groups of people and communities. Just as the different types of social work and clients are diverse, so are the kinds of organizations, agencies and institutions that employ social workers. Social workers could be employed by:
- Child welfare organizations
- Adoption agencies
- Foster care agencies
- Daycare providers
- Government agencies
- Schools
- Hospitals
- Nursing facilities
- Health departments
- Clinics
- Hospices
- Individual and family services agencies
- Treatment facilities
- Prisons
- Private practices
- Military hospitals
- Veteran affairs hospitals and outpatient centers
- Military base family services units
- Military correctional facilities
- Community and military base schools
- Community mental health centers
- Vocational rehabilitation centers
- Community-based organizations
- Social welfare providers
- Government planning departments
- Advocacy organizations
- Political offices
- Human resource departments
- Universities
- Corporations
Social work provides truly diverse and exciting employment opportunities. Earning a Master of Social Work will help open doors to even more opportunities in the field and help you to earn a higher salary. If you are interested in furthering your education or changing careers to work in the field of social work for the first time, earning your master’s can help you to develop your skills and gain the experience necessary to move forward in your career.
