Social work is all about helping people with their problems, and providing them with or showing them resources which they need to lead healthy lives. Their role is to enable certain people to help themselves. The social worker degree programs have their own code of ethics and a wide range of accredited education programs which will equip professional social workers to help others. They perform their duties in a variety of environments, and some of these are clinics, nursing homes, police departments, prisons, businesses, hospitals and others.
Social Worker Degrees Open Up Many Doors
If you are interested in helping others, a social worker degree can open up a number of doors, and job prospects in this field are excellent, especially when you consider that employment is expected to increase dramatically as well as the population growth. It does not matter which social worker degree programs you choose, because your job will always revolve around helping people in their different phases of life. There is a particular need for social workers in rural areas around the world, and medical social workers will be particularly in high demand. The reason for this, is that the elderly population is also increasing.
A Range Of Specialties For Social Workers
Social workers can pursue a range of specialties, but of all the social worker jobs, most are in the field of health care and social assistance industries. Social worker degrees will allow graduates to enter a number of exciting fields like helping people overcome drug addictions, domestic abuse, children and family services, mental health treatments, homelessness and much more. To assist with all of these problems, social workers don’t only possess skills which they have learned, they are also compassionate people, who communicate and listen well and are up to date with all the laws and ethics of social welfare.
Being a social worker is not for everyone. First of all you need a compassionate and helping nature, while still having the ability to not crack when you see and experience things that can be very disturbing. Seeing a tiny baby who has been physically abused can be very upsetting, and it is for this reason, that this career choice is not for everyone. Alcohol and drug counseling is a complex field too, and counselors are trained to treat the disease as well as the individual and assist with coming up with a treatment plan towards healing. For this they may need to get the help of other professionals, which includes those in the criminal justice system. Social workers need to be mentally and emotionally strong to handle the high levels of stress with these cases.
Different Aspects of Social Worker Degrees
For a social worker degree you will need to be able to work on your own and in multidisciplinary teams writing up assessments, taking part in meetings around mental health and child protection, maintaining records, preparing reports for legal action, appearing in court and giving evidence, providing counseling and much more. Social workers have also developed charitable organizations which serve people in need, sorting out injustices and providing inspiration.
When deciding on where to study for your social worker degree you will want to know something of the philosophy and courses offered. Degree programs for social work will involve classroom study as well as practical field experience. There are three types of degrees offered for social workers:
Bachelor’s Degree
- Master’s Degree
- Doctorate in Social Work
Bachelor’s Degree
Social workers need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in social work for them to be able to be certified. In order to become a licensed social worker, you will need a bachelor’s degree in social work, which will immediately open many doors for you in the field of social work. If you want to work in a specific area of expertise, you can go on to get your master’s degree in your specific area. A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for an entry-level job in social work, though these days it is better to go for a more advanced level. A bachelor’s degree offers majoring in sociology, social work and psychology. The jobs available to those who have a bachelor’s degree are pretty lucrative.
Social workers with a Bachelor’s degree will in all likelihood report to someone, but they will still be given a lot of autonomy in their work and will be allowed to make many decisions. An important part of counseling work is psychology, and social workers studying for a master’s degree will put their skills to the test and work with a person with real problems, and help them to free themselves of the problem they are dealing with. When entering into social worker degree programs you will see there are different types of counselors like educational counselors, marriage and family counselors and others.
With social worker degrees you can choose from several different occupations. Graduating with a master’s in social work is necessary for some jobs. There are occupations that call for a higher level of learning and this is why a master’s degree is needed.
Master’s Degree
In this case, there are jobs that require counselors to have clinical counseling experience apart from a master’s degree in social work. A license is required for those who will engage in counseling work. After obtaining your social work degree get your license by passing the certifying exam.
The Master of Social Work is the second highest and most common degree attainable for the field of social work. Some of the specializations which are part of this degree are:
- Medical and Public Health which entails providing psychosocial assistance to families, helping them to cope with things like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse involves treating patients who are dealing with mental health and substance abuse problems, offering care and counseling services.
- Child, Family, and School is where social workers work at improving the social and psychological status of families, assessing their needs. They can specialize in things like adoption, foster care and domestic violence.
To reach the master’s level, students require two years of full-time study, coupled with two years of actual field experience acquired through internships, work experience as well as volunteer work. In fact, a master’s degree includes the completion of a demanding program of 900 hours of field work, and when some would-be social workers see this they realize that social work is not for everyone. Field placements are an important part of your social worker program, and it includes working in places like schools, clinics or a social service agency for example. You will learn a whole lot of practical skills you will need in your career.
Those who enroll in this degree will need to decide which area of social work they want to focus on. A common area to work in is health care, specializing in the elderly and rural areas.
The requirements for admission to a Master of Social Work program is different in every institution and from country to country, but there are some common requirements. If you are still in school and looking to make being a social worker your career choice, check the requirements at your school and make sure that you are taking the correct subjects. Before you can start with your Master’s Degree, you will need a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Having majored in certain areas like psychology, social sciences, humanities and sociology for example, will stand you in good stead. To do your Master’s Degree, you may be required to take specific classes before admission. You may need to complete things that are not part of your course such as tests and examinations or maybe even a thesis.
To enter into any social worker degree programs you may even be requested to submit other documents and information, or to have a couple of reference letters too. It may be that you will have to submit transcripts of your previous academic work. You may also need to complete a skills assessment. Students from other countries interested in social worker degrees may need to provide additional information about their ability to speak English as well as their financial status.
Social Worker Degree Online
These days there are a wealth of online social worker degree courses that universities offer students, and what makes them so popular is that you can carry on with work while you study for your degree on-line. They work on the principle of self-study, so you will need to be disciplined in setting time aside to study. Online master’s degree program courses are fantastic for anyone who needs the flexibility of a web degree in order to balance work, education, studying and family. Contrary to what many people thing, online social worker degree programs allow for plenty of sharing with other students and professionals involved in the same degree.
More and more people are opting to pursue social work degrees online, because of the affordability of online degrees, and the Internet provides ideas for the best online colleges and universities offering online Master of Social Worker degrees as well as other social work related graduate degrees.