Career Path

Social Worker

Overview

In this career, your responsibilities may include:

Identifying individuals or families that need support
Helping clients cope with major life changes and ongoing difficulties, such as illness or injury, death of a loved one, or unemployment
Providing mental health counseling (if you are a licensed Clinical Social Worker)
Responding to client welfare emergencies, such as mental health crises or child endangerment
Advocating and coordinating on clients’ behalf to help them access assistance for necessities such as medical care, food, shelter, and childcare
Following up with clients to assess if their situation is improving

Job Titles

In your job search, you may find listings for this career under different titles. You can find some examples of these, as well as more information about this career, at the CareerOneStop webpages for Child, Family, and School Social Workers, Healthcare Social Workers, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

Academic Requirements

Typically requires a bachelor’s degree, although a master’s degree is required for clinical social work. Obtaining a master’s degree can make you eligible for careers with greater responsibility and higher salaries in this career pathway, if you do not already have the U.S. equivalent of a master’s degree.

Certification

Certification is not required, but could make employers more likely to hire you or offer you a higher salary.

Social work certifications require that you have already obtained licensure. Voluntary post-licensure certifications are a way to show that you have a high level of expertise in a specific field.

You may be eligible for a number of specialty certifications from the National Association of Social Workers. Certifications are available for specialties related to addiction, case management, clinical social work, education, gerontology, health care, hospice and palliative care, military service, or youth and families.
Licensure

Licensure is required to work as a Clinical Social Worker, and some states may require licensure or certification for non-clinical social work as well. Many states offer different levels of licensure depending on education. Candidates for clinical social work licensure must complete a period of supervised clinical training before taking the licensure exam in their state.