Social workers provide assistance to individuals, families and communities to address problems in their everyday lives. They can work in a “macro” role directly coordinating with organizations or policymakers, or a “micro” role focusing on individuals and their families.
The social work job description varies—social workers can have a wide variety of duties:
- Find those in need of help
- Work with people in all stages of life from birth to end of life
- Assess their situation: what they need, who supports them, what their goals are and develop interventions and strategies to help
- Collaborate with community resources to offer a network of care and refer clients accordingly
- Diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional health problems
- Maintain clear case files and records
- Raise awareness and advocate for solutions at the local, state, or even national level
- Navigate crisis situations, such as child abuse, family and community violence, or health emergencies
Learn more about what a social worker does
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.