How Much Can a Social Worker Make?

Yes, you can potentially leverage your education and experience in nursing into a career as a social worker. You may choose to stay in the healthcare field as a medical social worker.

You'll want to consider a Master of Social Work degree program to earn the new skills in knowledge to succeed in the field and position yourself best when applying for jobs.

Learn more about the RN to social work pathway and discover some of the primary differences between each career path.

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 

While the field of social work has evolved to become more diverse and specialized, core master’s degree courses prepare you for a wide variety of job possibilities.

Choose the MSW specialization best reflecting the social work career path you want to walk.

Job titles can vary widely with overlap across each specialty. Your choice of specialty today doesn’t necessarily preclude you from pursuing job possibilities in other areas.

Mental Health

• Behavioral Health Therapist 
• Mental Health Social Worker 
• Psychiatric Social Worker 
• Psychosocial Coordinator 
• Residential Therapist 
• Substance Use Disorder Clinician 
• Suicide Prevention Specialist 
• Therapist 
• Victim Advocate 

Medical 

• Home Health & Hospice Social Worker 
• Hospice Social Worker 
• Medical Social Worker 
• Oncology Social Worker 
• Residential Treatment Coordinator 
• Social Work Case Manager 

Children, Families, and Aging

• Adoption Social Worker 
• Adult Protective Services Worker 
• Child Protective Services Supervisor (CPS Social Worker) 
• Domestic Violence Advocate 
• Family Protection Specialist 
• Family Resource Coordinator 
• Family Service Worker 
• Foster Care Social Worker 
• Gerontology Social Worker 
• Pediatric Social Worker 
• School Social Worker 
• Veteran Affairs (VA) Social Worker 
• Youth Specialist 

No. Our 2-year MSW program is designed for those without a BSW. 

As long as you’ve earned a non-social work bachelor’s degree earned through an accredited university recognized by the US Department of Education, you can potentially qualify to enroll in our program.

Educational and licensing requirements can vary by state and employer across both jobs. The disciplines are distinct enough to demand separate master’s degree curriculums.

The primary difference between clinical social workers and mental health counselors is the scope of their duties and the education required to perform them. Generally, counselors focus solely on mental health issues, while clinical social workers carry a wide variety of responsibilities including and beyond mental health care.

Becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) includes more involvement in managing your clients’ support network and larger community. While clinical social workers can potentially adopt a direct, active role in diagnosing and treating mental health issues, it’s not the sole purpose of the profession as it is for mental health counselors.

According to the CSWE’s most recent Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, the 9 Social Work Competencies are listed as such: 

1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior 
2. Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice 
3. Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice 
4. Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice 
5. Engage in Policy Practice 
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities 
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities 
8. Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities 
9. Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities 

There is some overlap when it comes to careers in human services and social work. In both career fields you’ll be helping individuals and/or communities solve problems and find better social outcomes. Degree programs typically cover introductory behavioral health and global topics relevant to both career pathways.

However, jobs in human services typically focus on the health of communities at large, while social workers tend to place more focus on helping individuals and their families. Human service workers apply interdisciplinary skills to solve many types of problems in communities, while social workers help those in need to secure access to important social resources.

For instance, our Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Services curriculum includes study of nonprofit organization management, grant writing and fundraising, program planning and development, and volunteer, board, and community development.

On the social work side, our Master of Social Work curriculum zooms in on social services primarily for individuals and families, including clinical social work theory and practice, social policy and services, clinical social work interventions, and more.

Yes, you can elect an extended 4-year part-time program as an alternative to the 2-year full-time plan. The extended 4-year plan spans 12 semesters as opposed to 6 semesters in the full-time plan.