Career Options For Social Workers – The demand for social workers is projected to grow by 16% between 2016 and 2026, much faster than the average growth rate for all occupations. If you’re interested in a career in social work, a master’s in social work can expand your employment opportunities and help you break into a specific field. With opportunities in many different settings – schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, government agencies, and more – an MSW can expand your career horizons.
Career Options For Social Workers
The highly respected Adelphi School of Social Work has a long history of training social work leaders and helping to shape social policy. Since 1951, we have been continuously accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, and according to US News & World Report, Adelphi’s social work program is ranked in the top 5% in the nation. In addition, our faculty is made up of specialist professionals and researchers who have published on the full range of topics in the field, including health disparities, children’s rights, the role of social workers in policy making and more.
What Are The Various Career Options After Getting A Masters Degree In Social Work?
Our Master of Social Work program combines decades of experience and heritage from Adelphi’s flagship school of social work into a flexible curriculum designed for working professionals. While the program is primarily self-delivered, we include two year-long on-campus experiences because of the importance of relationship building in social work. Many students tell us that studying on campus is the highlight of their studies.
We are incredibly proud of our ability to bring personalized attention to face-to-face classroom learning. Our graduates graduate from the program prepared to become licensed social workers and begin rewarding careers.
To learn more about Adelphi University’s programs and download a brochure, please fill out the fields below or call 888.252.4110 to speak with one of our enrollment advisors.
Adelphi University respects your right to privacy. By submitting this form, you agree to receive emails and calls from an Adelphi University representative, which may include the use of automated technologies. Consent is required to contact you, but is not a mandatory requirement for registration or subscription. Are you interested in becoming a macro social worker? Are you wondering what a macro social worker does and/or what skills and experience you need to develop? a bit long, but full of valuable career guidance information for current and potential macro social workers!
What Is The Difference Between Direct Service Social Workers And Clinical Social Workers?
Laurel Hitchcock. Ph.D., associate professor of social work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, known as an innovator in the field of social work education. In 2012, Laurel received a SAGE/CSWE Innovative Teaching Award for her work using various social media assignments in her courses.
Through our shared involvement in social media, I was lucky enough to meet Laurel, and she kindly agreed to this interview about macro social work, her area of expertise.
The infographic below provides a snapshot of key findings. For even more benefits, be sure to read the great interview with Laurel after the chart!
I have always considered myself a community-oriented social worker, regardless of where I worked or what I did as a social worker. It started when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, in the early 1990s.
Social Work (msw)
For two years, I lived in a rural community as a health volunteer, working primarily with women’s groups on immunization programs, malaria prevention, and child development monitoring efforts.
As a volunteer from another country, I had to be accepted by society before I could work effectively with individuals or groups of women. This meant learning about the local community and its culture, as well as meeting and talking to people from different constituencies in the community.
While in the Peace Corps, I earned a Masters in Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama. I have worked in several health care settings, including a homeless health agency, an emergency room, a domestic violence prevention program, a community mental health center, and a medical research center.
My desire to become a social work educator began while working as a program manager at a community mental health center. I trained and supervised undergraduate social workers to work with adults with serious mental illness and found that I enjoyed helping other social workers learn and grow as professionals.
Let’s Promote The Value Of Career Development
The desire to teach brought me back to school and I received my PhD in Social Work from the University of Alabama in 2009. Since then, education in the field of social work has been my field of activity.
Today, I am more interested in teaching and learning about best practice in higher education, particularly how we can educate, train and educate people to be effective, quality social workers.
What is “macro” versus clinical or micro social work? Could you give some examples of macro social work?
I have always liked Ellen Netting’s (2005) explanation of social work macropractice as “efforts within and beyond organizational, community, and political arenas to support, change, and protect the quality of life” (p. 51).
Social Work Degree
This definition is comprehensive enough to cover activities with individuals or small target groups, direct or indirect tasks, and recognizes the role of politics as a social service practice.
The practice of social microwork includes activities with individuals, families, and treatment groups aimed at changing or preventing biopsychosocial problems that affect quality of life.
The bridge between the macro and micro practice of social work is best understood through the lens of a person-in-environment perspective.
A classic example of macrosocial roles are managers in social service organizations who administer programs, supervise clinical staff, and ensure smooth operation from a political and administrative perspective.
What Can I Do With A Social Work Degree?
Another example is a public health social worker who works to improve the health of the population. The health social worker conducts community assessments, plans and implements health-oriented preventive and rehabilitative interventions, and works to ensure that individuals and communities have access to health promotion services.
Additionally, I believe that social work educators can be considered macro-level social workers because they engage in educational, training, and supervisory activities, as well as policy work that influences what happens in classrooms, curriculum development, and oversight responsibilities. in the profession
I believe in finding role models and/or mentors who are meaningful and unique to the person, and so I encourage my students to identify their own role models in some of the following key areas of professional social work practice:
History – Over the past 100 years, there are so many great examples of trailblazing social workers who have helped make the profession what it is today. It is important to know who these people are and what they have done to help individuals, communities and the profession during their time.
Social Work 101
My favorite historical role model is Julia Lathrop, the first head of the US Department of Children’s Services from 1912 to 1921. Even when she didn’t even have the right to vote as a woman, she led a federal agency and initiated groundbreaking research into how poverty affects babies. and maternal mortality.
The results of her work can still be seen in federal funding for preventive health services for women and children. A great resource for finding role models from the past is the NASW Social Work Pioneers list.
Education. While in college, working toward a bachelor’s or master’s degree, I encourage students to find a professor in their school or social work department who they respect and/or find interesting, and then develop a professional relationship with that person.
Having a mentor while in college increases a student’s chances of graduating. Thus, by maintaining these relationships after graduation, a social worker can stay in touch with their alma mater, learn about new opportunities such as graduate work and fellowships, and always have a designated person to turn to for professional referrals .
Post Grad Plan: Finding Your Career Path In Social Work
I have two former adjunct professors that I still keep in touch with from my MSW days. These relationships helped me navigate my career decisions and led me to speaking engagements and other employment opportunities.
Also, I stay in touch with my struggling alumni and love hearing what and how they are doing. I often make recommendations or contacts for various opportunities, such as employment, speaking engagements or continuing education.
First, macro social workers should be encouraged to develop their interviewing skills, both in terms of the questions we ask and how we ask them. For example, interviewing a person about their community requires the same skills as interviewing them about their psychosocial problems (commitments, open-ended questions, etc.).
Second, leadership skills are important for macro social workers, even if you are not in a leadership role. You never know when you might be called upon to lead a meeting or task force. Leadership skills are developed over time through reflection and experience.
What Can You Do With An Msw?
One tool that social workers can use to assess and develop their leadership skills is Leadership Skills