Is social work a bad field to get into (salary wise)?

I hear everyone say the pay is bad for being a social worker...





1. is it really that bad?





2. is it more than a 40hr a week job?





3. also what else can you do with a social work degree that actually pays good?








Im thinking of going to school to be a social worker but I hear alot of negative comments about the job :(, please help

Is social work a bad field to get into (salary wise)?
I have answered you in the past about what social workers do and i thought I would help broaden your horizon a little bit more. (I added a correction or rebuttal about the hours social workers work in response to the last guy saying all social workers work long hours...read my response...we all don't work long hours.)





I am a social worker so let me inform you on why you want to be a social worker and inform you of some of the incorrect information that has been said on this answer.





First we are not baby snatchers. A very small poercentages of social workers work for the state and an even smaller percentage work for the childrens division for investigations because of all the cutbacks the various state are curerently doing.





Your jobs can be 40 hours a week or more than forty hours a week. It depends a lot on what you want to do with your career. I gave you a list last time of all the different job opportunites.





The nation is begging for more social workers. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools (to name a few) are all reversing the past trend and are increasing the number of social workers they are hiring. They have decided we perform an important function in the day to day operations of their buisnesses.





Third most people have a very good experience with social workers. We are not the whores and the underdogs that some people seem to think we are. We are their to help not hinder. One of our fundamental codes of ethics is the right to self-determination. We are their to help the client not to harm them.





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Pay is always an issue but the benefit of our profession is the babyboomers are currently retiring in record numbers and our payscale is going up. We are not limited to one area to work in. You can go in to private practice. You can work for a for-profit agency. I know social workers that make $65,000 a year. I have seen social worker become directors of agency and have seen them work for congressman.. it is all up to you with what you want to do with your degree.


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Go into social work because you want to. Go into with an open heart...a good heart. GDon't become jaded and think the world has to be perfect. Help the people you can and no you are making a difference. You will make a wonderful social worker if you keep your personal life and your professional life seperate.





Okay let me add another note to try and correct the mininforamtion that once agin given in this site....it depends on where you work if you work more than forty...some social workers work straight 40 hours...(private practice, substance abuse counselors (my job), hospital social workers ( i know many of them), the onces that work more than forty hours are usually state workers that are on call 24/7...they choose to do those jobs ...it means they love what they do or they won't be doing them....if you work your way up the ladder and became a supervisor...guess what your more important and you are going to be doing more work...you have that in almost all fields....people get promotions thay work more not less....we are not special or any different.....don't get scared because some people don't work in the field and don't know what they are talking about.





If you have any questions e-mail me.


ambrinker@prodigy.net
Reply:in the usa crappy pay
Reply:Quick facts from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:





Seventy-one percent of all social workers are women. Their average annual salary is $30,108.





The average annual salary for male social workers is $34,372.
Reply:in the uk,





1) the pay is getting better (so my social worker friend tells me) but still not really equal to the actual job you do.





2) yes





3) no idea





anywhere else, i have no idea
Reply:No i dnt think it is bad it is like serving public
Reply:Yes, the pay is lousy. It can be more than a 40 hour a week job but then any job in public service will normally require more than 40 hours (and unpaid at that). You have to do it because your heart is in it. Just like teaching. You can't expect to get rich or work only the required hours.
Reply:Yes. But very interesting.

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