SOCIAL WORK OR NURSING??

[ARLEN.]

I am a junior in San Diego State, majoring in Social Work.

I will be graduating next year and I really like my career path but I also love nursing.
I worry salary wise, that social work will keep me underpaid or worse, unemployed!
I want to go get a masters degree but can't decide between Social Work or shifting to Nursing!

HELP PLEASE!

[Daniel John]

Nurses often make more than Social Workers. Both have tough jobs. But, you should go with what you love more. The last thing you want is to have a little bit more money, but be miserable with your life's choices. Social Workers and Nurses often have different personality types, so if you're happy in social work, you might not be happy as a nurse.

[john]

I'm a master's level social worker and my wife is a bachelor's level nurse who is working on her master's in nursing (midwifery/family nurse practitioner). I'm very proud to be a social worker and love the profession. But we're not valued or treated as well as most nurses.

1. Pay - Nurses earn much more than social workers. In most places, nurses with associate level/2 year community college degrees start out earning more than those with master's level degrees in social work. When I realized this, it was a bit upsetting. Of course in states like California, where both nurses and social workers have collective bargaining rights, wages are better.

2. Type of work - If you're interested in mental health, getting a master's degree in nursing and working as a psychiatric nurse practitioner expands your scope of practice but can be limiting regarding the need for supervision. You probably know that master's level social workers have to work for several years under the supervision of an LCSW/experienced social worker before they can practice independently. Psychiatric nurse practitioners always have to work under the supervision of a medical doctor. But these nurses have a much larger scope of practice. Not only can they provide psychotherapy and related services, but in most states they have the authority to write prescriptions. Again, psychiatric nurse practitioners earn much more than master's level social workers. In California it is probably the difference between a six digit income vs. mid 50k range in mid-career.

3. How they're treated - Registered nurses (even those with a 2 year degree) likely garner more respect than master's level social workers in most places. Certainly registered nurses garner more respect than bachelor's level social workers. Nurse practitioners in most healthcare settings are greatly valued; valued much higher than master's level social workers.

4. Job market - Jobs seem to be hard to come by no matter what the profession. My impression is that there are more nursing jobs available right now in most places than social work jobs.

Again, I'm proud to be a social worker. But if I had the past ten years of education to do over, I'd be a nurse right now. I could do the same work, get paid better, and be treated better as a master's level nurse.

Since you'll be graduating soon, consider using some of your remaining credits to obtain the prerequisites needed for a nursing "bridge" program. Such a program would allow you to get a master's degree in nursing in about two years. The first year you would do coursework toward your Registered Nurse license and the second year would be your specialty year. These programs allow people with a bachelor's degree to get an MSN without going back to get a BSN.