Is there a big demand for social workers?

[lialani1]

I'm thinking about pursuing a major in social work (BSW) but I don't know if there is a big demand for it. I wanna work with kids maybe for an adoption agency or an hospital and wanna make good money doing it. If not social work, are there any good jobs out there where I can help kids and get paid good doing it?

[Laurie448]

Job Outlook for Social Workers:

Competition for social worker jobs is expected in cities, where demand for services often is highest and training programs for social workers are prevalent. However, opportunities should be good in rural areas, which often find it difficult to attract and retain qualified staff. By specialty, job prospects may be best for those social workers with a background in gerontology and substance abuse treatment.

Employment of social workers is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. The rapidly growing elderly population and the aging baby boom generation will create greater demand for health and social services, resulting in particularly rapid job growth among gerontology social workers. Many job openings also will stem from the need to replace social workers who leave the occupation.

As hospitals continue to limit the length of patient stays, the demand for social workers in hospitals will grow more slowly than in other areas. Because hospitals are releasing patients earlier than in the past, social worker employment in home health care services is growing. However, the expanding senior population is an even larger factor. Employment opportunities for social workers with backgrounds in gerontology should be good in the growing numbers of assisted-living and senior-living communities. The expanding senior population also will spur demand for social workers in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and hospices.

Strong demand is expected for substance abuse social workers over the 2004–14 projection period. Substance abusers are increasingly being placed into treatment programs instead of being sentenced to prison. Because of the increasing numbers of individuals sentenced to prison or probation who are substance abusers, correctional systems are increasingly requiring substance abuse treatment as a condition added to their sentencing or probation. As this trend grows, demand will increase for treatment programs and social workers to assist abusers on the road to recovery.

Employment of social workers in private social service agencies also will increase. However, agencies increasingly will restructure services and hire more lower paid social and human service assistants instead of social workers. Employment in State and local government agencies may grow somewhat in response to increasing needs for public welfare, family services, and child protection services; however, many of these services will be contracted out to private agencies. Employment levels in public and private social services agencies may fluctuate, depending on need and government funding levels.

Employment of school social workers also is expected to grow as expanded efforts to respond to rising student enrollments and continued emphasis on integrating disabled children into the general school population lead to more jobs. There could be competition for school social work jobs in some areas because of the limited number of openings. The availability of Federal, State and local funding will be a major factor in determining the actual job growth in schools.

Opportunities for social workers in private practice will expand, but growth may be somewhat hindered by restrictions that managed care organizations put on mental health services. The growing popularity of employee assistance programs is expected to spur demand for private practitioners, some of whom provide social work services to corporations on a contractual basis. However, the popularity of employee assistance programs will fluctuate with the business cycle, because businesses are not likely to offer these services during recessions.

[Kiss Me Deadly]

Yes, there's always a demand for social workers ... unfortunately, a lot of those jobs are long-hours, low-paying, emotionally-draining positions. You're on the right track, thinking of an adoption agency or hospital ... those jobs would pay more, but you'd probably have to specialize more in your training to get one. A lot of social-work jobs are government positions (Children and Youth Services, Youth Probation, court-appointed Counseling Services, etc.), and you can make a WORLD off difference to a kid in any of those positions. Maybe you could do an internship or externship for a semester during college to see what kind of work you like?

Another thing to keep in mind is this ... a BSW won't get you far enough to earn the big bucks ... for most of the higher-paying positions, a MSW is the minimum. Best of Luck to you!

[Gatlin]

Just take a look at Africa -- or even the African-American community in Louisiana, Mississippi, and you'll get your answer.
YES, there's more demand today for social workers than ever before. With all the wars and crimes around, the world needs more selfless souls.
There's information about children's volunteering in my source link.

[dolly c]

first off, you need to ask yourself if you can detached yourself, so that you don"t get too emotional. Sounds harsh, but you need to help people not make yourself a mess. Also How can you drive up to a shelter in a BMW and tell people how to do things. Nope ain't gonna work. If your doing for the money, find another profession. If you need to make a living you need your MSW.

[Dr_Adventure]

The outlook posted generally fits with other data about the future of social work...so in terms of demand I would say yes there is one. Now the BSW level issue is a bit more tricky. There is and will be a big demand for BSW, however the trend in social work (and really all professions) is toward the MSW. The advantage of the BSW is that you can do you MSW in a year rather than 2 yrs. So you are going to save yourself some time and money. You don't need an MSW but if you want to advance you will probably want to get one. Adoption and Hospital work in general will require an MSW (this does depend a bit on where you live and if the market has had a supply of MSW's). Social work is probably the best profession to work with youth in terms of getting jobs out of college and certainly the MSW is the most versatile of those related to human services.

DA