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More than 600,000 social workers strive each day to produce a positive impact on the lives of other people. If you’re passionate about helping folks, households, organizations, and communities, a profession in social work could be right for you personally. Social workers locate themselves helping folks from all walks of life within a selection of atmospheres from schools to hospitals to prisons to nursing properties and handle casework, policy evaluation, research, counseling, and teaching. They handle concerns including poverty, abuse, addiction, unemployment, death, divorce, and physical illness. If a career switch to social work appeals to you, following is a short background of social work fundamentals and the best way to make a smooth transition.

Career Outlook: Based on the U.S. Division of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the social work profession is expected to develop by 30% by 2010 and is expected to develop faster than average for all occupations via 2014.

Median Annual Earnings for Social Workers (U.S., 2004)

• Child, Loved ones, And School Social Workers: $34,820

• Medical And Public Health Social Workers: $40,080

• Mental Wellness And Substance Abuse Social Workers: $33,920
• All Other Social Workers: $39,440

Education Requirements: All social workers must have a bachelors (BSW), masters (MSW), or doctoral degree (DSW or Ph.D.) and complete a predetermined quantity of hours in supervised fieldwork. Social workers also need to graduate from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The CSWE reports that in 2004 there had been 442 BSW applications and 168 MSW applications. While many people work with only a BSW, profession choices are a lot more limited, so the MSW or DSW is more common.

• BSW: Accredited BSW applications usually take four years to complete and demand 400 hours of supervised field encounter. Having a BSW, a graduate can work in an entry-level position, including a caseworker.

• MSW: An MSW requires two years of study and features a prerequisite of an undergraduate degree in social work, psychology, or a comparable field. An MSW allows a social worker to work inside a clinical setting to diagnose and treat psychological problems.

• DSW: A doctoral degree requires anyplace from 4-7 years. A DSW has extensive instruction in therapy and research and is qualified to teach inside a university setting.

Should you lack the educational or expert background, an associate’s degree may be a great place to start to determine if you’re prepared to create the necessary educational commitment.

For details relating to accredited social work applications, visit the Council on Social Work Education’s website: http://www.cswe.org

Licensing and Exams: Social workers has to be licensed. For licensing purposes, each state has its own requirements, but an MSW is generally a minimum. Additionally, licensing needs 2 years or three,000 hours of supervised clinical expertise.

Right after completing school and hour needs, social work candidates must pass an exam. The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) develops and maintains four categories of social work licensure examinations: Bachelors, Masters, Sophisticated Generalist, and Clinical. Candidates ought to verify with individual boards to find out which examinations are appropriate for the jurisdiction where they need to be licensed.

In accordance with the ASWB’s website:

“Each examination includes 170 four-option numerous choice queries created to measure minimum competencies at 4 categories of practice. Only 150 from the 170 things are scored; the remaining 20 questions are "pretest" items integrated to measure their effectiveness as items on future examinations. These pretest things are scattered randomly throughout the examination. Candidates have four hours to complete the test, which can be administered electronically.”

For information on state licensing requirements, see the Association of Social Work Boards web site: http://www.aswb.org/education/boards/

For information on exams, pay a visit to [1]

Continuing Education: As element of renewing licenses every two years, almost all states require continuing education (CE) courses. Each and every state’s CE needs differ in quantity of hours and authorized courses, so be sure to check using the board over your jurisdiction to create positive you're in compliance with CE specifications. Several courses are accessible Online Social Work Degrees, at websites such as http://www.speedyceus.com, which save time and money.

Varieties of Licenses: There are numerous various types of licenses accessible:
L.C.S.W. (or a.C.S.W., L.C.S., L.I.C.S.W., C.S.W.)

The licensed clinical social worker includes a graduate academic degree, has completed supervised clinical work expertise and has passed a national- or state-certified licensing exam. This sophisticated practitioner holds a license that enables him or her to receive health-care insurance coverage reimbursements. (National Association of Social Workers)

SSW: College social work is actually a specialized region of practice within the broad field from the social work profession. College social workers bring unique knowledge and skills to the college system as well as the student services group. School social workers are instrumental in furthering the purpose of the schools: to supply a setting for teaching, studying, and for the attainment of competence and confidence. School social workers are hired by school districts to improve the district's capability to meet its academic mission, especially exactly where home, school and community collaboration may be the crucial to attaining that mission. (School Social Work Association of America)

Other specialties and certifications, supplied by the National Association of Social Workers, consist of:

• Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)

• Qualified Clinical Social Worker (QCSW)

• Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW)

• Certified Clinical Alcohol, Tobacco along with other Drugs Social Worker (C-CATODSW)

• Certified Advanced Youngsters, Youth, and Family members Social Worker (C-ACYFSW)

• Certified Youngsters, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)

• Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM)

• Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM)

• Certified Social Worker in Wellness Care (C-SWHC)

• Certified College Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS)