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Over 600,000 social workers strive each day to create a good impact on the lives of other individuals. If you’re passionate about assisting folks, families, organizations, and communities, a profession in social work could be proper for you. Social workers discover themselves assisting individuals from all walks of life in a selection of atmospheres from schools to hospitals to prisons to nursing properties and handle casework, policy analysis, research, counseling, and teaching. They cope with issues such as poverty, abuse, addiction, unemployment, death, divorce, and physical illness. If a profession switch to social work appeals to you, following is actually a short background of social work basics and how you can 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 grow by 30% by 2010 and is anticipated to grow quicker than typical for all occupations by means of 2014.

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

• Child, Family, And School Social Workers: $34,820

• Medical And Public Well being Social Workers: $40,080

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

Education Specifications: All social workers should have a bachelors (BSW), masters (MSW), or doctoral degree (DSW or Ph.D.) and complete a predetermined number of hours in supervised fieldwork. Social workers also must graduate from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The CSWE reports that in 2004 there were 442 BSW programs and 168 MSW programs. While some people work with only a BSW, career alternatives are more limited, so the MSW or DSW is more common.

• BSW: Accredited BSW programs normally take 4 years to complete and need 400 hours of supervised field encounter. Using a BSW, a graduate can work in an entry-level position, such as a caseworker.

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

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

If you lack the educational or skilled background, an associate’s degree could be an excellent place to begin to find out if you are prepared to create the required educational commitment.

For info relating to accredited social work programs, pay a visit to the Council on Social Work Education’s site: http://www.cswe.org

Licensing and Exams: Social workers must be licensed. For licensing purposes, each and every state has its personal requirements, but an MSW is normally a minimum. Furthermore, licensing needs two years or 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience.

Following finishing college and hour specifications, Social Worker Quotes work candidates should pass an exam. The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) develops and maintains four categories of social work licensure examinations: Bachelors, Masters, Advanced Generalist, and Clinical. Candidates must check with individual boards to discover which examinations are appropriate for the jurisdiction where they wish to be licensed.

According to the ASWB’s website:

“Each examination consists of 170 four-option multiple selection concerns created to measure minimum competencies at 4 categories of practice. Only 150 of the 170 products are scored; the remaining 20 concerns are "pretest" things included to measure their effectiveness as items on future examinations. These pretest items are scattered randomly throughout the examination. Candidates have four hours to complete the test, that is administered electronically.”

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

For info on exams, visit [1]

Continuing Education: As part of renewing licenses every two years, nearly all states demand continuing education (CE) courses. Each and every state’s CE needs vary in variety of hours and approved courses, so be sure to verify with all the board more than your jurisdiction to make positive you're in compliance with CE needs. Numerous courses are obtainable on the internet, at sites such as http://www.speedyceus.com, which save time and money.

Varieties of Licenses: There are several 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 has 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 obtain health-care insurance reimbursements. (National Association of Social Workers)

SSW: School social work is actually a specialized region of practice inside the broad field in the social work profession. School social workers bring distinctive information and skills for the school system as well as the student services team. School social workers are instrumental in furthering the objective from the schools: to provide a setting for teaching, understanding, and for the attainment of competence and self-assurance. College social workers are hired by school districts to boost the district's ability to meet its academic mission, specifically exactly where home, college and community collaboration is the important to reaching that mission. (School Social Work Association of America)

Other specialties and certifications, provided by the National Association of Social Workers, contain:

• Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)

• Qualified Clinical Social Worker (QCSW)

• Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW)

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

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

• Certified Kids, Youth, and Loved ones Social Worker (C-CYFSW)

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

• Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM)

• Certified Social Worker in Well being Care (C-SWHC)

• Certified College Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS)