Becoming a Social Worker in the USA

While some people in the world have dreams of becoming rich and famous, others understand the implications and positive effects that can be had through working to improve the lives of individuals. People will always need help and if you have a passion for helping people with a variety of different issues, social work may be your calling. Becoming a social worker in the USA is not something that can be accomplished overnight, but if you work hard and strive toward that passion, it can be achieved. You will be positively impacting lives before you know it.

School Involved

Like most careers, you do not simply decide one day that you want to be a social worker and get a job. You to gain the knowledge of how to effectively do your job. The education to pursue is an undergraduate degree in one of these fields, Introduction to Social Welfare and Human Services, Principles and Practice of Social Work, Human Behavior Theory, Issues in Social Welfare, Social Work Practice in Research, or Statistics for Social Work Research. You can get by within the social worker realm with an undergraduate degree of approximately four years, but if you are serious about your vision of helping people and in order to climb the ladder of success, you may have to get a master’s degree.

Social Worker

Even if your perspective job does not require a master’s degree, it does not hurt to pursue such a degree so that you are much more flexible in your ability to maintain the career. It is much easier to get a job within an agency if you are overqualified rather than under-qualified for the position. Some of the programs that a master’s degree encompasses is Child Abuse and Neglect, Social Work with Children and Adolescents, and Practice in Home and Community Settings with Adults. If you find that you would rather teach within the social worker field, you will have to pursue a doctor’s degree as most colleges require their teachers to have them.

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Acquiring a License

Again, becoming a social worker in the USA is not as easy as simply asking for the job. Apart from your educational credentials, you also have to have the proper license. Gaining access to the license will require you to do a bit of digging to determine your individual state’s requirement. There are no national requirements for all states as each state dictate their own rules and regulations. The requirements can be anywhere from simply paying for the license upon completion of the program and maintaining that license on an annual basis all the way to a high number of hours worked within the field before the license is even available to you. It is important to understand and abide by the stipulations of your individual state.

Qualities of a Good Social Worker

The choice to become a social worker in the USA is one that should not be taken lightly. When you choose such a career, you have to understand that you will not just be maintaining a 9 to 5 job most of the time. Social work requires a commitment to the individuals you are helping and a deep understanding of the laws and regulations surrounding those people. You will often have to work with a wide range of ages and even mental capacities. Before you decide on this degree, make sure that you have thought things through and maintain these important qualities.

Self Control – A social worker has to have the ability to maintain self-control at all times. Social workers often have to be the mediator between families and individuals and those encounters can sometimes become highly volatile. When the social worker is able to maintain their control, they are better equipped to handle any situation that arises without issue.

Social Worker in USA

Oral and Written Skills – When you are a social worker there will be times when your work requires that you sit behind a desk and fill out forms for cases. That means that you must maintain a high level of written skills as well as the most up to date knowledge of the computer programs. The other aspect of your job will require that you have good communication skills to help your clients.

Patience – Having patience will help you become a better social worker. The work requires that you do not take sides within matters, but work to resolve to what is best for the client at hand. These instances will take a lot of patience and caring for the people involved.

A social worker’s life is not for everyone, but for those that have a passion for helping others facing some of the most difficult times of their lives, the rewards can be quite high. If you are looking to becoming a social worker in the USA take these steps to achieve your goals.