Are you just one of those people that are always happy, always upbeat and never get down? Do you hate that about yourself and wish that there were a way that you could change it and fast? Guess what? There is an occupation that is virtually guaranteed to make you long for the warm embrace of anti-depressants. Social worker careers, can do that for you. 

 

Social worker careers, in general, are not exactly going to leave most people feeling good at the end of the day. For those folks that do the job and love it, let us all take a moment and thank them. There can be no doubt at all that social workers perform a valuable service for society. If it is a job that sounds as though it may appeal to you, then definitely put social worker careers on your career planning and job search list.

 

It takes a special breed of person to be a social worker, and this may be doubly true for those who are child, family and school social workers. Child social worker careers, family social worker careers, and school social worker careers consist of employees performing a range of worthwhile jobs, ranging from working to make sure that children are being well taken care of to helping arrange adoptions. Much of the work in social worker careers is spent doing jobs that others might find to difficult or too depressing to do, such as child social workers finding foster homes for children that have been abused or abandoned. Even contemplating such things is enough to make most people a bit sad, which underscores how tough of a job this one happens to be.

Child social workers, family social workers, and school social worker careers often are seen as something of a liaison between students and their families and the school system. If there are problems that may interfere with a student’s academic performance or future success (a pregnancy, for example), the child, family and school social worker might be called in to try and help with the situation.   In addition to helping out children in need, child social worker careers, and family and school social worker careers may also require helping senior citizens that are in need.

The average child social worker, family social worker, and school social worker can expect to earn about $37,000 a year. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that there are many openings. The projected rate of growth for social worker careers is very good at about nineteen percent between now and 2016.

Child, family and school social workers have tough and stressful careers. While there may be exceptions, most child social worker careers, family social worker careers, and school social worker careers, require the employee(s) to deal with children who are in tough or even dangerous situations. Further, often due to funding issues and a lack of concern and will on the part of society, many of the solutions that these social workers are focused to accept for their clients may be less than ideal. Anyone considering a social worker career, should take into account the potential for very, very high levels of stress.

Considering the work involved and the potential stress involved in social worker careers, the pay of the child social worker, or family and school social worker is pretty unforgivable. The average pay for child, family and school social worker careers is about $37,000. Those working in elementary and secondary schools fair better at about $48,000 per year in their respective social worker career.

A Bachelor’s Degree in social work is necessary for the positions of child social worker, family social worker, or school social worker careers, and Master’s Degrees in the field are common as well for social workers. In 2006, there were 458 accredited programs in the United States to certify people seeking out social worker careers.