r/socialworkjobs

I am going to start at Cal State East Bay as a social work major (will earn a bachelors first I am finishing up community college now) in Jan. I have a 3.87 in community college as a child development major.

I care a lot about providing resources for homeless individuals and for people who need housing resources. My mother seems to have psychosis or late onset schizophrenia and my brother is schizophrenic. My mother had nearly gotten the family evicted from the apartment I grew up in about a year ago, and with the way she shouts now may get the family evicted again (I am in a condo and have been in one for five months which makes it harder to save money.)

I have sleeping issues that I hope to address before entering any masters degree program. I am 21 now and will be 21 when I start my bachelors of social work at the start of next year (22 by the time I’m done with the first semester.)

I have been interested in MBTI for years, and am not actually 100% sure about remaining in California into my thirties. I have 2 years of experience as a behavior technician and was told a case I was on with an adult who had autism and a different disability went well. I additionally had an in home case with BCBA support at my first company that I was told went well. I have subbed a few times now at elementary schools and was told that this went well. I think that becoming a paraprofessional might be something that works for me within the next few years, but I don’t know that I want to switch. I scored well on the Board certified autism technician exam even though I don’t use this credential.

I have actually really enjoyed subbing as a behavior technician at elementary schools.

I did not like being in a rehab center about two years ago. Visited there for a family member. I remember that I was mostly afraid but I wonder if I would feel differently now if I were more educated about drug abuse (this was also in a dangerous area which did not help.)

I am an introvert and would not describe myself as being great at talking to people even though I can be quite talkative.

I have depression and anxiety. I am actually seeing a therapist myself now. I want to make well over $50/hr in the long term. I have grown up poor and in spite of my sleep apnea, I want to make enough money that I will be more “comfortable” down the line. I may want to marry and have a child later on (if my partner wanted one I would be open to discussing it.)

I am already nervous about the exams for any of the LCSW or therapy options but I know it’ll be years from now and that I’ll have plenty of time to prepare. $100-$150k to me in general sounds like an ideal salary range.

I have always liked to reflect and actually would describe myself as fairly introspective. I really value communication. I notice that a lot of adults seem to struggle with communication, and I have in the past as well. I can still struggle with asserting myself when I feel that I have been wronged, but have particularly worked on my communication skills in a professional setting and think I’ve gotten better about it over time.

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I am freshly licensed as of one month ago. I thought this milestone of finally having those magical 4 letters after my name would change job prospects and income drastically. When I was an ASW, I was making $100k a year for a community mental health organization (high cost of living county) and had amazing benefits including 10k towards fertility, generous parental leave and 5 weeks PTO. I am now a parent and have taken almost a year off with my child. I do not want to return to community mental health- it was not sustainable for me. I am struggling to find jobs aligned with salary and benefits even close to what I had before as an ASSOCIATE. I will say, for context my previous job was in northern CA and I am now in southern CA. I’m not sure if this is a major factor? I have been applying to both medical SW and therapy jobs at major health organizations in my area such as CHOC, UCI, UCLA, Providence and Kaiser. I keep getting those generic emails saying they are moving forward with other candidates. Mind you, I’m humbling myself and even applying to per diem positions as I’ve heard this is a strategy to get your foot in the door.

I guess I’m coming here to ask if anyone else is having a similar experience with the job market in southern CA for LCSW’s or am I doing something wrong. I don’t believe my resume and experience are the issue. I have 4 years of clinical experience doing therapy, not even including internships during grad school which were also doing therapy.

Of course, there are always the VC companies and I am considering starting up with one of them at least as a way to start having income while I wait for something more aligned with what I’m looking for. It’s important to me to have benefits and stability at this point in my life. I would ultimately like to have a private practice but the timing is not right with having a young child.

One possible plan is to start doing contract work and start the process of getting myself credentialed while I wait it out for a job to come through. Any feedback is welcome. Thank you for reading! Feeling so dang defeated and rejected 😭

I’m a social work intern tasked with creating a trauma-informed pandemic plan for a private mental health practice serving children and young adults.

I’d love to hear from social workers who worked during the pandemic!

What policies or practices made you feel safer working with clients?
What did your workplace do well, and what could have been better?
How did your agency support staff’s mental health and well-being?
What do you wish your workplace had done differently?
What should every agency or private practice include in a pandemic preparedness plan?

I’d really appreciate any experiences or lessons learned. Thank you!

*disclaimer, I know that I order to get the best answers, I need to speak with the state boards of the place I’m moving from and moving to, but I also want to hear from people who have been in a similar situation.

I’m currently an LMSW in Texas about a year out from my LCSW. I work in a group practice with about 15 weekly clients and work PRN in hospice as well. My partner recently received a really amazing job offer in Oregon (she works in a highly specialized field). We are moving in spring or early summer of next year.

Personally, I’m excited to leave Texas, I have wanted to live somewhere else for a long time and I never intended to stay in Texas long term. Professionally, however, I’m concerned about where this puts me in terms of my licensure. I know things would be a lot easier if I was already fully licensed and could apply for reciprocity. At this point, because the news of the job offer is relatively new, I haven’t spoken to my boss at my group practice. In an ideal world, I’d love to keep working for her and seeing clients virtually from Oregon in order to finish my Texas licensure, but I know that may not work out.

For those that moved in the middle of their LMSW (or state equivalent), what sort of things did you do to prepare? What was helpful and what do you wish you had done differently?

Hello!

For those of you who do remote work, any companies you recommend? I have my LMSW, and I am on track to get my LCSW in May of 2027. I’ve been looking into remote work, but so many of the companies have multiple red flags or awful reviews.

Thank you!

Minimum Qualifications
• Associate’s degree in Social Work, Human Services, Psychology, Sociology, or a related field.
• Relevant experience in social services, shelter services, case management, or supportive housing may be considered in lieu of a higher degree.
• Prior supervisory or leadership experience required.
• Strong knowledge of social service resources, housing programs, and community-based services

Please dm if interested and qualified.

I have been doing a bit more research over the last couple of days on what you can do with a BSW and MSW in social work, at least in California. The pay for being a licensed therapist to me actually doesn’t look so bad, at least it’s over $70k, but the BSW… hoo…

I was shocked when looking at what you can do with a BSW, because the amount of money isn’t much more at all than what I already make as a behavior technician now who isn’t yet done with community college. The highest paying one I think I saw for a BSW is $36/hr, and one or two of the positions were lower than what I already make now. I’ve read here that some people say you’re never a real social worker until you have the masters degree, but I mean jeez. Even people who are just starting out in case management deserve raises. I am interested in the field but want to figure out how to make good money.

I’m a BSW (30 f) student. I have a passion for social work, I LOVE it. I also really like my internship. The issue is, I’m a pharmacy technician and I have a passion for that as well. I got an offer for a really good pharmacy job and I’m wondering if I should drop out and take the job. Due to the economy, job security, and overwhelming course load, it definitely feels like pharmacy tech is the EASIER path. Does anyone have a similar situation? How did you balance the scales? What do you think about the future of social work and the job market ?

Thank you (:

I have spent the last 10 years doing quality assurance and foster care adoptions. I’m very familiar with child welfare practices, policy work, data collection, auditing, all things paperwork when it comes to foster care (specifically in Kansas).
Prior, I worked in a group home for 2.5 years.
Before that, teaching for 6 years.

I want to learn about other areas in the social work field. I recently finished my BSW, working on studying for licensure.
But I’ve spent all my time in child welfare. I want to know what other positions look like. School social work. Medical social work. Community services. Etc.

What do you do? Not a job description. What do you ACTUALLY do? The good, the bad, the ugly. I’m not sure child welfare is where I want to stay, so I feel like the best first step is learning what other roles in this field really look like day to day!

Thanks in advance!

I hope this is an okay subreddit for this question.

I’m a working professional in prevention services, and I’m an MSW student. I’m learning about genograms, wondering: how many of you 1) regularly create, or 2) have ever created, genograms for your jobs?

My professor portrays them as popular and necessary… I’d like to hear the experience of those currently practicing social work. Thanks!

I’ve come to the conclusion that starting a solo practice may be the most beneficial route for me as an LCSW. However, I’m at a loss about where to begin and would love to hear from others who have successfully built their own practices.
I would like to start with virtual sessions only and eventually offer some in person sessions. A few questions I have:
How did you choose your practice management software and telehealth platform?
Did you start with self pay clients while working on insurance credentialing, or get credentialed before opening?
What was the credentialing process like for commercial insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid?
What were your first steps, and what do you wish you had known before starting?
Any practical advice, resources, things to avoid, or lessons from your own experience would be greatly appreciated. I’m hoping to build something sustainable and would love to better understand what getting started actually looks like.