Career Opportunities in Social Work and Child Services

Introduction

This paper explores twelve distinct career paths within the social work and child services fields, examining job duties, educational requirements, salary ranges, and employment outlooks for each. The careers discussed, in order, are: child life specialist, early childhood intervention, adult protective services, court-appointed special service, Head Start administrator/teacher, forensic interviewer, children's protective services, pregnancy center employee, adoption agency employee, foster care parent or employee, women's shelter employee, and children's camp administrator. Following these descriptions, the paper reflects on which careers are most and least appealing from a personal standpoint.

A child life specialist works within the pediatric field, typically as part of a team focused on healthcare for children and adolescents. These specialists use play, conversation, and art to connect with and support young patients. They usually work in settings such as doctors' offices and private clinics, but they may also be present in funeral homes, hospices, and schools (DegreeDirectory, 2013).

Child-Focused Clinical and Intervention Careers

The employment outlook for child life specialists is improving as the overall number of positions grows. However, the better concentrations of such jobs tend to be in metropolitan and urban areas, where children's hospitals — the most common employers of these professionals — are located. The average child life specialist earns approximately $43,000 per year, with the bottom 10 percent earning around $35,000 and the top 10 percent earning around $54,000 (DegreeDirectory, 2013).

Like child life specialists, early childhood interventionists typically work on a multidisciplinary team. Their primary points of contact are fellow providers and families with children in crisis or at risk. Team members can include occupational and physical therapists, social service providers, and other medical personnel. The position requires at least a bachelor's degree, and more advanced education is highly advantageous (PersonnelCenter, 2013).

The outlook for early childhood intervention specialists is excellent because the demand for qualified professionals is very high. Government grants are plentiful and help organizations hire and retain these professionals. Many agencies contract directly with school districts, allowing for considerable upward and lateral career movement. Working in a daycare or similar environment that serves children with disabilities is a practical way to explore whether this career is a good fit (PersonnelCenter, 2013).

Adult protective services falls under the social work dimension of the career workforce, and social workers are in high demand across the United States. Adult protective services personnel function similarly to their counterparts in child services, though with an adult population. In some situations, adults are unable to care for themselves due to illness, age, or a combination of both. Adult protective services workers help protect vulnerable adults from harm, neglect, and abuse (BLS, 2013).

The outlook for social workers is very strong. The number of social work positions is expected to grow by approximately 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, which is higher than the national average. The broader social work field employed approximately 650,000 workers in 2010, with growth of roughly 161,200 positions expected over that decade. On-the-job training is not typically required at entry, and the median pay for social workers is just over $20 per hour, or approximately $42,000 per year (BLS, 2013).

Court, Legal, and Protective Services Careers

Court-appointed special service personnel — commonly referred to as advocates — serve a critical role in the justice system. Appointed by judges, they are tasked with watching over and advocating for the best interests of children who have been severely abused or neglected by parents, guardians, or other responsible parties. Such advocates often remain involved with a child, directly or indirectly, until the case is fully adjudicated (CASA, 2013).

Paid positions in this field generally fall under the social work category described above. However, many individuals performing this work do so as volunteers — for example, through organizations such as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which operates on a strictly volunteer basis and provides no financial remuneration (CASA, 2013).

As with adult protective services, children's protective services personnel fall under the social work umbrella. The distinction is that the pool of potential victims is substantially larger: while most adults are relatively self-sufficient, children — particularly those under five years old — are among the most susceptible to abuse and neglect by parents, guardians, or other responsible parties. Child protective services workers typically collaborate with local law enforcement to determine whether a child is in danger and how to proceed if removal from the home is temporarily or permanently necessary (BLS, 2013).

The social work workforce in the United States exceeds half a million and is expected to approach one million by the end of the decade. Where educational requirements are stipulated, a bachelor's degree in social work is the minimum, though a Master of Social Work (MSW) is often required depending on the hiring agency and the specific position. State licensure is also required in many cases, though government agencies such as child protective services collectives may sometimes make exceptions — a flexibility less common in private-sector social work settings (BLS, 2013).

A forensic interviewer is often a professional working within the forensic psychology field. Forensic psychologists apply psychological principles within the criminal justice system, and anyone in a similar interviewing role does the same. Forensic interviewers conduct interviews related to civil and criminal cases, family court proceedings, custody hearings, and other legal matters (BLS, 2013).

While the outlook is strongest for psychologists in industrial, organizational, and clinical or counseling roles, the psychology field as a whole is growing, which benefits those seeking forensic interviewing positions. The median annual pay for a psychologist in 2010 was $68,640, or approximately $33.00 per hour. There were roughly 174,000 psychology positions in 2010, a figure expected to grow by more than 20 percent — approximately 37,700 positions — between 2010 and 2020. One significant barrier, however, is that doctoral-level education is generally required for strong career prospects; the BLS notes that a PhD is considered the minimum credential for a robust psychology career, and a residency period is typically advantageous or required as well (BLS, 2013).

Conclusion

In closing, all social work fields are redeeming in their own way, and many of them pay quite well. The educational requirements are sometimes high for certain areas and specific positions, but the fulfillment and broader social good realized through the work usually make the stress and effort required to enter, survive, and thrive in the field worthwhile. Even so, social work is not for everyone — and certainly not for someone motivated purely by financial gain.