If you’re looking for a career path that will allow you to move between various employment settings to develop a range of skills and maintain high engagement with your work, the social work profession is a great choice.
While many associate social work with settings like government service agencies and nonprofits, there is actually a much wider range of employment opportunities for social workers than most people realize.
In fact, this is one of the best features of the social work profession, as the variety of opportunities for social workers encourages sustained participation that can make the work continue to stay engaging over the course of a long career.
Indeed, social workers can find opportunities in a huge range of settings, from dedicated agencies and organizations to contexts like hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers, courtrooms, and more. Thanks to our newfound understanding of the importance of mental health and the difficulty people of all types face in finding social services, many corporations also have on-staff social workers who are equipped to help employees when they are dealing with hardships. This opens up a new world of career opportunity for social workers who may be interested in being on a different kind of team.
As a social work student, you will not need to know exactly what type of setting you’d like to work in for the long term, but having a sense of the variety of settings where social workers are employed can help you refine your career goals and take the steps you need to take to launch the professional trajectory you’ve been dreaming of.
The Role of Social Workers in Industrial Settings
If you are a social work student who’s in the process of plotting your dream career, it’s likely you’re thinking about the duties you wish to take on as a social worker as well as the focus area that most speaks to you. These are essential factors to consider as you work toward a career that will keep you satisfied and invested in the long term.
However, as you make these decisions, it’s equally important to think through the ideal environment in which you’d like your career to take place.
The ins and outs of your day to day life will play no small role in your experience as a social worker, meaning you won’t want to wait until the last minute to consider what will be most invigorating for your practice overall.
This means it’s imperative to do good research on the work environments where social workers are employed as you begin to paint a picture of the career you want. Take a look at the list below to get your first taste of the environments where social workers are found.
Employment Settings for Social Workers
The following environments are some of the top settings where social workers are employed. Social worker responsibilities within these organizations can vary greatly, from performing clinical social work duties like counseling and therapy to providing administrative, logistical, and case management support for those navigating difficult situations.
- Child protective service agencies. These organizations are concerned with protecting and supporting at-risk children, who may come from a variety of distressing situations. Social workers at this organization provide all kinds of support to children in need, from mental health counseling to case administration, securing key resources and evaluating children who are suspected to be facing issues like domestic violence and neglect.
- Community centers and nonprofits. When you think of social work, it’s likely you think of this type of organization, which indeed can be top employers of social workers. These organizations frequently have a singular targeted focus that their work is devoted to, including poverty reduction, immigration, homelessness, and more.
- Corporate settings. Thanks to the rise of EAPs – Employment Assistance Programs – many corporations now have on-staff social workers whose job is to look after the mental and emotional welfare of employees. Social workers in these settings often provide direct counseling to employees as well as taking leadership roles in the development of a company’s overall mental health resources.
- Correctional facilities. Those who are involved in forensic social work (also known as criminal justice social work) often work in prisons and halfway houses, providing counseling to help those who are incarcerated or have recently been incarcerated get their lives back on track and avoid recidivism in the future.
- Elder care facilities and nursing homes. There are many social workers who specialize in the needs of the elderly, also known as gerontology. These social workers can be employed in a range of organizations as well as in at-home care contexts, where they help older people manage physical and mental health conditions as well as the difficulties of managing day to day life in old age.
- Government organizations. As with nonprofits, there are many focused government organizations whose work is devoted to addressing a single cause. These can include VA organizations, public health organizations, sexual and domestic violence support services, and more.
- Inpatient and outpatient treatment centers. Those involved in social work for mental health issues – including substance abuse and addiction – are often employed at treatment centers, where they can provide mental health services for people in need as well as overseeing educational programs and other supportive measures to help those in the recovery process.
- Medical facilities and healthcare clinics. Those who specialize in healthcare social work are often employed in hospitals, clinics, hospice care facilities, and other medical settings where their expertise in navigating the complex and confusing healthcare system can be of tremendous service to people dealing with health issues.
- Elementary, middle, and high schools. Those who work in the school social work field typically act as school counselors, providing direct counseling to students in need. They also can develop education and advocacy programs within schools to identify key needs of students and help other faculty members understand how they can provide support to students who are struggling.
These are just a selection of the top employers for social workers in Texas, but the range of options reflects the large variety of opportunities and lifestyles social workers can take on. As a social worker, you may not have full control of where you find work, but knowing where you’re most likely to thrive can be a helpful way of refining your options when you’re applying for job openings.
Current Challenges and Emerging Trends in Social Work
The history of the social work profession is a story of evolution and adaptation in response to an ever-changing understanding of Americans’ greatest needs. After all, the discipline of social work was created by the pioneering Jane Addams after observing the chain reaction of struggles that emerged for people living in poverty, and the efforts of early social workers involved constant retooling and reimagining to ensure that their services would genuinely provide support to those who needed it most.
Change is built into the social work profession, and contemporary social workers are trained to meet innovation with open arms.
After all, the goal of the social work profession is to provide the deepest support possible to the largest population possible. Efforts to transform approaches to social work practice are in service to this goal.
Disruptive Innovation in Social Work
Industries of all types are continuously reshaped by visionary individuals who contribute new approaches and ideas that change the game in their line of work. The social work field is no different, with the efforts of pioneering professionals finding new methodologies and problem-solving strategies to make their jobs easier and allow them to provide deeper, richer support to their clients. However, due to the radical premises from which the social work profession was founded, “disruptive innovation” can be a bit of a misnomer for the path-breaking shifts in social work practice the industry has seen in recent years.
Because the social work profession has always defied convention, disruptive innovation is built into its foundations.
This means that social workers by training are equipped to handle tremendous changes in the way they perform their jobs. From embracing new technologies to expanding their base of knowledge to support larger populations of people, social workers are consistently prepared to revise and refine the work they do. This is part of why continuing education is part of the licensing renewal process for practicing social workers, keeping them abreast of industry changes so that they can be effective and up-to-the-minute in the support they provide.
This embrace of change and evolution is something social workers can be proud of, as it is part of what has made the social work industry so effective in ameliorating society’s problems. If you are going into the social work field, be ready to adapt… It will be one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of your career.
The Spread of Technology and the Rise of Telehealth
One of the most profound innovations to hit the social work sector in some time is the spread of online services. These have been a huge boon for care providers, who have found that helping clients remotely allows them to support more people, making their care more accessible to those who could not necessarily transport themselves to social service offices.
Advanced technology has also eased the administrative work social workers are expected to perform, greatly expediting many procedures that used to be time- and resource-consuming. This allows social workers to focus on the meat of their work, bypassing logistical inconveniences to provide the best, most focused care possible.
Finally, the rise of technology has led to the embrace of online education options, meaning these innovations can reach those in MSW programs. In this day and age, there are many MSW programs (including numerous excellent ones in Texas) that allow students to receive their education online, making school more accessible for students who wish to continue working or upholding family responsibilities during their studies.
Sustainability
Every industry is currently preoccupied with sustainability efforts, and the social work profession is no different. Since social workers are deeply engaged with large-scale societal issues, they are typically well-informed about climate change, even doing the work to examine and unpack how environmental issues impact our most vulnerable communities. This means that as a social worker, you are likely to see transformations in your workplace that are designed to lower your carbon footprint and provide care in a way that reduces adverse impacts to the environment.
Cultural Competence: A New Industry Standard
Anyone who has attended an MSW program in the past decade is likely to have received cultural competency training, and practicing social workers frequently focus on this topic in their continuing education courses. Cultural competence is a newfound approach to social work that aims to address (and redress) the variety of experiences and perspectives clients have as a result of their race or ethnic background, religious values, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more.
As a social worker, it’s easy to understand why cultural competence is so important: after all, your services are intended to support society’s most vulnerable. Since issues related to identity are so central in determining social struggle in the U.S., it’s urgent that social workers have the tools to meet patients where they are, ensuring care that is as supportive and free of bias as possible. Though cultural competency training adds significant work to a social worker’s already-packed education, it is a rich and meaningful topic that will allow you to do the most in your efforts to change others’ lives.
FAQs
Do I need an MSW to hold a social worker position in a corporate setting?
Yes. No matter where you are working as a social worker, you will need an MSW in order to receive your social work license. This ensures that even social workers who are not employed by social work organizations will perform their roles at the highest level of competence, with skills and knowledge informed by years of schooling and training.
Do different industries require different social work licenses?
Not exactly, but your license level will be an important factor determining what kinds of jobs you’re able to hold. Social work licenses vary not by industry but by the work they authorize you to perform. LCSWs (Licensed Clinical Social Workers) are permitted to provide counseling, therapy, and other types of direct mental health support to people in crisis. This means that no matter what industry you work in, you will need to hold an LCSW license in order to provide counseling. LMSWs are not authorized to provide counseling but can hold any other social work role. A given industry may offer both LMSW and LCSW positions, but as a social worker, you will only be approved to hold responsibilities commensurate with your credential.
Can social workers have private practices?
Yes. Most social workers do not start out their careers in private practices, as doing this typically requires you to establish yourself professionally and amass quantifiable experience in your area of expertise. But once you have devoted real time to your specialty, starting a private practice can be a terrific way to focus your skills, be your own boss, and provide the targeted services you wish to provide.
Is corporate social work a focus area of the field?
No. Social workers in corporate settings go in with the expertise of whatever social work subfield they specialize in, such as mental health social work, healthcare social work, and more. As a corporate employee, your responsibilities will involve using those skills to assist employees within that organization. However, your focus area will remain whatever discipline of social work has been your emphasis.