Social Work

Types of Degrees Social Work Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many social work graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	32,218
Graduate Certificate	733
Doctor’s Degree	680

What Social Work Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, social work majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Social Work Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in social work should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Social Work Majors

A major in social work prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Social Work Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a social work student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Social Work Major?

People with a social work degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	14.2%	$46,270
Counselors	14.2%	$42,130
Healthcare Social Workers	20.1%	$56,200
Marriage and Family Therapists	23.4%	$50,090
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	19.4%	$44,840
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	5.7%	$53,020
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Social Work Professors	9.4%	$68,300
Social Workers	8.3%	$63,140

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Social Work?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 3rd most popular in the country with 32,218 students graduating with a master’s in social work in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 88% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of social work majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,069
Black or African American	5,839
Hispanic or Latino	5,585
White	16,795
International Students	449
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,481

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Social Work. About 1.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• India

How Much Do Social Work Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that social work students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $44,064 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $40,909 (25th percentile) and $47,729 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a social work degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Social Work majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $49,760 to $62,660 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Social Work

Some degrees associated with social work may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for social work careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.9%
Some College Courses	1.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.8%
Master’s Degree	39.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	8.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	7.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.3%

Online Social Work Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 830 schools offered some type of social work program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	34	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	163	16
Bachelor’s Degree	59	11
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	331	54
Post-Master’s	17	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	83	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	10	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	1

Is a Degree in Social Work Worth It?

The median salary for a social work grad is $58,470 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 47% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $371,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Social Work

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to social work.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Administration	13,571
Public Policy	3,737
Human Services	1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy	741
Other Public Administration	295

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Army Medicine under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.