Career In Social Work

Do you feel satisfied by helping people?

Do you enjoy working with in general on all levels of interaction?

If so… then the “Social Work” will be the right career path for you.

“Social work is a professional & academic discipline of arts & humanities that seeks to facilitate the welfare of Societies, communities and individual”.

Social work is a helping profession, its main goal is to improve a society’s overall well-being, especially for the most helpless populations.

Practicing professionals with holding a degree in this field & who carried out the social work are termed as “Social Workers”.

There are many examples in history, which shows the origin of practice and profession of social work, i.e. Charity Organisation Society in the mid of 19th century and English Poor Laws of the 17th century.

The plus point is social worker can choose to work in any field such as education, healthcare, military etc. The job market for social worker is expected to grow by more than 10%. It also offers one a feeling of happiness & kindness as it involves helping others.

Duties of Social Workers

• They help the others who need help.
• They help their clients to come up with their problems and worst situations.
• They handle the situation arises such as child abuse and mental health emergencies.
• Provide psychotherapy services.
• Social workers help others cope with the challenges of their lives.
• Social workers help the disable children, and people with serious illness and addictions.
• Some social workers work with groups, community organizations, and policymakers to develop or improve programs, services, policies, and social conditions.

Scope

The scope in the profession of social working is wide and limitless. In this profession you can easily find jobs in organizations that are connected with helping people. You can work after your graduation such as in schools and other youth serving organizations, hospitals, medical clinics, and nursing homes, mental health agencies, and many others. In future this will never happen that the job opportunities in this profession will end.

Courses & Eligibility

Are you ready to make your career in this field….. So let us explain you first how to get started?

To start a career in Social Work, you should need a bachelor degree in this field. In India, several universities and colleges offer various bachelors and master courses in this field. Here we have listed some courses in the field of Social Work:

Bachelor Courses:

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW): It is a three-year duration courses. Students after passing 12^th from any recognized institution are eligible to apply. You can pursue this course, as a full-time, distance or through correspondence. After pursuing this course you can opt for master courses like MSW.

Master Courses:

Master of Social Work (MSW) or MA in Social Work: It is a postgraduate academic degree with the duration of two academic years consists of four semesters. Students who hold a graduate degree in Social Work can apply for this course. Bachelor’s degree holders in Arts, Science, commerce or management are also eligible to apply. This course is also offered through distance education and correspondence.

MSW Specializations:

• Human Resource Management
• Personnel Management
• Criminology & Correction Administration
• Family & Child Welfare
• Urban and Rural Community Development
• Industrial Relation & Labour Welfare

Doctoral Courses:

Ph.D in Social Work: It is a two-year duration course. Candidates who have a master’s degree in social work are eligible to apply. Some universities offer admissions to those students who have scored above than 50% aggregate in the qualifying examination.

Admission

Many institutions or universities like Dibrugarh University, IGNOU 2024 and many others offers admissions on the basis of marks scored in the qualifying examination and some other colleges gives admission on the basis of entrance exam, group discussion and interviews. Some entrance exams are listed below:

• Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) MSW Admission Test (AMU 2024)
• KUCET Social Work Entrance Exam
• Jamia Millia Islamia MA Admission Entrance Test (JMI Admission 2024)
• Calicut University MSW Entrance Examination

Searching for good colleges to pursue courses in Social Work…… the list of best colleges is listed below:

• Dept of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Dept of Social Work, Delhi University, Delhi
• College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
• Madras School of Social Work, Chennai

Career Scope

“Social Work is a vast discipline with lots of job opportunities.”

The working area of social workers is very vast; they work with population from newly born to elderly people. They serve their services to individual, families and communities.

As a Social Worker you can work in different areas like Hospitals, Clinics, Health Industry, Education Sector, NGO’s, Human Rights Agenices, Old Age Homes, Disaster Management Departments, etc.

Social workers work at the federal, state and local levels. They work for a wide range of people. They help infant to the older age people. According to their specialty they are classified to do work as public servants in government agencies, community centers, schools, hospitals, mental health clinics and career centres.

As the social care centres are open every year in various places the demand of social workers is also increasing. You can employ where the need of child and family social worker is needed.

What will be your Job Profile?

Some job titles in the field of social work are:

• Social Worker
• Labour Welfare Specialist
• Teacher
• Social Security Officer
• Criminology Specialist
• Counsellor

Role of a Social Worker:

• Help people of all ages and improve their health and well-being.
• To build trusting relationship with service users.
• Manage and organize support plans.
• Support the physical and mental development of children and young people.
• Support people to improve their financial position.

Salary

What salaries can you expect as a Social Worker?

In India, the average salary of a Social Worker can be expected between Rs. 2 to 3 lac per annum. With more experience and responsibilities you can expect a really good salary package.

In the USA, the average salary of a Social worker is above $42k per annum and it can also be increased depending upon the education, experience, working area, etc.

“The more you practice as a Social Worker, more salaries you will earn.”

Books & Study Materials

Here we have listed some good books to study social work:

Modern Social Work Theory – Malcolm Payne

Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change – William R. Miller

Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy – Rinku Sen

The Social Work Skills Workbook – Barry R. Cournoyer

Trauma and Recovery – Judith Lewis Herman

The Call to Social Work: Life Stories – Craig Winston Lecroy

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