All About Social Work Professors
Career Description Teach courses in social work. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Life As a Social Work Professor
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
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Skills Needed to be a Social Work Professor
These are the skills Social Work Professors say are the most useful in their careers:
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
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.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Health Social Work Professor
- Field Education Coordinator
- Social Work Faculty Member
- Professor
- Master of Social Work Program Coordinator (MSW Program Coordinator)
Job Demand for Social Work Professors
In the United States, there were 14,900 jobs for Social Work Professor in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 9.4% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,400 new jobs for Social Work Professor by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 1,300 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Social Work Professor are Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, Rhode Island, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Salary for a Social Work Professor
Social Work Professors make between $34,940 and $134,740 a year.

Social Work Professors who work in California, Maryland, or Kansas, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Social Work Professors in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $70,450 |
California | $110,020 |
Colorado | $65,220 |
Delaware | $79,320 |
Florida | $75,640 |
Hawaii | $68,150 |
Illinois | $58,350 |
Indiana | $70,120 |
Iowa | $78,920 |
Kansas | $82,720 |
Kentucky | $63,130 |
Louisiana | $72,910 |
Maine | $62,850 |
Maryland | $97,110 |
Massachusetts | $69,570 |
Michigan | $71,710 |
Minnesota | $72,450 |
Mississippi | $72,830 |
Missouri | $80,770 |
Montana | $64,950 |
Nebraska | $59,660 |
New Hampshire | $81,040 |
New Jersey | $80,810 |
New York | $91,680 |
North Carolina | $67,730 |
North Dakota | $62,960 |
Ohio | $88,810 |
Oregon | $82,200 |
Pennsylvania | $63,060 |
Rhode Island | $70,790 |
South Dakota | $78,810 |
Tennessee | $65,620 |
Texas | $73,920 |
Utah | $81,790 |
Washington | $83,690 |
Wisconsin | $63,640 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Social Work Professors
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Social Work Professors may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Web browser software
- Data entry software
- Email software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Google Docs
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Learning management system LMS
- Blackboard Learn
- Course management system software
- Desire2Learn
- iParadigms Turnitin
- Collaborative editing software
- Sakai CLE
- DOC Cop
- Image scanning software
How to Become a Social Work Professor
Education needed to be a Social Work Professor:

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Social Work Professors Work

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

References:
Image Credit: Army Medicine via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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