Developmental Services Worker

Types of Degrees Developmental Services Worker Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many developmental services worker graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	25
Basic Certificate	18
Master’s Degree	9
Graduate Certificate	8
Bachelor’s Degree	4
Undergraduate Certificate	3

What Developmental Services Worker Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, developmental services worker 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 Developmental Services Worker Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Developmental Services Worker Majors

A major in developmental services worker 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.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Developmental Services Worker Majors

As you progress with your developmental services worker degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Developmental Services Worker Major?

People with a developmental services worker degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Community and Social Service Specialists	13.2%	$42,620
Social and Human Service Assistants	16.4%	$33,750

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Developmental Services Worker?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of developmental services worker majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	3
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Developmental Services Worker

Some degrees associated with developmental services worker 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 developmental services worker careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	22.0%
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)	1.3%
Some College Courses	5.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	27.0%
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.	0.9%
Master’s Degree	18.2%
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.	12.2%

Online Developmental Services Worker Programs

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)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	1
Bachelor’s Degree	3	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Developmental Services Worker

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to developmental services worker.

Major	Number of Grads
Child Care Provider/Assistant	21,140
General Human Development & Family Studies	8,321
Child Development	4,356
Child Care & Support Services Management	3,670
Family & Community Services	1,129
Other Human Development, Family Studies, & Related Services	540
Family Systems	432
Early Childhood and Family Studies	332
Adult Development & Aging	265
Parent Education Services	11

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 Jsonin under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.