---

Family & Community Services

Types of Degrees Family & Community Services Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Family & Community Services can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	41
Associate’s Degree	55
Bachelor’s Degree	719
Master’s Degree	442
Doctor’s Degree	10

What Family & Community Services Majors Need to Know

Studies in Family & Community Services emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Family & Community Services graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Family & Community Services emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Family & Community Services program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Family & Community Services careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Family & Community Services graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.4 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.2 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Family & Community Services professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
ServiceNow	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Dynamics	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Image editing software	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)	Web page creation and editing software	—
Kahoot!	Multi-media educational software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Family & Community Services graduates include:

• Extension Worker
• County Demonstrator
• Family and Consumer Sciences Educator (FACS Educator)
• Family Development Extension Specialist
• Agriculture Extension Specialist
• Extension Agent
• County Extension Agent
• County Home Demonstrator
• Cooperative Extension Agent
• Farm Services Advisor
• Extension Service Specialist
• Feed Advisor
• Home Services Consultant
• Family and Consumer Science Teacher (FACS Teacher)
• Extension Specialist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Family & Community Services graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	70.4%
Bachelor’s degree	14.8%
Postsecondary certificate	3.7%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.7%
Doctoral degree	3.7%
Less than a high school diploma	3.7%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Family & Community Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.6% of Family & Community Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,122	88.6%
Men	145	11.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Family & Community Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	782	61.7%
Asian	54	4.3%
Hispanic or Latino	175	13.8%
Black or African American	147	11.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	6	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	17	1.3%
Two or More Races	46	3.6%
Race Unknown	30	2.4%
International Students	10	0.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Family & Community Services Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Family & Community Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$33,243
4 years	$38,875
5 years	$44,531

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,531 — roughly 34% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Family & Community Services Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Family & Community Services. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	2
Bachelor’s	4	5
Master’s	8	2
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Family & Community Services Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Family & Community Services graduates earn a median of $38,875 four years after completion — roughly 2% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	19.07
Adult Development and Aging	19.0702
Child Care and Support Services Management	19.0708
Child Care Provider/Assistant	19.0709
Child Development	19.0706
Developmental Services Worker	19.0710
Early Childhood and Family Studies	19.0711
Family Systems	19.0704
Human Development and Family Studies, General	19.0701
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services, Other	19.0799
Parent Education Services	19.0712
Apparel and Textiles, General	19.0901

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.