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
Bachelor’s Degree	22,221
Associate Degree	1,721
Graduate Certificate	733
Doctor’s Degree	680
Basic Certificate	606
Undergraduate Certificate	147

What Social Work Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to social work were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Social Work Majors

Social Work majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• 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

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to social work:

• 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

As you progress with your social work 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.
• 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?

Below is a list of occupations associated with social work:

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 Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work?

Social Work runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #24 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 22,221 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 89% of recent graduates being 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	569
Black or African American	4,285
Hispanic or Latino	4,724
White	10,860
International Students	208
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,575

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Social Work, too. About 0.9% 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?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of social work students with a bachelor’s degree is $31,866 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $29,691 (25th percentile) and $34,291 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to social work so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $49,760 to $62,660 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to social work. 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 careers associated with social work require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to social work have obtained the following education levels.

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	16,905
Human Services	13,238
Public Policy	6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy	3,096
Other Public Administration	588

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.