Social Work Degree

Individuals who feel a certain level of compassion for their fellow man might want to consider a career in the field of social work. While many might believe they have a specific idea of social work entails, the field actually has a wide variety of employment opportunities and contrary to popular belief not all of them entail working for the government. Individuals with a social work degree will help people cope with and solve problems they face in their everyday lives.

Individuals considering a social workers degree should be tolerant of other people above all else because the job requires a good deal of time devoted to interacting with others. While a social workers job can consist mainly of dealing with individuals by helping them confront and resolve troubling issues in their lives, it can also consist of research, advocacy, and policy enforcement and development. Some of the many issues an individual with a social workers degree can expect to assist others with include:

• Disability
• Life-threatening disease
• Inadequate housing
• Unemployment
• Substance abuse
• Domestic conflicts (for example child or spousal abuse)

There are a number of ways an individual can earn a social work degree. The two most common are to earn a Bachelor’s degree in social work, or a related field, from either an online institution or a traditional brick and mortar university. A Bachelor’s Degree is considered the minimum requirement to attain an entry level position in a social work setting, whether for a public or private agency, or with the government. There are a variety of Bachelor’s degree programs that would qualify an individual to work in the field of social work, including but not limited to the following:

• Bachelor of Social Work
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Bachelor of Science in Sociology
• Bachelor of Science in Social Science

These degrees, whether offered as online social work degrees or at a traditional on campus program will be part of a larger liberal arts program an individual will go through. After completing a broad spectrum of liberal arts requirements, individuals will complete more focused studies culminating in 400 hours of field experience before a diploma is received.

Upon completion of a Bachelor’s program, individual have the option of pursuing further education both through online social work degree programs or at on campus locations. The two most common graduate degrees in the field of social work are the Master of Social Work and the Doctor of Social Work. A Master’s is required for those who wish to advance their career and open the door to more jobs with higher pay. A Doctorate is most often pursued by those who wish to focus more heavily on research or teach in the field of social work themselves.