Top 6 Reasons to Attend a Social Work School

People become social workers for a myriad of reasons. They might want to help other people. They might enjoy the challenge of solving critical problems. Perhaps they had a less-than-ideal upbringing and want to help others avoid that same fate.

Whatever the reasoning for becoming a social worker, it first requires that you first get the proper education. This usually involves getting a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social work.

Below is a list of six of the top reasons why you should attend a social work school.

You Can Get a Degree Quickly

Many social work jobs require a master’s degree in social work. Fortunately, these degrees don’t take as long to get as other master’s degrees.

In fact, there are some MSW programs that you can complete in just two years. If you already have a bachelor’s degree in social work, you might be able to get advanced standing and trim the timeline for getting an MSW to a year or a year-and-a-half.

Other graduate degrees can take two, three, or four years to complete, so comparatively, an MSW can be a faster track to starting your career.

There are Many Specializations

One of the best reasons to attend a social work school is that there are many different areas of specialization in social work.

For instance, you can specialize in doing clinical social work or working with developmentally disabled clients. You might specialize in working with children and families, people that have been incarcerated, or working within a school system as well.

The point is that there are many career pathways that can open up for you by attending social work school.

You Get Practical Experience

Pursuing an education in a social work school gives you the opportunity to get on-the-job experience while you study.

In many cases, BSW and MSW education programs include practicum and internship experiences for students. These experiences take you out of the classroom and put you in a real-life social work setting where you can observe social work experts at work and even get some experience working with clients yourself.

The benefit of getting this experience while you’re in social work school is that you can see how the knowledge and skills you’ve learned in the classroom apply to actual social work settings. This kind of experience can be invaluable as you begin your career.

You Build a Network of Colleagues

Yet another benefit of attending social work school is that you build relationships with other social workers. This goes for your classmates as well as your professors and supervisors during practicum and internship experiences.

Building a network of colleagues can be extremely valuable for many different reasons. For starters, it can help you with finding work. A strong network also gives you trusted colleagues to call on when you have a question or problem or simply need some advice. Furthermore, having a good network of like-minded colleagues provides you with opportunities to learn and grow from their expertise and experiences.

More Job Opportunities Will Be Available

As with any career path, the more education you have, the more jobs that will be available in social work.

So, by attending a social work school, you will develop a deeper level of understanding of social work topics. You’ll also develop a much larger skill set that will help you carry out the duties of a social work job more effectively.

There are many social work jobs available for people with a bachelor’s degree in social work, but the jobs that open up for people that have a master’s degree often involve more responsibilities, the opportunity to supervise other social workers, and the chance to make more money as well.

You can Earn More Money After Attending Social Work School

People that want to become a social worker seldom desire to do so purely for the money. Instead, social work is about a desire to help other people improve their lives.

Nevertheless, by attending social work school, you put yourself in a position to earn much more money over the course of your career. For example, a social worker with a master’s degree earns an average of $13,000 more per year than a social worker with a bachelor’s degree. If your career spans 30 years, that’s a difference of $390,000!

No matter which way you look at it, getting an education in social work can have many positive impacts on your life, the lives of others, and on the community in which you live.

You can go to social work school and get a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, or even a doctorate. Each degree opens new possibilities for you and your career. All that’s left is to get started!