Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife says that since she got her master's in social work, and her state license as a registered social worker that she is not going to make any money.
All she can drum up are jobs that pay around 30 grand per year.
With this much education, and this much student loan debt, what are her options?
We are in Austin Texas.
She also says that Texas is a terrible place to be for social workers, is this correct?
She thinks that Buffalo, New York is better for Social Workers.
Going to be broke?!? I'm a social worker and yes, we are underpaid! But some areas pay better than others... I don't mean geographically. I mean, if healthcare (for example) doesn't pay well in your area, would a state job? Child welfare? Counseling? School social work? It may be worthwhile to explore other options. $30k definitely sounds on the low end, especially for a metropolitan area.
I find it hard to believe that she can only find jobs that pay $30k in Austin. Does she have any experience? Is she bilingual? I live not too far from Austin in San Antonio. I've noticed that a lot of social work, mental health, and social services jobs in this region require or prefer fluency in Spanish. She might have to start out with a low paying job before she moves to a higher paying one. It took me a few seconds to find social work jobs in Austin that pay more than $40k (one almost pays $50k with the potential to earn $54k), but they require experience.
I think higher pay in New England (if there is that) is going to be eaten up by the cost of living. I saw a full time MSW postion in Rhode Island a few years ago for $16 an hour. As noted above, the low pay of entry level MSWs is well known and should not be a surprise to anyone. If she needs to take a low end job until she gains the experience to get a better job, then that is what she needs to do.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,580 posts, read 81,186,228 times
Reputation: 57818
That's about the starting pay for social workers, and in Austin it's a lot better pay than in NY, SF or Seattle where the cost of living is much higher. I have seen openings up to about $50k but that's still not much for here and required 5 years experience in addition to the master.
Social work is the poorest paid profession that requires education, it is much worse than teaching.
Eh, depends.
My SIL is a social worker, I'm a teacher. She makes more than I do, and always has. The pay tends to be better once you are in a supervisory role, versus the type of direct service that is what brings most people into social work to begin with. Another friend is a SW who has always worked in adolescent psych units of mental health centers. She, too, started making a lot more money once she progressed beyond case manager and began supervising case managers.
Is social work going to be a cash cow? No. It's a human service. It's not making anybody any money. We don't value human services. I feel like this isn't a secret.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
