Assessment specialist vs clinical social worker

The differences between assessment specialists and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an assessment specialist, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assessment specialist has an average salary of $64,402, which is higher than the $63,056 average annual salary of a clinical social worker.

The top three skills for an assessment specialist include social work, patients and edition. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.

Assessment specialist vs clinical social worker overview

	Assessment Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$64,402	$63,056
Hourly rate	$30.96	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	90,625	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does an assessment specialist do?

An assessment specialist is an administrative professional who is responsible for designing and conducting assessment tests for a variety of academic clients. Assessment specialists are required to coordinate and implement the student testing program, which includes assessing an individual child's needs, potentials, and limitations. They must monitor special education or talent and gifted (TAG) staff to ensure that objectives are met. Assessment specialists must also need to know state laws and federal that pertain to educational assessments.

What does a clinical social worker do?

A clinical social worker is an individual in social work, which provides help to individuals in need of improving their lives and their well-being. Clinical social workers must work with different individuals to help them address difficulties that they are trying to overcome. To perform counseling services, clinical social workers must take and pass the professional licensure examination. They also help disadvantaged individuals connect to resources and services that they may benefit from.

Assessment specialist vs clinical social worker salary

Assessment specialists and clinical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Assessment Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$64,402	$63,056
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $86,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Trenton, NJ	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	Microsoft	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Technology	Education

Differences between assessment specialist and clinical social worker education

There are a few differences between an assessment specialist and a clinical social worker in terms of educational background:

	Assessment Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Assessment specialist vs clinical social worker demographics

Here are the differences between assessment specialists' and clinical social workers' demographics:

	Assessment Specialist	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	13%

Differences between assessment specialist and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Assessment specialist example responsibilities.

Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Collaborate with clinical staff regarding patient care during testing and any accommodations or adjustments require for patients being test.
Work with school assessment coordinators; train and evaluate staff.
Examine EMR documentation to determine resident's needs as required by CMS' MDS regulations.
Comply with CMS guidelines for Medicaid residents for admission, quarterly and significant change updates as appropriate.
Research and create original content for monthly SOE meetings; PowerPoint with synchronous live web camera interactions with faculty.

Clinical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Provide clinical services to patients in rehabilitation and oncology including assessment, crisis intervention, grief therapy, and discharge planning.
Provide individual, group, family therapy, team coordination, discharge planning, utilization review and MSW student supervision.
Participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings to determine Medicare length of skil nursing stay.
Facilitate therapy, symptom management, and rehabilitation groups for mental health clients in partial hospitalization setting.

Assessment specialist vs clinical social worker skills

Common assessment specialist skills

Social Work, 21%
Patients, 18%
Edition, 7%
Professional Development, 3%
Mental Health Assessments, 3%
Crisis Intervention, 3%

Common clinical social worker skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 17%
Behavioral Health, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
MSW, 3%

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Assessment Specialist vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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