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Family service worker education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a family service worker. Family service workers usually study social work, psychology, or sociology. 69% of family service workers hold a bachelor's degree, and 13% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 4,706 real family service worker resumes to see exactly what family service worker education sections show.

The most common colleges for family service workers are the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

There are also many online family service worker courses to help get the education required to be a family service worker.

There are certain family service worker certifications that you should consider. These family service worker certifications include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Child Development Associate (CDA).

What education do you need to become a family service worker?

What degree do you need to be a family service worker?

The most common degree for family service workers is bachelor's degree, with 69% of family service workers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 13% and master's degree degree at 13%.
  • Bachelor's, 69%
  • Master's, 13%
  • Associate, 13%
  • High School Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a family service worker?

You should major in social work to become a family service worker. 25% of family service workers major in social work. Other common majors for a family service worker include psychology and sociology.

Most common colleges for family service workers

Family service workers often get their degrees at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Arkansas State University, and University of Phoenix. Here are the most common colleges for family service workers in the US based on their resumes.
Family service worker common collegePercentages
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff11.37%
Arkansas State University11.37%
University of Phoenix9.64%
University of Arkansas at Little Rock6.32%
University of Central Arkansas5.69%

Best majors for family service workers

RankMajorPercentages
1Social Work25.5%
2Psychology19.5%
3Sociology8.3%
4Criminal Justice8.2%
5Human Services6.1%

Best colleges for family service workers

The best colleges for family service workers are Northwestern University, Northeastern University, and Boston College.

A family service worker with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for family service workers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become family service workers.

1. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Enrollment

16,205

2. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

3. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. SUNY College at Brockport

Brockport, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,412

Enrollment

7,015

7. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

8. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,464

Enrollment

9,639

20 best online courses for family service workers

Advertising disclosure

1. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners

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In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...

2. Blockchain in Financial Services: Strategic Action Plan

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In this fourth and final course of the specialization, you will synthesize your learning into a Strategic Action Plan. The goals of this course are twofold: One, it’s for you to identify a specific need or problem within the financial services industry that can potentially be solved using blockchain technology. Two, it’s for you to investigate possible solutions to this problem, and to develop a strategic plan for how these solutions might be executed. You will accomplish different project...

3. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

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Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

4. Customer Service Foundation

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4.5
(290)

An introductory course about understanding the foundations of Customer Service...

5. Helping Families Avoid Negative Court Involvement Teach-Out

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This course will teach learners how to understand when issues can become legal issues, encourage learners to recognize legal problems early, identify possible “legal soft spots” in their own situations, and act when issues are identified to avoid them escalating. This course will also teach and encourage learners to think preventatively and provide some tools to use with an eye toward preventing future legal issues. Finally, this Teach-out seeks to expand the idea of legal health checks to a...

6. Customer Service Fundamentals

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There are a growing number of exciting, well-paying jobs in today’s tech industry that do not require a traditional college degree, an one of the hottest areas with high demand is in IT customer service and support. Customer Service is a perfect entry point to start your career in IT, with a multitude of job openings ranging from onsite or remote help desk work to customer care or client support. We can help you get there with the Customer Service Fundamentals course. We will help you to build...

7. How to Help Family Members or Friends with Mental Illness

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Practical Counseling Skills to help children, family or friends with Depression, Anxiety, or Other Mental Illness...

8. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

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Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

9. Personal & Family Financial Planning

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Personal and Family Financial Planning will address many critical personal financial management topics in order to help you learn prudent habits both while in school and throughout your lifetime...

10. Customer Service Basics: Improve your Service now

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The basic golden rules to kickstart your service...

11. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service

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Used by Chase®, Intel®, & more! Learn soft skills, social media customer service, diagnosing user problems, & more...

12. Addiction & Mental Health - Chemically Speaking Two (2hrs)

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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...

13. IT service operations and Service Desk management

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Improve Service Desk and IT support processes and service functions. Better preparation for the professional exam...

14. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

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Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

15. Addiction & Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis) Integrative 12hrs

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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...

16. Customer Service: Keep 'em coming back!

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How to give the best customer service in your industry and keep those customers raving about your business...

17. Customer Service Fundamentals: Putting People First

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Customer Care Listening Great Customer Service Concern for Others Company Culture Engaging People Responding...

18. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

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Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

19. Start Improving Customer Service

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Creating a Customer Service advantage in Your department or business through communication and Customer Management...

20. Crisis Intervention Seminar

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The emphasis is on the development of fundamental clinical skills in the area of crisis intervention...

Top 10 most affordable universities for family service workers

The most affordable schools for family service workers are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and california state university - fullerton.

If the best universities for family service workers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for family service workers.

1. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

7. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

10. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for family service workers

The hardest universities for family service workers to get into are Northwestern University, Northeastern University, and Boston College.

Some great schools for family service workers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for family service workers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

3. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

10. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for family service workers

The easiest schools for family service workers to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, notre dame de namur university, and nyack college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a family service worker without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for family service workers.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

4. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

5. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

6. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

7. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

8. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

9. Albertus Magnus College

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

58%

SAT average

931

10. Waynesburg University

Waynesburg, PA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,080

Average family service worker salary by education level

According to our data, family service workers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $43,869 annually. Family service workers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $36,614.
Family service worker education levelFamily service worker salary
Master's Degree$43,869
Bachelor's Degree$36,614

Family service worker education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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