Licensed social workers identify those in need and work with them in a bid to solve their daily problems. They conduct research and refer clients to community resources when needed and help clients adjust to changes and challenges in their lives, such as illness, divorce, or unemployment. Licensed social workers earn an average salary of $57,000 annually or $27 per hour.
Licensed social workers create treatment plans and may also be contacted during crisis times to provide emotional support to the patient involved. They help the patients find the proper resources to get the care or supplement they need to sustain a certain quality of life while also serving as the link between people and caregivers in the health and psychology professions. Licensed social workers most commonly hold a bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited university.
After fieldwork, they require some hours of supervised fieldwork or an internship. Some employers prefer candidates with a bachelor's degree in a similar field such as psychology or sociology.
What is a Licensed Social Worker?
What Does a Licensed Social Worker Do
There are certain skills that many licensed social workers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, emotional skills and interpersonal skills.
How To Become a Licensed Social Worker
If you're interested in becoming a licensed social worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 55.1% of licensed social workers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 38.2% of licensed social workers have master's degrees. Even though most licensed social workers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Licensed Social Worker Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of clinical social worker you might progress to a role such as case manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of social services.
Average Salary for a Licensed Social Worker
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Licensed Social Worker Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active licensed social worker jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where licensed social workers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Licensed Social Worker Jobs By State
Top Colleges for Licensed Social Workers
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
5. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
7. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
8. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
9. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Top Skills For a Licensed Social Worker
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 29.1% of licensed social workers listed social work on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and emotional skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Licensed Social Worker Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Licensed Social Worker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Licensed Social Worker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Licensed Social Worker Demographics
Licensed Social Worker Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among licensed social workers, 83.9% of them are women, while 16.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among licensed social workers is White, which makes up 66.9% of all licensed social workers.
- The most common foreign language among licensed social workers is Spanish at 63.8%.
Work Experience Programs For Licensed Social Workers
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: NSW Government Virtual Program
Cost: Free
Duration: 1-2 hours
Company: Teach for Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 2 hours
Company: Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Matheson LLP (“Matheson”)
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Online Courses For Licensed Social Worker That You May Like
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...
This course introduces participants from the healthcare sector to gender based violence (GBV), including global epidemiology of GBV; health outcomes; seminal research; and clinical best practices for GBV prevention, support, and management. A core curriculum is supplemented by lectures that contextualize the content with specific examples and programs from around the world. The core curriculum introduces learners to a global perspective on gender based violence (GBV), and includes a review with...
This course will help institutions and individuals better manage the mental health challenges of being a healthcare worker. Healthcare providers such as the University Health Network (UHN) address the mental health needs of their staff through several initiatives intended to help build resilience and to provide respite from the demands of their work. This was critical during the pandemic but, of course, healthcare workers encounter high levels of stress even without a pandemic. The primary...
Best States For a Licensed Social Worker
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a licensed social worker. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, California, Oregon, and New Hampshire. Licensed social workers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $75,532. Whereas in California and Oregon, they would average $74,041 and $70,064, respectively. While licensed social workers would only make an average of $66,195 in New Hampshire, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Oregon
$70,064
Avg. Salary
2. California
$74,041
Avg. Salary
3. Washington
$65,594
Avg. Salary
How Do Licensed Social Worker Rate Their Jobs?
2.0
What do you like the most about working as Licensed Social Worker?
Making a positive impact for my client that they wanted. Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
The accredited MSW should be sufficient to practice the specialized areas of social work. The Ridiculous testing after so much schooling is further decreasing our earning power. This is causing the averaged alumni with a MSW to work knowing they are just a few paychecks shy of seeking someone within our own profession for help. The LICENSE should be based on confirmation of school accreditation and graduation...not re-testing. Quite frankly, it's insulting to all MSW graduates! The excessive paperwork places Additional undue stress upon SW and should be trimmed as much as possible. This also applies to the Health Information Technology (HIT) selected by the company. The HIT should have the capabilities to process forms necessary for daily work, data collection, and. ease of access. Show MoreTop Licensed Social Worker Employers
Most Common Employers For Licensed Social Worker
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Encompass Health | $76,252 | $36.66 | 6 |
| 2 | SouthernCare | $76,133 | $36.60 | 9 |
| 3 | New York State Technology Enterprise | $62,206 | $29.91 | 6 |
| 4 | Visiting Nurse Service of New York | $61,274 | $29.46 | 7 |
| 5 | New York State Restaurant Association | $60,512 | $29.09 | 30 |
| 6 | Directions for Youth & Families | $59,967 | $28.83 | 7 |
| 7 | The GEO Group | $59,930 | $28.81 | 7 |
| 8 | Mental Health Center | $56,737 | $27.28 | 6 |
| 9 | Charles B. Wang Community Health Center | $56,203 | $27.02 | 7 |
| 10 | Seraaj Family Homes | $55,156 | $26.52 | 22 |
Licensed Social Worker Videos
