Senior social worker vs clinical social worker

The differences between senior social workers 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 a senior social worker, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $55,254 average annual salary of a senior social worker.

The top three skills for a senior social worker include social work, patients and veterans. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.

Senior social worker vs clinical social worker overview

	Senior Social Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$55,254	$63,056
Hourly rate	$26.56	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	103,740	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does a senior social worker do?

A senior social worker is in charge of overseeing the support services conducted in a community or a particular area. Their responsibilities often revolve around coordinating different social workers, handling issues or concerns, managing schedules, and performing support tasks for other staff when necessary. They also perform welfare checks on families, provide referrals to other support agencies, conduct interviews and counseling, and identify any signs of abuse or neglect. Furthermore, as a senior social worker, it is essential to lead and mentor junior social workers, all while adhering to the agency's policies and regulations.

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.

Senior social worker vs clinical social worker salary

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

	Senior Social Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$55,254	$63,056
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $75,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Newark, NJ	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Government	Education

Differences between senior social worker and clinical social worker education

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

	Senior Social Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Social Work	Social Work
Most common college	Boston College	University of Pennsylvania

Senior social worker vs clinical social worker demographics

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

	Senior Social Worker	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 23.1% Female, 76.9%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	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	10%	13%

Differences between senior social worker and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Senior social worker example responsibilities.

Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
Refer customers to other community agencies such as clinics, employment services, and vocational rehabilitation services.
Facilitate family meetings to provide support and psycho-education to patients and their family members and to discuss discharge planning.
Supervise students in MSW programs and high school programs.
Supervise MSW staff and student-interns in adult alcohol/substance abuse program.
Collaborate with other hospital departments to streamline services for homeless veterans.

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.

Senior social worker vs clinical social worker skills

Common senior social worker skills

Social Work, 41%
Patients, 11%
Veterans, 4%
Treatment Services, 3%
Patient Care, 3%
Rehabilitation, 3%

Common clinical social worker skills

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

Senior Social Worker vs. similar jobs

Senior Social Worker related careers

Senior Social Worker related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Community and Social Services Industry
Senior Social Worker
Senior Social Worker vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs