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The differences between senior social workers and psychiatric 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 psychiatric social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a psychiatric social worker has an average salary of $59,144, 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 psychiatric social worker are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Senior Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $55,254 | $59,144 |
| Hourly rate | $26.56 | $28.43 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 103,740 | 57,284 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 47% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
A psychiatric social worker specializes in providing mental health treatments and other services to patients and their families, referring them to other agencies and programs as needed. They conduct assessments and interviews to determine the condition of patients, devise specific treatment and care plans, update and maintain patient records, conduct regular counseling sessions, and monitor the progress of every patient to ensure their health and welfare. They may also provide interventions, train junior psychiatric social workers, and conduct reviews and evaluations on existing care plans.
Senior social workers and psychiatric social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $55,254 | $59,144 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $75,000 | Between $43,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Highmark |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a senior social worker and a psychiatric social worker in terms of educational background:
| Senior Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 47% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Social Work |
| Most common college | Boston College | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior social workers' and psychiatric social workers' demographics:
| Senior Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.1% Female, 76.9% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| 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% |