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The differences between service workers and foster care workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a service worker, becoming a foster care worker takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a foster care worker has an average salary of $46,037, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a service worker.
The top three skills for a service worker include customer service, cleanliness and patients. The most important skills for a foster care worker are foster care, social work, and child abuse.
| Service Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $30,045 | $46,037 |
| Hourly rate | $14.44 | $22.13 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 103,584 | 151,625 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A service worker is responsible for assisting the community welfare development by providing social services to an organization or specific individual groups, supporting their needs, and addressing their community concerns. Service workers also offer counseling services to their clients to guide them on how they manage their life crises, developing community activities and job opportunities to help citizens with their financial needs by consulting local organizations. A service worker must have strong leadership and communication skills, as well as deep engagement with the community to assess the client's situation properly.
A Foster Care Worker helps improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families as well as increases the family's well-being and the academic functioning of children. They counsel families about issues regarding their child's care and develop healthy living situations.
Service workers and foster care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Average salary | $30,045 | $46,037 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $40,000 | Between $32,000 And $65,000 |
| Highest paying City | Beaverton, OR | Baltimore, MD |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | Riverview Health |
| Best paying industry | Government | Construction |
There are a few differences between a service worker and a foster care worker in terms of educational background:
| Service Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Boston University |
Here are the differences between service workers' and foster care workers' demographics:
| Service Worker | Foster Care Worker | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.8% Female, 61.2% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.9% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |