How To Become A Social Security Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a social security specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Debra Minsky-Kelly

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a social security specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.01 an hour? That's $49,946 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 52,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a social security specialist?

Debra Minsky-Kelly

Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College

I think there are two critical skills for social workers, whether they are first entering the workforce or seasoned professionals. These skills are humility and an appreciation for ambiguity in our work. A humble approach to our work empowers clients to become experts on their circumstances. Social workers are then positioned in a collaborative role to help clients use existing skills and resources to improve their situations. An appreciation for ambiguity is closely related to the idea of humility. It helps us to remember that practice situations we face in this field are often far more complicated than they appear on the surface. Thus, all social workers need to make a strong commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing consultation with colleagues to ensure that multiple perspectives are included as we work to solve complex problems.

ScoreSocial Security SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,946

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 5.72%

Black or African American 8.55%

Hispanic or Latino 16.31%

Unknown 6.33%

White 62.26%

Gender

female 66.00%

male 34.00%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Complexity level

1.8

Complexity level is simple

7 - challenging

Key steps to become a social security specialist

Explore social security specialist education requirements

Most common social security specialist degrees

Bachelor's

53.2 %

Master's

21.6 %

Associate

11.3 %

Start to develop specific social security specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	36.74%
Crisis Intervention	7.24%
Foster Care	6.16%
Discharge Planning	5.46%
Social Security Administration	5.14%

Research social security specialist duties and responsibilities

Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
Familiarize myself with Medicare and Medicaid processes.
Research state and federal regulations and statutes pertaining to Medicaid.
Obtain medical information, determine proper length of paid disability and FMLA eligibility and ensure timely and accurate payments to associates.

Apply for social security specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a social security specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do social security specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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2 stars

1 star

Social security specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Cons

Low pay