How To Become A Social Services Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a social services assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Debra Minsky-Kelly,

Dr. T. Thao Pham Ph.D.

Social services have a statutory obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable children and adults. Social work assistants perform many of the duties of social workers, including helping people resolve or deal with their problems.

They can connect families with job training programs, substance abuse counseling, support groups, and rehab centers to overcome their problems. Usually, Social services assistants work for non-profit organizations, social service agencies, state-owned organizations, and others.

They are also responsible for providing client services in various fields such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. Essential skills required for the position include empathy, communication, organization, critical thinking, active listening, self-care, and cultural competence, among others.

You may find a job as a social services assistant without a bachelor's degree, but employers prefer individuals with a high school diploma or a GED. Although, no necessary work experience is required for this position.

Social services assistants make an average of $16 an hour. Their roles are flexible, and they may be called to work on holidays. They can make an average of $33,277 annually. The career is likely to experience growth of 13% in the coming years and create various job opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a social services assistant?

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 Services AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,445

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.83%

Asian 6.65%

Black or African American 11.74%

Hispanic or Latino 18.88%

Unknown 4.87%

White 56.03%

Gender

female 83.01%

male 16.99%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a social services assistant

Explore social services assistant education requirements

Most common social services assistant degrees

Bachelor's

57.4 %

Associate

18.8 %

Master's

10.9 %

Start to develop specific social services assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	16.92%
Patients	14.88%
Rehabilitation	8.91%
Discharge Planning	6.10%
Term Care	5.98%

Complete relevant social services assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New social services assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a social services assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real social services assistant resumes.

Research social services assistant duties and responsibilities

Initial triage of members, administrative intake of members and managing the admission/discharge information post-notification.
Assist individuals and families in need with applications for food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, cash assistance and housing.
Develop, organize and conduct programs to prevent and resolve problems relevant to substance abuse, human relationships and rehabilitation.
Verify Medicare coverage/ benefits/ obtain prior authorization.

Prepare your social services assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your social services assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a social services assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable social services assistant resume templates

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