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The differences between social work interns and clinical social 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 social work internship, 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 $37,178 average annual salary of a social work internship.
The top three skills for a social work internship include patients, social work and intake assessments. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.
| Social Work Internship | Clinical Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $37,178 | $63,056 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $30.32 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 142,426 | 124,816 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Master's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
Social work interns are students who chose to do their on-the-job training in the field of social work. They apply for an internship at social services facilities. They are usually assigned to do administrative or clerical activities such as sorting through files, updating records, organizing documents, and filing reports. Aside from clerical tasks, they also get exposed to program or project management by working on program-specific initiatives. They get exposed to planning, resource managing, implementing, and evaluating. They may also join their supervisors during field activities.
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.
Social work interns and clinical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Work Internship | Clinical Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $37,178 | $63,056 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $42,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | DTCC | Tucson Electric Power |
| Best paying industry | Government | Education |
There are a few differences between a social work internship and a clinical social worker in terms of educational background:
| Social Work Internship | Clinical Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Master's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Social Work |
| Most common college | California State University - Fullerton | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between social work interns' and clinical social workers' demographics:
| Social Work Internship | Clinical Social Worker | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% | 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 | 11% | 13% |