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The differences between social work interns and 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 social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a social worker has an average salary of $50,102, 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 social worker are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Social Work Internship | Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $37,178 | $50,102 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $24.09 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 142,426 | 77,340 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| 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.
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
Social work interns and social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Work Internship | Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $37,178 | $50,102 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $37,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Oregon |
| Best paying company | DTCC | Health Advocates |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a social work internship and a social worker in terms of educational background:
| Social Work Internship | Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| 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 social workers' demographics:
| Social Work Internship | Social Worker | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% | Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5% |
| 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% |