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The differences between social workers assistant and medical 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 worker assistant, becoming a medical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, which is higher than the $37,542 average annual salary of a social worker assistant.
The top three skills for a social worker assistant include social work, patients and public assistance. The most important skills for a medical social worker are social work, patients, and home health.
| Social Worker Assistant | Medical Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $37,542 | $57,093 |
| Hourly rate | $18.05 | $27.45 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 115,098 | 87,792 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Master's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A social worker assistant is in charge of performing support tasks for social workers in the joint effort to assist disadvantaged families in communities. Their responsibilities include preparing and processing documentation, managing schedules, arranging appointments with clients and external parties, handling calls and correspondence, maintaining records, and running errands on behalf of staff. Furthermore, a social worker assistant may reach out to families to identify their needs, conduct interviews and assessments, facilitate activities, and monitor the progress of families or individuals, referring them to other agencies as needed.
A medical social worker specializes in managing a patient's health care and welfare while communicating with guardians or families, focusing on helping them cope and understand the medical conditions and situations. They are primarily responsible for assessing a patient's condition to identify their needs, conducting interviews to gather background information regarding the patient and family, and referring any social service programs that may provide them with the assistance or help they need. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify any signs of abuse or neglect and conduct intervention procedures right away.
Social workers assistant and medical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Worker Assistant | Medical Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $37,542 | $57,093 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $42,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Minnesota State Fair | Health Advocates |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a social worker assistant and a medical social worker in terms of educational background:
| Social Worker Assistant | Medical Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Master's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Social Work |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between social workers assistant' and medical social workers' demographics:
| Social Worker Assistant | Medical Social Worker | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.9% Female, 65.1% | Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 7.0% White, 51.9% 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% |