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The differences between support workers and social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a support worker, 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 $37,039 average annual salary of a support worker.
The top three skills for a support worker include social work, crisis intervention and treatment plan. The most important skills for a social worker are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Support Worker | Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $37,039 | $50,102 |
| Hourly rate | $17.81 | $24.09 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 112,754 | 77,340 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 47 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A support worker is responsible for supporting the community programs and development efforts to sustain and ensure the citizens' stability, providing them resources for their daily needs, and helping them with financial assistance requests. Support workers conduct family counseling to identify their challenges and needs and coordinate with the necessary organizations to process their requests. They must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in filing documents and guiding the citizens in achieving their healthy lifestyle and make a positive difference.
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.
Support workers and social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Worker | Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $37,039 | $50,102 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $60,000 | Between $37,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | New York | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Dolby Laboratories | Health Advocates |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Government |
There are a few differences between a support worker and a social worker in terms of educational background:
| Support Worker | Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between support workers' and social workers' demographics:
| Support Worker | Social Worker | |
| Average age | 47 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.1% Female, 70.9% | Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 8% | 13% |