What Is Social Work?

Social work is a practice-based profession that promotes social change, development, cohesion and the empowerment of people and communities. Social work involves the understanding of human development, behavior and the social, economic and cultural institutions and interactions. Social work professionals have made significant contributions to society through their work with families and institutions in areas that include:

• Civil rights
• Unemployment insurance
• Disability pay
• Workers’ compensation
• Reduced mental health stigma
• Medicaid and Medicare
• Child abuse and neglect prevention

In the United States, social work has been around for over 100 years, with notable pioneers such as Jane Addams, Frances Perkins, Whitney M. Young Jr., Harry Hopkins, Dorothy Height and Jeannette Rankin.

Three Levels of Social Work

Generally, there are three levels of social work practice: micro, mezzo and macro social work. At each level, social work professionals provide slightly different services to target populations.

• Micro social work: At the micro level, social workers provide one-on-one, family and small-group services addressing a wide range of social issues. These may include housing support, substance abuse counseling and mental health therapy.
• Mezzo social work: Social workers who operate at the mezzo level work with groups of people, such as in a school, prison, hospital or neighborhoods. They may help students struggling academically, address substance abuse recovery with prison inmates or help coordinate care for patients who are admitted to hospitals for long-term care.
• Macro social work: Macro-level social work encompasses policy-making, research and community-based initiatives. Social workers at this level of practice are more likely to focus on and help address larger societal issues like homelessness, substance abuse, healthcare and more.

What Is a Social Worker?

Social workers are professionals who aim to enhance overall well-being and help meet basic and complex needs of communities and people. Social workers work with many different populations and types of people, particularly focusing on those who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.

Depending on their specialty, job title and place of employment, a social worker may be required to participate in legislative processes that often result in the formation of social policies. They lean on social work values and principles, as well as academic research, to fulfill their responsibilities.

Social workers are educated and trained to address social injustices and barriers to their client’s overall well-being. Some of these include poverty, unemployment, discrimination and lack of housing. They also support clients and communities who are living with disabilities, struggling with substance abuse or experiencing domestic conflicts.

Social workers often fine-tune their practice with a focus on a level of interventions and types of communities they wish to serve. A clinical social worker, for example, focuses on diagnoses, treatments and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral issues. Another social worker may focus on research and development for small- or large-scale programs, like Medicaid, to help communities.

Is a Career in Social Work Right for Me?

Is a career in social work worth it? It could be. Before you settle on any profession, whether it is in social work or a related discipline, determine if it aligns with your interests, unique abilities and professional goals. Consider these questions to ascertain if a social work career is the right fit for you:

• Does diversity drive you or is your cultural competence what draws others to you?
• Do you currently spend your spare time mentoring disadvantaged youth or supporting children and adolescents who have experienced trauma or abuse because of family members?
• Are you emotionally resilient, and do you seek out challenges in the workplace, always proposing new solutions?
• Are you praised for your patience, professionalism and ability to read people?

The job of a social worker can be both rewarding and emotionally taxing. Having strong interpersonal skills, exercising empathy and being an effective communicator, listener and critical thinker may contribute to success in this career.

If you do decide to enter the field of social work, you’ll be joining a fast-growing workforce. Employment of social workers is projected to grow 6% from 2024 to 2034, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). By contrast, all occupations are expected to grow 3% in the same decade.

• You can become a social worker with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), but independent and more research-oriented roles may require advanced education.
• A Master of Social Work (MSW), for example, may lead to state licensure to practice independently. There are traditional, hybrid and online MSW programs available.
• If you already have a BSW, you may apply to advanced standing MSW programs. These programs can typically be completed in a shorter amount of time because applicants are expected to have learned social work fundamentals in their BSW program.
• If clinical social work is the path you’re interested in pursuing, it’s important to know what it takes to become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). You may enroll in a clinical MSW program to help reach your LCSW goal. Requirements can vary by state. It’s important to check licensure requirements for the state in which you plan to practice.
• If you’re looking to become a leader in your workplace or the field, then a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) may be a viable option. The DSW holder typically looks to transition into positions that assess large-scale problems and address social work issues on a grand scale.

What Does a Social Worker Do?

Social workers' roles encompass a wide array of diverse specializations. Some common responsibilities of social workers organized by different specialty areas include:

Child, family and school social workers help children, school staff and family members resolve problems. In some instances, this may mean placing children in foster care. Child, family and school social workers may also connect struggling parents with resources to help better care for and raise their children. They work alongside students and teachers to address bullying, learning disabilities and other impairments/barriers.

Medical and public health social workers help the seriously ill and those with chronic health problems to find adequate care, access public resources like Medicare and Medicaid or locate services, such as in-home nursing care. They often play a critical role in supporting clients as they navigate the numerous healthcare and public service systems that coordinate healthcare.

Mental health and substance abuse social workers support people with mental health or substance abuse problems. Therapy is one common intervention used by social workers to help clients address these problems. Other services provided by mental health and substance abuse social workers include assisting people in finding affordable rehabilitative programs or long-term mental healthcare. Mental health and substance abuse social workers may seek to address problems before they get worse by participating in outreach and preventative programs.

What does a social worker do daily? The more appropriate question is: What doesn’t a social worker do? Day in and day out, social workers can be found in a range of settings, helping and supporting those around them.

Where Does a Social Worker Work?

Social workers can be found in a variety of employment settings. Specializations often determine where and how they work. Some may spend time in an office, although visiting clients offsite is also common. Those in child, school and family social worker roles may experience schedule changes and travel more than their healthcare counterparts.

Social workers are commonly employed by hospitals, mental health clinics, schools, prisons, military bases, senior centers, corporations and public social agencies. Licensed clinical social workers can also set up private practices where they work with clients to address relationship problems, personality disorders or mental illnesses.

Learn how to become a social worker.

Possible Careers in Social Work

There are many options for social work careers at the micro, mezzo and macro levels. Some opportunities include:

• Military social worker. Through counseling and support, military social workers educate and work with members of the armed forces, as well as veterans and their families, to help them with the unique challenges they face.
• Community social worker. Instead of working with individual clients, community social workers assess a group as a whole and implement measures and changes for everyone’s benefit. Community social workers prepare and administer new programs or work on allocating resources to the community.
• Mental health social worker. Those living with mental health disorders often need the support and attention that social workers can provide. Mental health social workers spend their time assessing and treating people with behavioral and emotional issues, providing feedback and assistance to address their mental health.
• School social worker. Most primary and secondary schools have a social worker who functions as an advocate for students. School social workers engage directly with the teachers, parents, administrators and staff to make sure students can thrive inside and outside of the classroom setting. These social workers develop relationships with families, recommend community resources and extend support for mental health services and crisis management.

Social Worker Skills

Social workers employ a diverse set of skills to do their work. However, there are certain skills that are particularly useful in the field, such as:

• Empathy. This quality enables social workers to put themselves in their client’s shoes. Having empathy can help a social worker have a deeper understanding of a client’s problems.
• Organization. With the many daily responsibilities they have, social workers can benefit from being extremely organized. The amount of paperwork and caseloads can add up from networking, calls, billing and arranging services for multiple clients.
• Communication. Social workers should be clear, concise and transparent with clients and their families or care providers, as well as with their colleagues. Strong communication can help to mitigate misunderstandings and break down other communication barriers.
• Problem-solving. No case is the same and a social worker is often working hard to find the best solution in a difficult situation. A good problem solver can help clients obtain the best services and support needed.
• Patience. As a social worker, you will work with diverse clients. Maintaining patience and the ability to understand clients from different racial and socio-economic backgrounds are core components of social work practice.