What is Social Work?
Social Work is a helping profession that focuses on societal change. Social Workers have a strong desire to create social impact that will improve people’s lives through understanding how systems can both increase and decrease access to services. Social justice is a core value of most social workers and a connection to community is key.
What do social workers do?
Social Work is wherever people are, which makes the field of social work very broad. Social workers can find themselves working with nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, K-12 schools, higher educational institutions, government agencies (local, state, and federal), consulting firms, hospitals, private practice, and much more. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has a great list of the different types of social workers with brief descriptions and infographics.
Most social workers identify with 3 main scopes of practice: Micro-, Mezzo-, and Macro-. Although social workers may pick a particular scope of practice, ALL social workers are trained to move fluently between all three practice levels.
A great way to see what social workers do is to browse through the amazing alumni from the Brown School! They are working in clinical and policy settings and the local, national and international level. Check out LinkedIn or CNX and search “MSW” from the alumni page.
Social workers can hold various job titles including, but not limited to:
- Clinical Social Worker
- Director of Clinical Practice
- Child Advocate
- Community Outreach Liaison
- Dispatch Officers
- School Social Worker
- Hospital Social Worker
- Hospice Social Worker
- Dialysis Social Worker
- Veterinary Social Worker
- Project Coordinator
- Program Manager
- Development Manager
- Grant Writer
- Communications Director
- Chief Diversity Officer
- Chief Executive Officer
- Executive Director
- Policy Analyst
- Research Coordinator
- Senior Researcher
- Professor
The most asked question about social work other than “What can I do with social work?” is “Do I need a social work license?” The answer do that questions is IT DEPENDS. Generally, if you are working with the mental health and physical wellbeing of a client, it is highly encouraged (if not required) to be licensed at the highest level in your state. Having a social work license can be beneficial (but not necessary) outside of clinical practice as most policy, advocacy, and social justice agencies value workers that have direct practice experience.
Acronyms for social workers vary from state to state. Please check your state social work boards to educate yourself on the different levels of licensure. Learn more about the process of social work licensure through the Association for Social Work Board (ASWB) website.
In general, the levels of clinical social work licensure are:
- LBSW – Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (not recognized in all states)
- LMSW – Licensed Master Social Worker
- LCSW – Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Each licensure type has a different scope of practice. Review your state’s acts and regulations to ensure you are in compliance with the level of social work license held.
The overall licensure process can be confusing at times, but once you understand the basic steps, it will become easier to navigate.
- Complete your social work educational program (BSW or MSW)
- Apply to your state social work board
- Register for your examination through ASWB
- Obtain required post-MSW graduate supervised hours (minimum 3,000 hour within 24-48 month period) towards LCSW
- Reapply to your state social work board
- Register for your examination through ASWB
- Obtain full clinical licensure (practice independently)
Take a listen to our podcast on this topic!