How to Earn a Master's Degree in Social Work

Social work isn't for the faint-hearted. A social worker helps individuals, families and communities function better in their environment. They take everything someone has to deal with into consideration and find practical ways to help them cope. While you can work in the field with an undergraduate degree, earning your master's opens up more opportunities. Here's how to do it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Decide which populations you want to serve. This will help you focus your master's degree studies. Social workers can choose to work in human services agencies, health care facilities, schools, government agencies and even businesses.
2. Choose a specialization. A social worker with a bachelor's in psychology could focus on mental health issues, eating disorders or addiction prevention. You may want to work with children in the adoption, foster care, child welfare or school systems.
3. Check out the Council on Social Work Education's website for accredited schools. You'll learn how to work with individuals, families and communities. You'll also study about clinical practice, policies related to social work in the United States and administrative skills (see Resources below).
4. Get your field experience. You'll be exposed to many populations and types of work, so see it as a testing ground. You must have empathy and open-mindedness during this time in spite of the pressures of school.
5. Volunteer with an organization or agency that serves your target population or area of specialization. Besides offering them much needed help, you'll get additional experience to add to your resume for potential employers.
6. Join the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Their student membership gets you access to their job bank, conferences and professional development events and publications (see Resources below).
7. Get licensed as a social worker. The Association of Social Work Boards offers a master's degree licensing exam, but check with the licensing board in your state to make sure they accept that (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be surprised if your field work for your master's degree takes you to cities you've never been before.
• Don't be ashamed if you discover during your fieldwork that social work isn't for you after all.

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