Salary of an M.S. in Family Studies
The master of science in family studies is a degree designed to provide students with a broad range of knowledge within the family services field. Graduates of these degree programs can go on to pursue careers as social workers or marriage and family therapists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that over 275,000 social workers and over 33,000 marriage and family therapists worked in the United States in 2010. Salaries for these family services professionals varied by location, employer and the field in which they worked.
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Average Salary
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Social workers in the field of child, family and school social work made an average salary of $43,850 per year, as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This salary may be somewhat higher, however, because the average salary for school social workers is considerably greater than the average made by those working in the field of family services. Family services social workers made an average of $37,120 per year, according to the bureau. Marriage and family therapists, on the other hand, made an average salary of $47,530 on an annual basis, with those in the individual and family services field making $45,430 per year.
Pay Scale
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Placing the average salaries for social workers and family therapists within the larger pay scale for all social workers and marriage and family therapists can provide some additional context. Family therapists earned salaries that typically ranged from $23,870 to $72,280 per year, as of 2010, according to the BLS. The median salary for these therapists was $45,720, with the middle half of the pay scale making between $34,420 and $58,150. Family social workers, however, generally made between $26,170 and $68,030, with $40,210 reported as the median salary. The middle 50 percent of the pay scale made salaries ranging from $32,270 to $52,450.
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Location
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Location often influence the pay made by those in the family services field. Because many social workers are paid by the state, salaries differ from one state to the next. For example, the BLS notes that the highest-paid family social workers were employed in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, Hawaii and Rhode Island, making average salaries in excess of $54,000 per year. Those working in California made approximately $50,000 per year, while those in New York brought home $51,280, on average. Salaries dropped off significantly for those in Texas who only made $38,610, by comparison. Hawaii, Rhode Island and New Jersey were also among the top three states for marriage and family therapists, in terms of average salary. Family therapists in these states made more than $61,000 per year.
Job Outlook
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The job outlook for those in the social work field is similar to that of the job outlook for family therapists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 12 percent job growth for child, family and school social workers in the decade from 2008 to 2018. Marriage and family therapists should experience about 14 percent job growth during this same time frame. Much of the growth in both fields will simply be due to population expansion and the need for more family services professionals to assist that population with its psychosocial needs.
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References
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