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Social Work

The tables below present the occupations that are most commonly associated with a degree in Social Work. We have separated the tables depending on whether we examine graduates who stop their education with the bachelors degree in Social Work, and those who get either a masters in Social Work, a Ph.D. in Social Work. While the list above describes the occupations of students with advanced degrees in Social Work some students with a bachelors degree in Social Work will get advanced degrees in other fields. The tables listed below descibe the types of advanced degrees that were chosen by students with a bachelors in Social Work. Since all of the above tables present information on the average salary, it is possible to lose sight of the fact that some majors place students in jobs with a narrow range of salaries near to the mean while others place students in many different income categories. For this reason, we have drawn two frequency distributions (histograms) of Social Work Salaries.









Histogram of Social Work Salaries: Bachelors Degree Only

The diagram below includes all students with a major in Social Work who received no degree beyond the bachelors.

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Histogram of Social Work Salaries: Bachelors and Beyond

The diagram below includes all students with a major in Social Work while an undergraduate. The data includes students who subsequently earned degrees beyond the bachelors.

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Bachelors Degree

The information in the table below is based on data from people of all sexes and ages whose most recent college degree was a bachelors degree majoring in Social Work.

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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Occupation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  $29,289        388       54.34   Social Workers
  $37,893         59        8.26   Top and mid-level managers, executives, administrators (people who manage other managers)
  $34,364         29        4.06   OTHER management related occupations
  $28,680         23        3.22   OTHER OCCUPATIONS (Not Listed)
  $24,451         19        2.66   OTHER administrative (e.g., record clerks, telephone operators)
  $36,423         19        2.66   Counselors, Educational and Vocational (Also see 236)
  $29,889         19        2.66   OTHER service occupations, except health
  $34,412         17        2.38   Insurance, securities, real estate, and business services
  $18,551         13        1.82   OTHER health occupations
  $29,170         11        1.54   Protective services (e.g., fire fighters, police, guards)
  $37,129         10        1.40   Personnel, training, and labor relations specialists
  $25,362          7         .98   Teachers:  Pre-Kindergarten and kindergarten
  $25,699          7         .98   Sales Occupations - Retail (e.g., furnishings, clothing, motor vehicles, cosmetics)
  $20,367          7         .98   Secretaries, receptionists, typists
  $24,332          6         .84   Teachers:  Elementary
  $46,813          6         .84   Computer system analysts
  $31,712          5         .70   OTHER marketing and sales occupations
  $20,980          5         .70   Accounting clerks, bookkeepers
  $22,225          4         .56   Clergy and Other Religious Workers
  $28,836          4         .56   OTHER social scientist
  $36,048          4         .56   OTHER computer, information science Occupations
  $49,938          4         .56   Professors:  Social Work
  $31,945          4         .56   Accountants, auditors, and other financial specialists
  $31,910          4         .56   Food Preparation and Service (e.g., cooks, waitresses, bartenders)
  $31,362          4         .56   Registered nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, therapists, physician assistants
  $41,600          3         .42   Sociologists
  $30,827          3         .42   Transportation/material moving occupations
  $66,000          3         .42   Teachers:  Secondary - other subjects
  $30,160          3         .42   Health Technologists and Technicians (e.g., dental hygienists, health record technologists/technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical or laboratory technicians, radiologic technologists/technicians)
  $40,000          3         .42   Sales Occupations - Commodities Except Retail (e.g., industrial machinery/equipment/supplies, medical and dental equiptment/supplies)
  $36,140          2         .28   Engineers:  Electrical, electronic, industrial, mechanical
  $44,200          2         .28   Teachers:  Special education - primary and secondary
  $30,170          2         .28   Information systems scientists or analysts
  $33,000          2         .28   Computer programmers (business, scientific, process control)
  $21,450          2         .28   Construction trades, miners and well drillers
  $14,208          2         .28   Precision/production occupations (e.g., workers, woodworkers, butchers, bakers, printing occupations, tailors, shoemakers, photographic process)
  $33,804          1         .14   OTHER engineering technologists and technicians
  $32,000          1         .14   Artists, Broadcasters, Editors, Entertainers, Public Relations Specialists, Writers
  $30,000          1         .14   Farmers, Foresters and Fishermen
  $23,000          1         .14   Psychologists, including clinical (Also see 070)
  $39,208          1         .14   Professors:  Earth, Environmental, and Marine Science
  $17,000          1         .14   Teachers:  Secondary - social sciences
  $16,800          1         .14   Architects Engineers (Also see 101-103)
  $15,252          1         .14   Librarians, Archivists, Curators Managers, Executives, Administrators (Also see 151-153)
  $10,400          1         .14   Operators and related occupations (e.g., machine set-up, machine operators and tenders, fabricators, assemblers)

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Masters

The information in the table below is based on data from people of all sexes and ages whose most recent college degree was a masters degree in Social Work.

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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Occupation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  $37,761        916       67.40   Social Workers
  $47,558        174       12.80   Top and mid-level managers, executives, administrators (people who manage other managers)
  $52,894         70        5.15   Psychologists, including clinical (Also see 070)
  $35,420         33        2.43   Counselors, Educational and Vocational (Also see 236)
  $35,915         25        1.84   Professors:  Social Work
  $47,458         21        1.55   OTHER management related occupations
  $48,756         16        1.18   Registered nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, therapists, physician assistants
  $36,364         14        1.03   Personnel, training, and labor relations specialists
  $82,153         11         .81   Diagnosing Treating Practitioners (e.g., dentists, optometrists, physicians, psychiatrists, podiatrists, surgeons, veterinarians)
  $34,528          8         .59   Clergy and Other Religious Workers
  $44,379          7         .52   OTHER health occupations
  $60,771          7         .52   Insurance, securities, real estate, and business services
  $30,500          5         .37   Teachers:  Elementary
  $42,732          5         .37   OTHER marketing and sales occupations
  $40,500          4         .29   OTHER OCCUPATIONS (Not Listed)
  $37,600          3         .22   Sales Occupations - Commodities Except Retail (e.g., industrial machinery/equipment/supplies, medical and dental equiptment/supplies)
  $49,434          3         .22   Sociologists
  $36,179          3         .22   Artists, Broadcasters, Editors, Entertainers, Public Relations Specialists, Writers
  $34,768          3         .22   Teachers:  Special education - primary and secondary
  $61,960          3         .22   OTHER service occupations, except health
  $36,758          2         .15   Accountants, auditors, and other financial specialists
  $59,748          2         .15   Unknown
  $33,600          2         .15   Construction trades, miners and well drillers
  $30,200          2         .15   Teachers:  Secondary - other subjects
  $26,588          2         .15   Accounting clerks, bookkeepers
  $47,500          2         .15   Computer system analysts
  $19,800          2         .15   Protective services (e.g., fire fighters, police, guards)
  $51,564          2         .15   Professors:  Sociology
  $62,400          1         .07   OTHER postsecondary
  $55,680          1         .07   Professors:  Psychology
  $86,000          1         .07   Other engineers
  $15,330          1         .07   Operators and related occupations (e.g., machine set-up, machine operators and tenders, fabricators, assemblers)
  $46,080          1         .07   Engineers:  Sales
  $45,000          1         .07   Professors:  Medical Science
  $34,836          1         .07   Information systems scientists or analysts
  $33,800          1         .07   Secretaries, receptionists, typists
  $33,000          1         .07   Health Technologists and Technicians (e.g., dental hygienists, health record technologists/technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical or laboratory technicians, radiologic technologists/technicians)
  $32,544          1         .07   OTHER social scientist
  $30,000          1         .07   Computer programmers (business, scientific, process control)
  $25,000          1         .07   Professors:  Physical Education

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Ph.D.

The information in the table below is based on data from people of all sexes and ages whose most recent college degree was a Ph.D. degree in Social Work.

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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Occupation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  $45,104         14       31.11   Social Workers
  $42,473         11       24.44   Professors:  Social Work
  $63,572          7       15.56   Top and mid-level managers, executives, administrators (people who manage other managers)
  $73,626          5       11.11   Psychologists, including clinical (Also see 070)
  $38,200          2        4.44   Clergy and Other Religious Workers
 $150,000          1        2.22   Personnel, training, and labor relations specialists
  $75,000          1        2.22   Information systems scientists or analysts
  $48,000          1        2.22   Political scientists
  $54,308          1        2.22   Sociologists
  $44,000          1        2.22   Professors:  Sociology
  $40,924          1        2.22   OTHER social scientist

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Masters Degrees earned by students with a Bachelors degree in Social Work



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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Field of Study
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  $38,169        318       66.25   Social Work
  $37,976         25        5.21   Psychology:  Counseling
  $28,680         12        2.50   Education:  Counselor education/guidance services
  $47,713         11        2.29   Public administration
  $46,528         11        2.29   Business administration and management
  $30,777         10        2.08   Education:  OTHER education
  $41,365          7        1.46   Education:  Administration
  $40,067          6        1.25   Psychology:  Clinical
  $43,510          5        1.04   OTHER business management/administrative services
  $28,297          5        1.04   OTHER social sciences
  $31,374          5        1.04   Criminal Justice/Protective Services
  $33,474          5        1.04   Education:  Elementary teacher education
  $48,750          4         .83   Physical therapy and other rehabilitation/therapeutic services
  $45,650          4         .83   Psychology:  General
  $44,076          4         .83   Sociology
  $57,007          4         .83   OTHER health/medical sciences
  $32,850          4         .83   Public health (including environmental health and epidemiology)
  $26,250          4         .83   OTHER philosophy, religion, theology
  $29,250          4         .83   Home Economics
  $25,424          3         .63   Library Science
  $33,800          3         .63   Education:  Special education
  $33,500          2         .42   OTHER psychology
  $54,200          2         .42   Communications, general
  $26,800          2         .42   Architecture/Environmental Design
  $35,380          2         .42   Psychology:  Educational
  $35,380          2         .42   Education:  Educational psychology
  $52,000          2         .42   Education:  Secondary teacher education
  $30,513          2         .42   Health services administration
  $50,800          2         .42   History, other
  $20,800          1         .21   Business marketing/marketing management
  $19,140          1         .21   Business, general
  $56,160          1         .21   Psychology:  Experimental
  $50,000          1         .21   Economics
  $46,800          1         .21   Political science and government
  $48,000          1         .21   OTHER foreign languages and literature
  $48,000          1         .21   Accounting
  $25,000          1         .21   English Language and Literature/Letters
  $25,000          1         .21   Fine arts, all fields
  $43,000          1         .21   Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies
  $42,000          1         .21   Business/managerial economics
  $41,891          1         .21   Animal sciences

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PhD's earned by students with a Bachelors degree in Social Work



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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Field of Study
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  $44,000          3       30.00   Social Work
  $32,500          2       20.00   Psychology:  Counseling
  $47,500          2       20.00   Psychology:  Clinical
  $41,600          1       10.00   Education:  OTHER education
  $48,000          1       10.00   Public policy studies
  $55,000          1       10.00   Education:  Educational psychology
  $55,000          1       10.00   Psychology:  Educational

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Other Professiona Degrees earned by students with a Bachelors degree in Social Work

Other advanced degrees include: JD, LLB, ThD, MD, and the DDS.

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  Avg 1993   Number of     Pct of
  Salary    Observations   Majors  Description of Field of Study
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  $51,519          8       72.73   Law/Prelaw/Legal Studies
  $36,000          1        9.09   Financial management
  $45,167          1        9.09   Psychology:  General
 $150,000          1        9.09   Medicine (e.g., dentistry, optometry, osteopathic, podiatry, veterinary)

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Prepared by Prof. Ken Chapman: 73122.1717@compuserve.com