Shadow a counselor or clinical social worker for a day. Being able to see what a typical day in the field is like is a wonderful way to decide what the best fit may be. Ready to start? With flexible and online options, it is easier to achieve your educational goals.
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By: Vanessa Lane June 28, While social workers can perform counseling services, counseling is only one component of their training. Social workers may be employed in hospitals, clinics, universities, and various forms of governmental roles and offices. In both cases, becoming a counselor or a social worker requires that you complete an undergraduate degree, and both apply and be accepted into a graduate program in either counseling or social work.
The bulk of your educational preparation as a counselor will involve advanced counseling theory and techniques. Each state sets its own licensing requirements for counselors, which can include different types of licenses for clinical counselors, school counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and substance abuse counselors. States also set their own licensing requirements for social workers. LPCs and LCSWs with a valid state license are then qualified to work in a broad range of clinical counseling and social work settings, including private practice.
Hospitals, mental health clinics, residential care facilities, schools, and private practice. Hospitals, clinics, community centers, social welfare agencies, schools, and private practice. Visit Site. Online MA - School Counseling. Our Lady of the Lake University. Although that has implications in terms of the kinds of jobs and salary they might be qualified for, it can also mean something important for client relationships. LPCs are usually paid directly by their clients, while LCSWs are typically paid through government or non-profit funding.
You will often charge by the hour as an LPC. That will change your client base, because only people who can afford to see you will do so. It also can constrain the amount of time and energy you put into a particular client. LCSWs, on the other hand, are far more likely to work for government agencies or non-profits without outside funding services.
Their clients are more likely to receive services free of charge. Again, that affects the type of clients as well as the kind of engagement an LCSW has with them. Just as importantly, there are differences in the salary level and employment prospects for the two careers. Both kinds of jobs are growing in the United States right now. According to the U. Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS , counseling jobs are growing at a much faster than average rate of more than 25 percent over the ten-year period leading up to , while social work positions are increasing rapidly too, with a 13 percent projected growth rate over the same period.
You are also going to wonder about how easy it is to get a job in the field. The BLS keeps up with employment and salary data on both social workers and counselors. The information, most recently updated in May of , is not perfect, though. That happens to be the highest paid type of social worker, which aligns with the actual salary hierarchy out in the job market. The top industries employing those social workers were:. LPCs are grouped in with substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, which skews the figures lower than what you are likely to find when you start working in the field.
In this broad category, substance abuse counselors are more likely to be the ones working in outpatient and other facilities, while LPCs are most likely to work in individual and family services. They are also far more likely to be self-employed. LCSWs can operate independently, but even then, they are largely employed directly by government and social service agencies.
With relatively little experience, early in your career, you can become a business owner, with all the risks and responsibilities that come along with that. And even in the private sector, you will have a bigger range of employment options. For example, the number of counselors employed in individual and family services is estimated to be more than 52, nationwide. In the same sector, for social workers, there are only 5, positions.
Information reflects national data not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed June On the other hand, your goals may not include small business ownership. You could be focused on goals that go beyond just salary and job openings in your industry. For example, many social workers go on to leadership roles and into the world of politics.
The close association of social work as a profession with social justice movements make it a natural stepping-off point to careers pursuing that goal. In particular, the close association of social work and big social justice and equity movements takes a lot of social workers off the streets and into state houses and capitol buildings.
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