What Can I Do With a Masters in Social Work?

Some jobs you can do with a Masters in Social work include social worker, family support worker, child protection officer and therapist/counsellor. A Masters in Social Work is typically worth it as it gives you the skills and education required for a lot of different roles, even outside of social work. The highest paying job with a Masters in Social Work is likely as a non-profit executive director/CEO, with an average salary of £82,000 / $152,000 per year.

Here's a fun fact: one of the first published social work books had the main title ‘The Kingdom of Evils’. I can’t guarantee that your own career in social work will produce similarly dramatic titles, but I hope it does. It makes research much more fun.

Still, if you’ve completed a Masters in Social Work (MSW), you may want to put the book down and open a job search instead. In which case, where exactly do graduates end up? Obviously ‘social worker’ is a big one (if I didn’t mention it, I think I’d get pulled off stage with a comically large hook), but that’s not the only option. An MSW is a common employability comparison for Masters in Psychology and Criminology, and within that context, an MSW is very employable.  

So, how about this? I’ll start with some directly and indirectly-related roles (with average starting salaries and sample duties). Our metaphorical article train will also stop off at: transferable skills, common social work licensing, and some top tips. Make sure to keep your baggage with you as you exit the train, though I’m not sure what that represents in the metaphor (not emotional baggage, hopefully).

Masters in Social Work jobs (indirectly related)

Higher education lecturer (UK) / professor (USA)

Average starting salary: £39,859 / $77,799

Example duties: deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials, assess students’ coursework, develop courses, modules and teaching materials.

Note: In the UK, this would be a lecturer at a college or sixth form rather than at a university—in the majority of cases, you need a PhD to become a university lecturer. In the US, this would be professor at a community college (typically an adjunct professor).

Grant writer/coordinator

Average starting salary: £24,000 / $49,000

Example duties: research and identify potential grant funding opportunities, develop and maintain relationships with grantors, conduct regular reviews of grant-funded programmes to assess effectiveness and impact.

Careers advisor

Average starting salary: £25,000 / $49,000

Example duties: work with people individually or in groups, plan career programmes for school, college and university students, offer advice and guidance face-to-face, online or by telephone.

Note: You may need to complete a follow-up qualification to be eligible for some positions. In the UK, a level 4 CEIAG diploma (Careers Education, Information, Advice, and Guidance) would be typical. In the US, licensing requirements vary between states.

Human resources officer/human resources specialist

Average starting salary: £24,000 / $54,000

Example duties: help to recruit new employees, make sure employees have the right pay and benefits, arrange employee support services like welfare and counselling.

Social work licensing / registration

If you’re looking to get into social work, you may need an appropriate license and/or to register with a local authority. The specifics vary between countries (and states, fun times), so consider this a broad overview of the US and UK systems. Also, I hope you like initialisms, because licensing authorities sure do.

Social work licensing / registration

If you’re looking to get into social work, you may need an appropriate license and/or to register with a local authority. The specifics vary between countries (and states, fun times), so consider this a broad overview of the US and UK systems. Also, I hope you like initialisms, because licensing authorities sure do.

Social work licensing in the US

There are two main types of social work licenses in the US: LSW and LCSW. I’ll also mention LPC and LCPC though those are technically counselling credentials.

• An LSW (Licensed Social Worker) is your ‘entry level’ license for social work. You can get these with either a Bachelors or a Masters degree, and with these, you’ll usually provide social work under the supervision of an LCSW.
• An LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) is the next step up from an LSW. You need a Masters degree to get one, and you’ll typically need some direct clinical practice experience, too.
• An LPC (Licensed Professional Counsellor) and LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counsellor) are counselling qualifications, but MSW graduates do sometimes get them later with additional coursework and experience.

Annoyingly, states have their own licensing requirements, so you’ll need to apply for a new license if you want to work in a new state. Various states also have different names for these levels/sometimes have fun bonus levels I’ve not listed, which is even more annoying. The Association of Social Work put together an interactive map that shows you different licensure between states, so I’d recommend having a look through that.

Also, if you earned your Masters in Social Work abroad and want to work in the US, you’ll need to get your degree evaluated. Some states specify it needs to be verified through the Council on Social Work and Education, but you may be able to choose a different service for others. Be sure to check in with your state of choice for more information.

Social work licensing in the UK

The good news for those wanting to work in the UK is that the licensing situation is simpler than the US (yay!). Essentially, for each UK territory, there’s a specific authority you need to register with to work as a social worker.

Due to a memorandum of understanding, you can study a ‘generic’ social work degree in any UK territory and proceed to work in another territory (but you still need to register with the appropriate authority). A ‘specialist’ postgraduate social work programme might not be covered by this memorandum, so check in with your university directly in that case.

The relevant authorities are:

• Social Work England
• Scottish Social Services Council
• Social Care Wales
• Northern Ireland Social Care Council

If you have a qualification from outside of the UK, you can still register as a social worker. You’re typically referred to as an Internationally Qualified Social Worker (IQSW), and several authorities have lists of foreign qualifications they’ve assessed. Here’s the Social Work England list of qualifications for reference.

Transferable skills for a Masters in Social Work

Masters in Social Work give you skills to ‘help people’, in short. Given this is an extremely broad remit, these programmes are highly transferable into various settings and disciplines.

Some examples of transferable skills include:

• Active listening
• Organisational skills
• Relationship management
• Critical thinking

Tips from the author

#1 Ideally, study where you want to work

If you know you’d like to work in a particular region, it’ll make things easier if you study your Masters in Social Work there, too. That’s not always an option for various reasons (if you’re an international student, cost is definitely a factor), but if you can, it’ll save you some trouble.

#2 If you have a Bachelors in Social Work (BSW), you might not need an MSW straight away

In most territories, a BSW is enough to apply for junior social work positions, so you may wish to get more work experience first before completing your MSW. Also, since you're a BSW graduate, you can sometimes apply for an accelerated MSW that only takes a year (since the ‘generic’ MSW is also aimed at non-social work graduates who need to get up to speed).

#3 Check out local funding support

Some local authorities provide bursaries and other support for postgraduate social work students. In England, this is run through the NHS Social Work Bursary (SWB). I’d highly recommend doing some googling to see if there’s similar support in your area (I’m afraid my human hands can’t link every single resource).

Frequently asked questions