101 Careers in Social Work, Third Edition

by Jessica A. Ritter, Ann Obermann, Kristin Danhoff

This engaging guide addresses the extraordinary breadth of the social work profession and the diverse career paths available. Updated and expanded, the third edition includes 15 vivid new profiles of social workers who describe the rewards and challenges of their distinct roles. It presents "Social Justice Spotlights" highlighting important social and political issues relevant to different practice domains. The new edition also delivers current data on employment opportunities and salaries from the Department of Labor and provides links to new resources--books, essays, films, and websites--that enable readers to explore specific career paths in greater depth. It dispels common myths about the social work profession and demonstrates why social work is a smart choice for those seeking a career of service that requires creativity, critical thinking, compassion, and a passion for social justice.

Illuminating current trends in social work education and practice, the book describes more than 100 specific careers--traditional and nontraditional--available to social workers, including best features, challenges, required core competencies and skills, educational and licensing requirements, and personal narratives. The book also covers how to fund one's education and provides job-hunting tools and websites. Additional features include, for each career, a discussion of benefits and challenges, job outlook, and salary information. Questionnaires and self-assessment checklists provide additional material to help readers choose a social work career tailored to their unique talents, interests, and passions.


New to the Third Edition: Fifteen new personal narratives describing the benefits and challenges of different social work arenas
"Social Justice Spotlight" for each field of social work practice
New data on employment opportunities and salaries from the Department of Labor and other sources
New resources for additional career exploration

Key Features: Describes more than 100 distinct career paths available to social workers
Addresses pros and cons of each career including personal narratives
Covers educational and licensing requirements, employment opportunities and salaries
Includes job-hunting tools and websites
Provides self-assessment questionnaires and checklists to help readers assess which jobs would be a good fit based on their skills and passions

Genres: Social Work, Nonfiction, Professional Development

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah Lumos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kissing the boo-boo doesn’t help the pain. . . .It helps the loneliness. —Rachel Naomi Remen (1996)

What an awesome resource for potential and current Social Workers! I thought this book was informative, straight-forward, and engaging. It is perfect for those who are new to or want to figure out if this is the right profession for them. I could also see it being helpful for recent graduates who are on the hunt for jobs in this sector.

When I decided to switch programs, people asked me, “So, what do Social Workers do exactly?" Pretty much, social work focuses on human behaviour and social problems. As Social Workers, we are not only interested in empowering our clients, but also mitigating the root cause of the issues we deal with.

When we think about social work, the image of a counsellor working with a client one-on-one comes to mind. However, many Social Workers also work in macro-level practice, which might involve changing or adding policies that can have a broader impact on the community.

Alright, enough of my enthusiastic spiel! I apologize for going all SOCIAL WORK 101 on you, but I am just so passionate about this field.

This book made me realize that my interests and skills would best fit the medical, mental health and addictions, poverty and homelessness, or education sectors. But it also let me weigh other options. Like I never considered applying for an administrative or director position.

Although Social Work is a rewarding career, it tends to have a high burnout rate. I never understood why until I started working in the field. I love and cherish the work that I do, but it does require emotional investment. A lot of it. You have to ask yourself, “Can I work with some of the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals in society? How would I endure being surrounded by crisis for multiple hours a day?” and so forth.

The best way to make this assessment would be by volunteering or interning in the field. But doing the case studies in this book will also give you a rough idea. I thought the exercises and questions were pretty useful. They encouraged me to think about difficult social problems in a critical way.

The book also features additional information about scholarships, job searching and further readings. I plan on reading some of the recommended books and articles in my free time!

Overall, if you have any interest in pursuing a career in the human service sector, read this. It gives you a chance to explore what other careers are out there. And it might also help you understand if this is the right pathway way for you. Happy reading! :)

[Odette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book. I wasn't sure which field of Social Work I wanted to get into but now I know! 👍

[Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did a great job demonstrating the versatility of a degree in social work. I think there’s such a huge focus now on social workers in clinical practice, so I enjoyed reading about all of the careers that don’t involve counseling/therapy. The job descriptions were descriptive enough, but to the point. Great read for anyone wondering if the social work field is right for them!

[GeminiSeoul Finney · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, so good. I am learning the history of social work, the different types of careers that develop from social work education and it's courses. I am currently reading what different paths I can take.

[Michael Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book accomplishes what it sets out to do, a survey of the various careers in the social work profession. It is generally formulaic in its approach iterating through different jobs under broader categories, but there is good information such as call outs with different professionals, historical aspects of different roles and social work areas.

I found this useful as a means to a better understanding of the social work field, along with rewards and challenges faced by different professions. There is a lot of practical information around study and career progression for those working towards a career in social work also.

The downside for me, although not a criticism of the text itself, is that it is US focused, so reading this from another country while it is interesting to get one perspective and there could be a large amount of overlap caution needs to be applied on how much could directly apply to your own country.

[Alastair Fyfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subject matter fairly formulaic. No new concepts that i haven't heard of before. I would have liked more experiences and exposure contrasted to brief vignettes. It felt like a cookie-cutter approach.
Many more quality books out there on the market, causing one to find motivation and curiosity as to why pursue social work.

[Michael Westbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book helpful in looking at the variety of career paths one can take going into social work. Careers, educational requirements, expected income, and reflective questions to see if you would enjoy that job are included in each chapter. The spotlights of people in social work are helpful as well. I found some of the exercises in book not very helpful because many times you wouldn't know the best way to respond due to the lack of knowledge/training in that specific field.

Overall a helpful resource to see what, if any, jobs in social work would work for you.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the series of 101 Careers in [blank] during my senior year at California State University Los Angeles. I was determined to figure out which path after graduation was the best for me and because of this, I read several sequences of the same book. These books helped me to understand better what was expected in various professional fields, what was required educationally and through experience, and ultimately assisted me in narrowing down my preferred role in social work practice. I highly recommend to anyone that is currently trying to find their path and plan for the future.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides a good overview of possible careers and made me realize the profession did not match my personality.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative book for social work students and anyone entering into the social work profession.