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Master of Social Work: Career Outlook

A vocation to meet a pressing need.

Your career began with a calling to serve. Now, gain the advanced skills you need to ensure your purpose meets its potential.

Due to evolving cultural values and an aging population, the need for social workers is on the rise, with particularly strong growth in advanced practice jobs:

  • 9% job growth for social workers between 2021 and 20311
  • 20.1% job growth for case workers in the next decade2
  • $74,728 average salary for Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)3

With a specialization in either clinical or community practice, you can make an impact in the setting you’re passionate about.

Your MSW from Sacred Heart University can prepare you for a wide range of advanced practice roles. Here are two examples, each of which is aligned with our available MSW specializations.

Clinical Social Worker:

$56,828/YEAR

As a clinical social worker, you would serve individuals or groups with a focus on mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. You could find work in a variety of clinical settings, including private practices, hospitals and community health agencies.2

Community Advocate:

$53,677/YEAR

As a community advocate, you would help an entire group of people meet their community’s social needs. You may work from a nonprofit organization, an institution, or even from government office, to leverage large-scale systems in service of the public good.4

Additional roles for Master of Social Work graduates:

  • Youth counselor
  • Mental health/behavioral counselor
  • Substance abuse counselor
  • Family social worker
  • Non-profit program manager
  • Vocational rehabilitation counselor
  • Case worker
  • Community health worker
  • Residential assistant
  • Hospice social worker

Request More Information

Fill out the form below and a skilled and knowledgeable Admissions Representative will get in touch to answer your questions and help with the application process.

Specializations

MSW: Direct Clinical Practice

Learn to assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders, chemical dependency, youth counseling, chronic illnesses and domestic conflicts.

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MSW: Direct Community Practice

Explore social welfare, human behavior, social justice and research methods, and gain an understanding of how policy impacts social work.

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Guidance Beyond Graduation

More than 98 percent of Sacred Heart alumni are employed full-time or enrolled in graduate school within a year of graduation.

Our Center for Career & Professional Development provides support to help you find your next opportunity and continue to grow outside of class.

Handshake Access

Tap into our online recruiting system exclusively for Sacred Heart students, featuring job opportunities from 10,000+ employers.

Career Coaching

Work one-on-one with a Sacred Heart career counselor to define your professional goals, practice for upcoming job interviews and more.

Extensive Network

Meet potential employers and connect with a network of 35,000+ Sacred Heart alumni in person and on LinkedIn.

Résumé Workshops

Get your résumé, cover letter and LinkedIn profile critiqued by peers and career-development experts to stand out from your competition.

Sources:

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019 September 4). Social Workers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm.
  2. Burning Glass Technologies: Labor Insight™. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  3. Payscale (n.d.). Average Licensed Clinical Social Worker Salary. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Licensed_Clinical_Social_Worker_(LCSW)/Salary.
  4. Glassdoor (n.d.). Community Advocate Salaries. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/community-advocate-salary-SRCH_KO0,18.htm.