Do we have any licensed clinical social workers here?

[Tobin S.]

I'm considering going to graduate school for social work with the eventual aim of becoming a licensed clinical social worker. I'd be interested in hearing an thoughts and advice on the matter.

[RobinA]

1. Social Worker

and Licensed Professional Counselor here. Do not expect to make much money and expect to spend money to become licensed. If you go the mental health route, expect a seriously screwed up system. That said, you might be able to make a difference to one or two people's lives in your career. If you are able to tilt windmills, this is the place for you.

[Tobin S.]

2. I'm probably going to make 45k-50k this year as a trucker.

Can I at least do that in your line of work?

[Sgent]

3. As an LCSW easily

not sure about LPC.

Only LCSW's and clinical / conseling psychologists (Ph.D.) routinely bill insurance for mental health counseling. In some areas, with some insurances, LPC's are able to as well, but Medicare and Medicaid is restricted to LCSW / Ph.D.

[RobinA]

4. Easily?

Not in my neck of the woods, SE PA. I'm sure there are people who make that, but around here even that isn't a living wage, especially with school loans, etc. Many people work two jobs. Depends very much on the work situation. I have found one in which I make more, but almost anywhere else I would work I would make less. You will easily make less. You can probably make that much by getting hired into the right situation. And after some time. You don't emerge from school a LCSW.

[Sgent]

8. Oh I know

MSW's do much worse, and they have to do their clinical hours / pass exams to get become an LCSW. Clinical rotations of an MSW can be horrible in pay.

That said, locally an LCSW (not MSW) will start at 55, and after a history / patient base can easily make 65k. I've seen some as high as 90, although that was only one who saw mostly private pay patients.

[PasadenaTrudy]

9. I have a friend

an LCSW in private practice making $140 an hour and she is booked solid. She doesn't take ins. either. She's doing quite well!

[cwydro]

5. Do you have an undergraduate degree in the social sciences?

[Tobin S.]

6. No, but it's not necessary for the master's degree in social work.

You just have to have six classes in the social sciences from your undergraduate degree, and I've got that.

[cwydro]

7. Fantastic!

Go for it. You obviously have an interest in that line and would probably be very good at it.

[DFW]

10. My wife was a social worker for decades

Her specialties were (at first) working with problem teenagers from low-income industrial area families (before we had children), and then working with programs trying to place long-term unemployed people back into the workforce. She said both were about 30%-70% as far as the success-failure ratio was concerned, but it made the cases that turned out in a positive manner especially sweet. It will NEVER be financially rewarding, and no one sends out a social worker to help a hero, a happy family, a millionaire or a scholar. There will be many evenings when you come home emotionally drained. Your life's companion, if you have one, will need to show some serious understanding, because this is one job that follows you home.

It took a lot out of my wife, too, and it was no picnic. It was just her nature to want to do that as a profession. Hey, she married me, and that's a good an indication as any that she was willing to take on difficult cases. Our daughters inherited some of that part of her, too. While some people in NYC were holed up in their apartments after Hurricane Sandy, my elder daughter left the relative comfort of her Manhattan apartment to go help clean up water-damaged houses in coastal areas in the cold. Her sister, instead of seeking to clerk for some judge somewhere in after her first year of law school, went as summer help on the U.N. War Crimes Commission in Sierra Leone in West Africa, and almost died there herself (crazy kid!). Still, she returned confident she could face any obstacle and overcome it, and so far, she has been correct about that.

In all likelihood, it will either give you nerves of steel or destroy you. Which of the two depends partly on you, yourself, and partly on a lot of factors over which you will have no control whatsoever.

[TexasBushwhacker]

11. My SIL is an LPC

I don't think she was ever able to make what you're making driving a truck. She said that she had tried to have a private practice but was never able to build enough of a practice to make a living. So she worked for some different non-profits, but funding was always an issue and she had been laid off a few times.

One thing that could be an issue is that women are far more likely to get counseling than men. As a woman who's gotten therapy myself, I know I prefer a female therapist and my guess is there are plenty of women who feel the same way. It may not be fair, but it is what it is.

I would also mention that while they'll take your money, I wouldn't go into debt to get an online degree. I just don't think they are as well regarded as a traditional university.

[Heddi]

12. I'm a Certified Case Manager/RN....

If I remember correctly, you live in a pretty small town, and had difficulty with your accounting degree getting a relatively well paying job in that field, right?

Sadly, you will probably run into the same thing regarding social workers. More places these days are hiring Case Managers vs SW's just because of the clinical ability behind the RN that isn't there with SW's. Also smaller towns tend to pay less, even in higher-paying fields like Health Care.

As a CCM/RN I make a great salary, but I also have over 10 year exp as an RN in a variety of settings (ICU, Trauma ER, Managed Care, Insurance, Urgent Care, Chronic Care, Complex patients, etc.) and have a shit-ton of certifications behind my name, and am in a MSN program now.

SW's get paid less than CCM's because of the clincial issue.

You *may* be able to get what you're getting in trucking, but if you work in a low-wage area, you're going to get low wages. Even RN's in small towns get considerably less than RN's in big towns -- my husband, who is also an RN (but not case manager) was making roughly $45/hr in Philadelphia, plus shift differentials, and took a $10/hr pay cut moving to Florida)

The company I work for has one SW for 9 CM's and the SW makes around $30k less than I do, despite being a MSW. SHe's also been in the field for less than 5 years, so that may have something to do with it. SHe is also getting another Grad degree to move out of the SW arena because SW jobs are becoming harder and harder to find (at least in what she wants to do).

Please also be aware that if you're not happy in the job you do, you'll not be doing anyone any good - not yourself and not your clients. Healthcare, especially those dealing with the psychosocial aspect of care, are physically and emotionally draining. Don't go into this for the money. You'll leave with more debt from school than you'll ever earn because you'll be that much quicker to burn out.

A friend of mine went to nursing school b/c he saw what I and my husband was making yearly without taking into account our years in the industry, our training, our specialities, etc. He quit less than 3 years after graduation and got back into graphic design because he wasn't graduating with an $80k salary in his hand. He didn't realize that the higher pay comes with hard work and the skillset, education, knowledge that commands that salary.

Really think about why you want to do this - do you have a dedication to helping people, or are you trying to get a job that will increase your salary? IF it's the first -- great, sign up. If it's the second reason, realize you may not make as much or more money than you're making now, especially in your current geographic location.

[politicat]

13. I was an LCP in a public health group with LCSWs

This was early in my career; I am now PsyD research psych.

At the time, the LCPs and LCSWs were considered equivalent and we had equivalent client loads and responsibilities. Also, similar salaries -- about what a first year teacher made, but year round. At least we were employees, with benefits, instead of contractors -- that's becoming a more common practice, which means that we're also expecting mental and social welfare specialists to be independent business people who are responsible for their own healthcare, SS and self-employment taxes as well as FICA. Run from that -- unless you already know how to be I9 and have the self-discipline to drop half your income in advance tax payments and savings for your tax bill, and have the extra emotional energy to fight with your payers when they decide to delay payment because they just do, there's a good chance you will have tax and business issues. We, the LCPs and LCSWs, wanted to tag-team with each client, because a lot of public mental health issues are social work issues. That was a hard fight we never really won.

It really depends where you are and how much community support you've got. I was working in one of the deepest red counties in the country, and three of the five county commissioners truly believed that all mental health and social welfare issues could be fixed if our clients would just get right with Jesus. They kept our budgets extremely tight so our client load was always way too high. At least the state was good about social support, which meant we could get our clients on SNAP, Medicaid, SSDI, TANF and in line for housing. But if the county commishes had their way, we and our clients would have just died and stopped being a bother.

Provider burn-out is high in those first five years. It nearly broke me and I'm thankful I don't think I broke anyone else. It's really hard work you can't leave at the door, and it's appallingly poorly paid for the level of emotional labor expected. In places with good support, it's a good career. In places with actively hostile politics, it is a level of hell. Be willing to move.

Right now, conditions are slightly better, because ACA requires mental health care to be health care, the way it should be. (And that includes a strong percentage of social work.) But if that changes? We'll be back to the bad old days and in worse shape.

[hunter]

14. I met some fantastic social workers in the hospital...

... but they really struggled to find safe places for their patients discharged from the hospital. Sure, everyone's got to have a discharge plan, but what do you do with all the people who are homeless and unemployable and alienated from ordinary society because they have some severe mental illness?

Hell, I bounced back into the hospital after I was first discharged and I DO have family, friends, and some resources.

Years ago I burned out of teaching in a rougher big city public school because I couldn't leave the troubles of various students at school; their problems would gnaw on me nights and weekends. It was the most difficult job I ever had. Some kids have horrible home situations. I don't know how we expect them to do well in school; it's a miracle when some of them can do their homework.

My wife's sister has stuck it out for decades as a teacher in not-so-good schools, but she's some kind of saint.

The teachers who stay are flaming altruists, authoritarians, or they just don't give a damn anymore.

I know a social worker who became a parole officer. That's possibly a secure career. Yet again, he's one of those altruistic people who truly cares for everyone, wants them to succeed, even those who are extremely unpleasant and possibly dangerous.

I never learned the language of wealthier people and that may be what it takes to develop a lucrative practice. My oldest kid and my little brother are not social workers, but they enjoy good incomes because they speak that language.

[riderinthestorm]

15. Have you considered teaching? Teach For America will take you and train you to be a teacher

Your business degree and work/life skills would be highly valued imo.

From friends and colleagues, I've heard it's quite possible to earn a very good salary after the initial 2 year training period.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Teach-for-America-Salaries-E105049.htm

Good luck!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. No experience myself, but everything i know of the work from others

is that it's high stress and low pay.