Community and Social Services: Schools and Careers

Community And Social Services - Career Information

Community and Social Services Career Overview

Professions that fall under the category of Community and Social Services are many and varied. They range from being loosely to highly related to one another. Community and Social Services jobs are an important element to any community, and include, but are not limited to:

counselors and therapists (specialty areas include: education, career, rehabilitation, marriage and family)
social and human service assistants and workers (specialty areas include: child, family, school, mental, public or mental health, substance abuse)
clergy

Regardless of the role, the individuals in these professions all share the desire to help improve and make a positive impact and a difference on the lives of others. While the roles in Community and Social Services vary greatly they also share common characteristics and traits such as: a sensitivity to the feelings of others, emotional stability, a strong sense of ethics, trust, maturity, objectivity, diplomacy, respect, patience, and responsibility.

While a career in Community and Social Services is considered by many to be truly rewarding and satisfying, it does not come without its challenges (varying by the occupation) such as being emotionally and/or physically taxing and stressful. Unless an individual is successfully self-employed (e.g., counselor or therapist), earnings are not at the high end. Hours vary from part-time, to a standard 40-hour workweek, to long and irregular (including evenings and weekends); some may also travel to meet with clients, patients, or others. Individuals in these professions work in a variety of environments that include: offices, clinics, hospitals, group homes, and shelters.

Community and Social Services Vocational Training

Education requirements for jobs in Community and Social Services vary greatly. Requirements basically come down to the actual profession/occupation, specialty area, and state regulations - all of which range from formal education not required to a bachelor's or master's degree requirement, to specific licensing and certification requirement. In a variety of occupations (e.g., social and human services), on-the-job training, workshops, and seminars are provided by the employer. For occupations that do not require formal education, it is important to note that most employers prefer applicants who have completed some form of training. In general, advancement almost always requires formal education.

Schools for Community And Social Services are listed in the column to the left.

Careers and Salary Data

This table shows summary data on occupations in the US. Clicking on any occupation name brings you to a page showing job prospects and salaries for that occupation in hundreds of metro areas across the country, with data updated through 2008.(Where data is denoted by an asterisk (*), summary info was not available.

The green bars in the table below indicate the relative salary levels and growth rates of each occupation, compared to the others. The levels are determined by sorting the occupations (by salary or growth rate, separately) and then dividing them into ten groups corresponding to the the ten possible green bar levels. So a single bar means the occupation is in the bottom 10% for that characteristic compared to others on this page.

Click each Occupation title for more details.

Community and Social Services

Occupation	Jobs	Median Pay	% Growth 2006-2016
Clergy	42,040	$41,730	18.9%
Community and Social Service Specialists	107,910	$37,670	25.1%
Educational Counselors	243,100	$51,050	12.6%
Family and School Social Workers	274,140	$39,530	19.1%
Health Educators	62,120	$44,000	26.2%
Human Service Assistants	332,880	$27,280	33.6%
Marriage and Family Therapists	24,520	$44,590	29.8%
Medical and Public Health Social Workers	131,730	$45,650	24.2%
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	131,010	$37,210	29.9%
Mental Health Counselors	104,650	$36,810	30.0%
Rehabilitation Counselors	112,700	$30,930	23.0%
Religious Directors	14,790	$36,100	19.7%
Social Service Managers	117,150	$55,980	24.7%
Social Workers	68,230	$46,220	17.8%
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Counselors	79,180	$37,030	34.3%