101 Careers in Social Work / Edition 3

by Jessica A. Ritter BSW, MSSW, PhD, Ann Obermann PhD, LCSW, Kristin Danhoff PhD, MSW

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826143259
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/30/2019
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	1,158,977
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jessica A. Ritter, PhD, MSSW, BSW, is a full professor of social work at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Ritter has over 20 years of experience as a social worker.

Ann Obermann, PhD, MSSW, BSW, LCSW, is an assistant professor of social work and online education coordinator at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.

Kristin Lindsay Danhoff, PhD, MSW, BA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Read an Excerpt

chapter

Table of Contents

Preface

I THE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WORK

1 What Is Social Work?

2 Got Social Work?

3 Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Education and Licensure for Social Workers

II CAREERS IN SOCIAL WORK

4 Careers in Child Welfare

5 School-Based Social Work

6 Social Work With Older Adults

7 Social Work in Healthcare

8 Social Work in Mental Health and Addiction

9 Careers in Crisis Intervention

10 Careers in Criminal Justice and the Legal Arena

11 Careers in International Social Work and Human Rights

12 Careers in Poverty and Homelessness

13 Careers in Advocacy and the Political Arena

14 Careers in Community Practice

15 Leadership in Human Service Organizations

16 Careers in Research and Academia

17 Out-of-the-Box Social Work Careers

III WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

18 Paying for Your Social Work Education

Epilogue

Indexxvi