Annual Average Salary Information
Annual Average Salary: $53,960
What does a Community and Social Service earn?
On average, Community and Social Service workers earn around $53,960 per year in the U.S. Community and Social Service professionals work with a range of clients, aiming to help individuals in need and improve their quality of life. Such workers might specialise in areas such as helping people with disabilities, providing substance abuse counseling, or working with seniors.
How to earn more as a Community and Social Service
To become a community and social service worker, you will need a degree in social work, psychology, or sociology. Alternatively, you could join a degree apprenticeship program. To earn more as a community and social service worker, you can become a specialist in a particular sector, such as elderly care, or a manager of a charity organisation. You could also become self-employed and create your own social service business.
Community and Social Service responsibilities
The median annual salary for community and social services workers vary widely depending on the job title and responsibilities. The job title could be for an entry-level position, such as Clergy, a mid-level position, such as Probation Officer, or a senior position, such as Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Health Education Specialist, or Community Service Managers.
Careers working as Licensed Clinical Social Workers or Child, Family, and School Counselors will see you responsible for tasks such as providing mental health and substance abuse advice, running support groups and social programs, providing clinical services, and overseeing child welfare.
Leadership roles and private practice licensed social workers have the highest salary potential with pay higher than the median wage of other social workers.
Skills and education level
Education level also affects Social Worker salaries. Companies, organizations, and local government agencies will expect you to have a high school diploma for entry-level jobs and specialist training in an accredited program. Most social workers earn advanced degrees, such as a social work degree or bachelor’s degree. Employers or federal government agencies may also expect you to complete a master’s degree program and attain doctoral degrees, leading to salaries higher than the median annual salary identified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you do not hold a U.S. high school diploma, you can take the General Education Development Test (GED) to provide evidence that you have the same level of education and knowledge as a high school graduate. You can complete the GED test within the U.S. or from 90 countries around the world.
The most in-demand skills for Substance Abuse Social Workers, Healthcare Social Workers, School Social Workers, and Medical Social Workers include counseling, compassion, empathy, and motivation. Additional skills are important factors that job seekers should consider when seeking employment with above-average salaries, and could include critical thinking, active listening, cultural competence, and patience.
What to expect from Community and Social Service careers
You can begin your career in trainee or junior job openings. Graduate-level jobs offer higher salaries, and excluding education, on-the-job experience will improve your Mental Health or Social Worker salary. Your work environment might be an office, school, corrections facility, or medical facility, or you could provide individual and family services in people’s homes.
A Licensed Social Worker or Clinical Social Work Practitioner may complete many tasks and could work evenings or weekends in addition to regular hours. You could complete parts of your job from home and on a full or part-time basis.
Your employer will expect you to be adaptable and efficient, handle confidential data, and follow policies, guidelines, and state or U.S. regulations. The working day may follow a similar routine, but the nature of social work means few days feel the same.
Community and Social Service job title
There are several job titles within the mental health, family and school social work industry. Examples of healthcare social workers-related job titles include Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker, Clinical Social Worker, Social and Human Service Assistant, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Community Health Worker.
You can search for social work salaries and job openings on Checkasalary.com for all community and social service positions.
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Highest-paying locations for Community and Social Service jobs
The location of your community and social service job in America and the United States can significantly affect your pay and compensation. You can use our Salary Calculator to check the annual salary and hourly average salary for jobs in any location in America. We have salary and pay data for locations such as California, Colorado, Virginia, and more.
You could consider relocating to improve your compensation. However, if you do not wish to relocate, this does not mean you cannot improve your pay. A short commute and working for a business in an inner city location will often mean access to better salaries. If you are interested in a job in a rural location or city, you can use our annual salary data to check if employers are offering a below, above or average salary.
Community and Social Service professional development
The community and social service salary for working professionals varies depending on the individual’s career level and experience in the field. Entry-level positions have the lowest pay, while fully qualified workers, senior staff, and management earn more. Graduates with relevant qualifications may command a higher starting salary. To increase your earning potential, consider taking training opportunities such as workshops or online courses. Our per-hour and annual salary data provide guidance on the wage range and earnings for junior, intermediate, and senior industry roles.
Community and Social Service work experience
Obtaining prior community and social service work experience in your chosen career path can significantly enhance your chances of getting hired and earning a competitive salary. Practical experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, shadowing, and vacation work can provide valuable skills and knowledge in the field. If it is not possible to find work experience directly for your prospective job, showcasing transferable skills gained from other experiences can also be beneficial to potential employers and demonstrate your experience level.
Community and Social Service working hours
Working hours for your community and social service job and career can have an impact on monthly pay and salaries. Companies of different sizes may offer higher overtime pay or additional compensation for working non-traditional hours, such as evenings, weekends, or holidays. The type of employment, such as part-time, full-time, permanent, temporary, or contract, can also affect the salary received and should be considered when evaluating compensation fairness.
Community and Social Service salary negotiations
To be well-prepared for community and social service salary negotiations with employers, it’s crucial to research and understand the typical salaries and other compensation factors, such as average bonus, for prospective positions. Use our salary comparison tool and perform searches for different job titles and locations to determine your worth.
Keep in mind that compensation is not only limited to financial benefits and performance-related commission, and consider other benefits such as the ability to work from home, additional paid vacation, gym membership, or private healthcare.
Annual salary, median salary, and taxes
When you review the median salary or annual salary for a community and social service role, it is vital to remember that you will pay taxes on salaries paid. When you receive your pay, you may be liable for various employment taxes, either deducted by your employer or required by self-payment. U.S. government taxes can include Federal Income Tax, Federal and State Unemployment Tax, Social Security and Medicare Tax, and Additional Medicare Taxes.
Community and Social Service job search
If you are seeking a better salary, start your community and social service job search today. You can search for jobs by job title and set up job alerts to get notified as soon as an employer posts their vacancy.