When you’re at school and you feel down, you either talk with your friends or visit the school counselor. People with traumatic experiences, mental health issues, and other problems may seek out help by visiting a therapist. In a way, child, family, and school social workers are like that but only work with families, children, and in schools.

Child, family, and school social workers require a master’s or bachelor’s degree in social work. Their yearly pay is $43,720 and they work 52.5 hours per week. They can work with both people and alone. The settings they work in are usually inside and most likely work standing the most. An average day would be counseling individuals, groups, families, or communities regarding mental health issues, poverty, unemployment, and types of abuse. They also interview clients individually; serve as liaisons; maintain case history records and prepare reports; consult with parents, teachers, and other counsel personnel.

When they get vacation time, they get two weeks in the first year. They can add one more week each year. There are also benefits and drawbacks to this profession. Benefits are how it’s a growing field, student loans may be forgiven, there’s room to grow, variety of opportunities, and many more. The drawbacks are that it can get stressful, emotional burden, and you see the worst of people. Many skills could be useful in this career, but active listening, critical thinking, negotiation, speaking, and time management would seem the most useful.

As of now, there will be a need for child, family, and school social workers in the future because their employment is expected to grow 12 percent more by 2029. This career would be a good choice for me because it wouldn’t bother me to listen to people talk about their troubles, and I’d also try my best to help them in any way I can.