WHAT KINDS OF JOBS WILL SOCIAL WORKERS HAVE IN THE FUTURE?
A social work futures imagination game
developed by Laura Nissen
2021
Social Workers are the leading group (by profession) of all those providing human services. There are over 750K social workers working throughout the United States. Social Workers provide professional services across the lifespan, and across levels of practice (individual and family assistance, working in community networks, and developing or managing social programs). In the words of NASW President Mit Joyner, "If you live long enough...at some point you'll be connected to a social worker in your life, or on behalf of someone you love." Social Workers operate by an evolving code of ethics, have a National Associaton of Social Work, and whose education programs are accredited by a national body - the Council for Social Work Education. Social Workers are therapists, activists, change agents - and work in every imaginable social program. Most of them are even working hard to change the social work profession itself into something even more progressive and anti-racist than it is right now. But beyond this, how will our profession evolve in the future - given the rapidly changing practice ecosystem of our world?