In the United States, social workers can increase their salary a number of ways through specializations and side hustles, but also through entrepreneurship. It is a helpful resource with an over of different methods social workers can make more money in their typical job, or creative and independent ways.
14 Steps to How to Make Money as a Social Worker
Get Advanced Degrees and Certifications to Specialize
While these salaries sound decent, the easiest way to make even more money is to get yourself an advanced degree (MSW/DSW). Obtaining a specialized certification may also enable the social worker to target higher-paying niches like clinical social work, healthcare and school social work.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): An LCSW can conduct therapy, work in clinical settings, or open a private practice for more control over earnings. To earn this credential, you need an MSW, supervised hours, and to pass the licensing exam in your state. Visit The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) for details on state licensing requirements.
Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM) : This credential, administered by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), increases credibility in case management and access to positions that frequently pay a higher wage than generalist roles. See NASW credentialing pages for information.
Private Practice and Therapy
Private Practice for Clinical Social Workers Just like psychologists, clinical licensed social workers whom have earned their master of social work degrees can provide therapy services in private practice resulting to higher income. This flexibility is a huge advantage of social work in private practice because it means that social workers can have greater control over their fees, the number of clients they accept, and the schedule they keep. Some social workers move into private practice after a few years of experience, while many other full-time social workers augment their income with part-time therapy.
LCSWs can also go to online therapy platforms such as BetterHelp and Talkspace to reach clients throughout the country. Compensation varies, but licensed social workers tend to make somewhere around $50 to $150 a session.
Nonprofit Consulting and Organizational Consulting
If you have experience as a social worker under your belt, you may be able to act as a consultant for organizations in particular — think nonprofits, government agencies, and healthcare providers. Consulting may include working with organizations to design programs, inform policy, train staff and write grants. According to Salary. Experts in the field tend to charge between $75 and over $200 an hour, as noted by com.
Common Consulting Areas:
- Program Development: Help create and implement successful social programs.
- Policy analysis: assisting agencies to detect and respond to change in social policies.
- Grant Writing: Funding sources applied to and managed by organizations
Create Digital Courses and Educational Materials
Develop selling educational materials or online courses on topics related to social work such as mental health, crisis intervention, family therapy etc. You can earn through this revenue source partially too! Social Workers Can Offer Courses On Teachable, Udemy, or Skillshare Etc It is a type of passive income that can continue to pay well into the future as students enroll and purchase courses over the months/years.
Not to mention, developing courses on hot topics that address certain gaps in the market and can be applied by both professionals or clients while working together is a win-win. Then it is also possible to sell these resources directly on websites, or share them through social networks.
Freelance Writing and Content Production
If you are a social worker who writes, casual letters to the editor on websites and blog posts for places that discuss mental health or community issues can give an important perspective. Several well-respected organizations — including Psychology Today and Social Work Helper — are seeking people to write articles on topics in their field of interest. A freelance writer might make between $50 and $200 for one article, depending on experience and the platform.
Furthermore, blogging can help you gain a steady readership and money from ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts. If you have just started, do not write about social work broadly – it is more useful to find niche topics that can help you stand out and gain the following.
Grant Writing
Written by everyone, but most common in nonprofit organizations of all sizes — grant writing is a skill that will remain in demand. In-house grant writer or freelancer — Social workers can apply for grants to assist agencies in obtaining funding for social programs. Freelance grant writers charge by the hour (or per project), and skilled grant writers typically make between $30 and $100 hourly.
There are places for grant writing training such as Grant Professionals Association and Foundation Center by Candid which provide resources to prepare and train for certification。一
Teaching as an Adjunct and Speaking Publicly
If you are a licensed social worker with an advanced degree and/or specialized knowledge in an area, this could be your pathway to teaching as an adjunct professor at a university or college. For social workers who may not need to supplement their income, teaching part-time still gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge with students. Places such as HigherEdJobs and AdjunctWorld will advertise opportunities for online and in-person adjunct teaching.
Additional income can come from public speaking at conferences, community events, or workshops. For example, organizations may hire social work professionals to do speaking engagements on mental health, family relationships or crisis intervention. SPEAKER ENGAGEMENT Event platforms like SpeakerHub help social workers find speaking opportunities.
Start A YouTube Channel Or Podcast
Social workers also can write content on YouTube or start a podcast regarding social work, mental health, or community matters. For example, Anchor allows you to create a podcast for free and YouTube pays popular channels in ad revenue. Growing within its own niche, a successful channel will eventually land sponsors and earn some income via Patreon or direct donations.
Podcasting and producing video content is an incredibly rewarding undertaking for most social workers because they can reach so many people, spread awareness, and advocate.
Workshops and Support Groups
One of the ways to generate more income is by hosting workshops or support groups, either in person or online? Social workers can provide workshops about parenting, managing stress, recovering from addiction or financial planning for families to attend. There are professional paid workshops or support groups you can easily find on the web hosting platforms like Eventbrite.
This can also act as an income stream while supporting your community in confronting issues they face with regularity through hosting support groups. There are many-Well organized cohorts, where peer helps each other along With professionals who will share their insights and clients want to pay for this.
Life Coaching | Career Coaching
Social work lends itself naturally into a life coach or career coach kind of role. When social workers decide to offer coaching, individuals can benefit from their services in both their personal and professional lives by getting support with things like creating goals, working on relationships, and planning careers. Even though coaching certification is not necessitated, taking up a course from either an organization like the International Coach Federation (ICF) lends dependability to the coach.
Life coaches earn anywhere from $75 to $200 per hour depending on experience and demand. Coaching also lends itself to a flexible schedule, something which may be an inviting fit for social workers with clinical experience.
Remote and Telehealth Services
Less formerly whatever gives telehealth has generated interest for social work services from remote. There are platforms that allow social workers to provide online counseling and therapy, such as BetterHelp or Talkspace. It allows you to work in new locations with your own schedule, and many licensed social workers can obtain STD hourly rates working with clients remotely.
Benefits of Telehealth:
- Work Flexibility: Work from home or wherever is more conveniently located.
- Lower Expenses: Office rent & travel (i.e., commuting) costs.
Create and Sell Therapeutic Resources
Therapeutic worksheets, guides and workbooks that social workers frequently create for use in sessions. They can be sold online in places like Teachers Pay Teachers, where teachers and social workers can sell materials related to mental health and personal growth.
Some of the most utilised resources are:
- Emotion-Regulation Worksheets
- Self-Care Planners
- Coping Skills Guides
Because you sell digital resources, they are sold passively and buyers buy from you to download when required.
Get a Job for Government Programs or Nonprofits
Additionally, social workers can also look for government programs or large nonprofit organizations that offer higher-paying jobs. Positions at federal agencies — like the Department of Veterans Affairs — typically pay better and have more generous benefits. It is also lucrative to work for established nonprofits in niches such as disaster relief or refugee services, where funding is directed toward specific needs.
Check out USA Jobs for government jobs and Idealist for nonprofit ones.
Blogging About Social Work and Affiliate Marketing
Social work blogging gives professionals opportunities to provide insights & may involve revenue options through ads, affiliate marketing & sponsored content. Blogs that succeed tend to focus on specific subject matter (things like mental health tips, career advice, or resources for clients).
If you have wanted to start a blog, some suggested steps are:
- Selecting a niche that is somewhat related to social work but targets a different audience.
- Affiliate marketing Mental health or wellness product
- Giving readers an option to access regular, good quality content.
They each offer their own unique opportunity to increase income, influence, and serve others by using your skill set outside the field of social work. These social work side hustles will not only increase the income streams, but also allow a sense of autonomy and freedom in the workplace.
