The current growing demand for more and more social workers has led to an increase interest in these studies. Many young people are now considering a career as a social worker. There are of course different courses that one can follow to become a social worker, but more and more students tend to choose for a masters degree in social work. But what can they expect to earn after they have graduated? How high is the current average social work salary with masters degree? Let’s take a closer look and see if it pays off to get a masters degree in social work.
The average social work salary with masters degree
In order to determine if the masters degree is worth having, we have to take a look at the average social work salary with masters degree. In most cases the salary for social workers with a masters degree lies between $34,000 and $84,000. It all depends on the exact position of the employee. We can however say that the average social work salary with master degree is just under $51,000 per year. This means that there are a lot of social workers that earn less and also quite a few that are earning considerably more than the average of $51,000. So how can we explain these differences in pay? Research shows that one of the most important factors for determining a social workers salary is his or her experience. The longer an employee has been active as a social worker, the more he will earn. The starting salary with masters degree is considerably lower than the salary for a person with the same degree and 20 or more years of experience. In fact, the average social work salary with masters degree for someone with less than a year of working experience is just under $37,000 per year. The salary for someone with 20+ years of (field) experience is over $60,000 per year. These are considerable differences: the 20 years of experience causes the salary to almost double! So how can we explain this?
Experience and social work salary (with masters degree)
Can we find a reason why experience has such an impact on the social work salary with masters degree? The answer is yes. When we take a closer look at the data, we see that most social workers who have a masters degree will end up in management positions. In most cases these jobs require a certain amount of previous field experience. So someone with a lot of experience in more likely to get the position than someone who just started working as a social worker, even if they have the same level of education. As these management positions generally have a higher social work salary with masters degree, we can explain why experience matters so much. While not as large a factor as experience, specialization is also a factor that influences the social work salary with masters degree. Employers tend to pay for expertise. Choosing the right specialization can greatly increase a social workers chances (and pay!).
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