24 Responses to “Workforce Study: Social Workers and Educational Debt”

1. Krystal Kemp Says:
   April 17th, 2008 at 11:23 am

   For me I paid for my education on my own. Part of the issue I was that the social service job I was employed by did not have tuition reimbursement. It was a struggle, I had to find classes that were in the evening and on weekends. I went part time to school. When I graduated with my MSW, I knew I wanted to get my license. I took a job at a university because I did not find employment as a social worker. I have my LMSW and I want to go for my clinical license. I worked in research in order for me to get my clinical license. I will have to work a part time job or PRN at another agency, it is a struggle.

2. Donna Kaminsky Says:
   April 17th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

   It was a struggle to get my bachelor’s degree. Raising four children, a full time job and two PT jobs it was a struggle. It would seem with a Master’s degree we would make more money? Plus I have the burden of loans I can’t pay back. I love being a Social Worker but sometimes I feel I made a mistake. I really am not getting ahead and I’m no better off financially now that I’ve invested all the time and money in my education. If I wpuld have gotten a associate nursing degree I’d be making a lot more money. Plus their are more jobs and most all places pay major sign on bonuses and many will pay off school loans. Even the Teachers ahve loan forgiveness programs? I am really disappointed and discouraged. I am consisdering getting a teaching certificate so I can get assistance with my loans.

3. Tiffanie Williams Says:
   April 18th, 2008 at 10:58 am

   I am currently obtaining my MSW and although I have not graduated, I am preparing myself for the debt that I am going to have to pay off. You would think that with a higher level of education comes higher pay. Not so with Social Services. I browse through possible jobs that pay minimally for Masters level individuals, not too mention that most want you to be licensed, which gives a little bump in pay. I love what I do and I couldnt imagine myself in any other field, but something has got to give. I thought about pursuing my doctoral degree for a split second until I thought about the amount of money I would have to continue to pay back! Educationally hindered by the thought of financial shackles, I am forced to work with what I will have for now. I just look forward to my pay off in the lives that I deal with rather than the loans I took out, as an optimistic outlook towards my social work experience.

4. Feliza Sanchez Says:
   April 18th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

   Definitely paying down student debt is a struggle. Unfortunately, a MSW Social Worker in Public Child Welfare is not paid as well as other master level professionals. I definitely feel educational debt, workplace stressors, and other factors such as the demanding hours, abuse (verbal) from clients, and stressful deadlines influence the recruitment and retention of this professional workforce. It is very difficult to help families when your strugglilng to meet your personal and family needs as well.

5. CHE HARRIS Says:
   April 19th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

   I HAD A WONDERFUL GRADUATE EXPERIENCE WHILE EARNING MY MSW. I LOOKED FORWARD TO BEGINNING A CAREER IN SOCIAL WORK. BUT EVER SINCE MY GRADUATION AND HAVE BEEN EITHER IN THE JOB MARKET OR WORKING, I HAVE GROWN VERY RESENTFUL OVER THE DECISION I HAVE MADE. I REALLY FEEL SHORT CHANGED. MY INSTRUCTORS AND PROFESSORS HAD US THINKING THAT AT LEAST MY PEERS AND I WOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A DECENT JOB/POSITION. THE SW JOB MARKET IS HORRIBLE AND I FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO GENERALIZE BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN IN TEXAS, MICHIGAN, MISSISSIPPI, AND NEW JERSEY. I ALSO HAVE FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN OTHER STATES WHO SHARE VERY SIMILAR POOR JOB PROSPECTS AND/OR DISSATISFACTION WITH THEIR CAREER EXPERIENCES (AND CHOOSING SW AS A CAREER.) THE SW PROFESSION DOES NOT SEEM TO OFFER ANY INCENTIVES LIKE OTHER HELPING PROFESSIONS DO( LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAMS, HIGHER PAY IF YOU WORK IN THE POOREST AREAS OR THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION). INSTEAD ONE IS MET WITH LOTS OF POTENTIAL ROADBLOCKS JUST TO WORK LIKE FINDING A SUPERVISOR, FINDING THE APPROPRIATE POSITION ALIGNED FOR YOUR LICENSING. MY INCOME HAS BEEN HIGHER WITH JOBS NOT REQUIRING A LICENSE THAN THOSE THAT DO REQUIRE IT. THERE IS SO MUCH YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH FOR VERY FEW PAYOFFS. WHEN I MEET PROSPECTIVE MSW STUDENTS, I WOULD FEEL GUILTY IF DIDN’T SHARE THIS OR AT LEAST URGE THEM TO RESEARCH THIS PROFESSION MORE. I WISHED SOMEONE COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT THERE WERE OTHER CAREERS AND/OR WAYS I COULD HAVE REACHED OR FULFILLED MY GOALS. NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM PURSUING A SECOND CAREER. WHEN I APPLIED TO A NEW GRAD PROGRAM THE CHAIR OF THE DEPT TOLD ME THAT HE FEELS “VERY SORRY” FOR SOCIAL WORKERS AND TOLD ME THAT HE REALLY WANTS TO SEE ME DO WELL BECAUSE I POSSESS ALOT OF SKILLS THAT WILL TAKE ME FAR BUT IN SW THEY DON’T. THAT IS A SHAME!!

6. Colleen Crafton Says:
   April 20th, 2008 at 7:16 am

   I earned my MSW and worked hard to earn my LCSW in hopes of higher pay. However; I was sadly mistaken. I love my job and I care deeply about my consumers, yet the requirements that are set forth by the insurance companies as well as the agency for which I am employed demand that I spend less time with my consumers and more time completing paperwork and less time in psychotherapy. My 40 hour work week easily becomes 55-60 hours which on paper decreases my annual salary even further. The bottom line is Social Workers tend to accumlate college debt for a low paying, highly stressful, 60 hr a week career…. The positive is that I love what I do….

7. Denise Johnson Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am

   I have a Master’s in social work and my dream was to obtain my doctorate in clinical social work. I started a program but have come to realize with the money involved and the money I still owe 15 years later when I obtained my masters I can’t do it. I have thought about leaving the field but I do love what I do. However, I am going to have to work contractually somewhere to pay off my loans.

8. Jennifer Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 9:33 am

   I have an BSW and an MSW with approx $50,000 in student loan debt. I worked two jobs and put myself throught college and graduate school. I would not change my career for the world but it is a heavy burden to pay when we are already in a challenging profession.

9. Joyce Says:
   April 22nd, 2008 at 12:19 am

   I have been a Masters Degree Social worker for 8 years. The first 3 years I was at an agency that paper worked you to death with little client time but paid well. I left there to go to a nonprofit that valued client time but wages were poor. I haven’t had a raise in 5 years and the paperwork grows everyday. I have tons of student loans to pay and I can’t make the payments. I am thinking of moving to either a different job, a different state, or to a completely different profession. If I had it to do over I would go into nursing so I could pay my bills and maybe take a vacation.

10. Dee Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    I graduated with my MSW in 2006 and have been fortunate to continue working with the non-profit agency that I have been employed with now for 6 years. The pay is okay but like most who have posted comments, it is nothing near what I would make if I had a masters degree in nursing or even an associate. I have so much student loans, from grad and undergrad - I will probably pay our mortgage off before there is even a dent in my loans. Not having loan forgiveness opportunities in this field feels like a slap in the face! I enjoy my work but currently am exploring other avenues of employment unless something changes. It is diffiuclt to work with clients who are struggling to make ends meet when I am in the same boat. I know we have the power to make things change, but how long do we have to keep taking this before our voices are heard and our value in this society is acknowledged?

11. Denise O'Connor Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 am

    what can be done about this? how can we change this outcome? What is the sense of even going to school if you can’t make a better living when you get out? i am in a social work program right now and don’t think i want to finish with what i have read here. I really want to work with the developmentally diabled and help them to learn to live in society, but this dream does not seem practicle now.

12. Zandra Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    It is extremely discouraging to read some of the comments listed above, but it is all true. I have had my BSW for 10 years now, and currently in school to obtain my MSW. I was hoping that at that level things would be better financially, but apparently not. I am truly saddened, because I love the work that I do but I am afraid that I will become a client of someone else if I am unable to feed my children, pay my mortgage, and pay back ALL of these student loans. This is a scary place to be. Let’s all just hope and pray for a miracle. Good Luck, everyone!

13. Lynette Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    I was glad to see the comments posted as they are affirming to me. I feel burdened by 40,000 in student loan debt and overwhelmed by trying to pay it off - while working in this profession. I echo the words of others posted. I am looking for a new career - one that pays. I encourage my clients to have and practice self care and I am taking my own advice…looking for a new career bec. I can’t afford to be a social worker anymore, though I feel fulfillment in helping others…

14. CHERYL Says:
    April 24th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    I was divorced when my children were 6 months and 3 years old. When they became teenagers, I went back to college and worked full time - it took me 6 years to earn my bachelor’s degree. I graduated at age 49 with $25,000 in student loans. I have been working as a Social Worker with the elderly for the past 10 1/2 years in a non-profit agency. My wages are way below what I would be earning if I had chosen another field. After graduation my student loans were in forebearance for 10 years because I did not earn enough money to make payments on them. Now they total $47,000!! I began paying just the interest of $273.00 a month nearly two years ago and still owe the same principal. I am single, 60 years old, and struggling financially. Why can’t the government have a loan forgiveness program for social workers as they do for teachers, nurses, police officers, etc.? Did you know that if you cannot make your loan payments, they can attach your Social Security checks, wages, etc. ? What an injustice to those of us who have committed ourselves to improving the quality of life for others!!

15. admin Says:
    April 24th, 2008 at 10:32 am

    There is information on loan forgiveness programs for social workers on the NASW website - http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/updates/2007/072707.asp.

    The page has details and contact information for many programs such as the Perkins Loan Forgiveness Program, National Health Service Corp, National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Loan Forgiveness for Researchers and various state programs.

16. Ana Ramos Says:
    April 24th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    It was a struggle to get my MSW’s degree, raising 2 children, a full time job. I have the burden of loans I can’t pay back. I enjoy being a Social Worker and help others to better their life. However, I fell disappointed, my financial status is not doing any better than before, now that I’ve invested all the time and money in my education. It is difficult to work with clients who are struggling with financial issues when I am in the same position. I have 53,000 in student loan debt and overwhelmed by trying to pay it off. In addition I am struggle passing the difficult test to get my social worker licensing. I am really disappointed and discouraged. I am considering another fulltime job at night to get assistance with my loans.

17. Karen Sheriff Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

    I didn’t have the opportunity to attend college until my children were older and I was divorced. This meant relying on school loans to pay for my education. Realizing the MSW means a little more in pay (approx 4%), I decided I would continue for 1 more year. This puts me in a position of big financial debt. I try to raise 2 children, maintain a mortgage, and pay off loans, I feel so overwhelmed. I cannot understand why this much needed field is so low on the pay scale. I love what I do, but I would not encourage my children to pursue this field unless the pay would be much different. I joke with my kids that the life insurance policy I have will have to be used some day (hopefully 40+ yrs down the road) to pay off my student loan debt. I actually think I should have researched this field more extensively and instead of finding the job I love, maybe I should have went for the pay. There should be more support for this field. Additionally, I find that anyone in my state can call themselves social workers - what an insult.

18. Tamala Simmons Says:
    April 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    I’ve had my MSW for 7 years. I’m one of the lucky ones that was able to go from making 24,000 to almost 40,000. I’ve still got over 35,000 in student loans and work two jobs to pay the bills (most months). As social workers, we work very hard to help others - why are we not helping ourselves? What is NASW doing to help push for the goverment to help get our loans forgiven? We need to advocate for ourselves better. Social workers need to stand together and make our voices heard and avocate for OURSELVES!!

19. Carol Cirocco Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    I have come to believe that, as social workers, we need to take responsibility for our own situation. This is the only way we can be empowered to overcome it. A “poverty mindset” is threaded throughout the systems we work for and it is ingrained in our own belief system — it is about how we value who we are and what we do. It manifests itself in our paychecks. In fact, it seems that most social workers and the systems we work for find it somehow immoral and repugnant to think that social workers should actually deserve to make a decent living, let alone be paid as educated professionals. This is not the most significant issue for me, however. I believe that this poverty mindset pervades our systems of care and the end result is that our clients don’t get the best of what we have. They get workers who are overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid and who often take their own issues out on those they are supposed to help. How invested are workers in empowering their clients to reach heights that they do not believe they, themselves can ever reach? Abraham Lincoln said that the best way to help the poor was to not become one of them. Stand up & value yourselves, Social Workers!

20. Rachel Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 2:19 am

    On one hand, reading these comments makes me feel slightly better about my impossible amount of student loan debt (the principal is $68,000!), simply because I’m not alone in my pain. On the other hand, this small sampling of the challenges facing our profession breaks my heart and scares me. What are we going to do? Social workers are uniquely qualified to do amazing, helpful, important work with our clients, but our low wages, paperwork demands and shrinking resources, are turning off potential social work students and causing talented social workers to leave the field. Loan forgiveness and more scholarships for social workers and sw students won’t solve all of the problems, but they would go a long way towards reducing our stress and bringing the best and brightest into the field.

21. Lillian Alexander Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    Wow, I have read all the comments abouts the field of SW and I got to the last comment and I say Thank You! I was hearing a lot of negative feed back from some of the SW in the field. For those who wished they went into Nursing, well be prepared to Not paid enough as well. They work long hours and have a lot more reponsiblity. I start my SW career path in the fall.. look forward to helping those in need and not becoming one of them.

22. Candra Says:
    May 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    I will be graduating this December with my BSW. I am very much looking forward to beginning my career, and making some money (at least more than what I make now, pt). However, I do realize that social workers are not paid as well as other professionals in other fields. I believe it is very sad, that we are not as respected as other health and human service fields, but as my professor told me, there are two possible reasons why we don’t get paid well; 1) it’s a female-dominated industry (and we all know that women make approx. 0.80 to every 1.00 for men) 2) we deal with people that society looks down upon. Furthermore, I work is viewed as something that people do out the kindness of their heart, chartitable work, so why should we get paid, for doing “charity work.” Regardless of that, we should be paid more, society does not understand our work, and devalue us. I really am proud of myself for pursuing a higher ed degree, but why should I continue to struggle to pay student loan debt, when I am struggling to get through college, I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life! Although, my student loan debt after graduation would be around $12,000, after reading all the comments above as well as other comments about the pay of social work jobs, I am beginning to feel discouraged about pursuing my Master’s degree. It’s a good thing that I have also been thinking about pursuing a Master’s in Higher Education as well. NASW and professional social workers need to do something about this problem, it’s sad to hear people say they are looking for another profession, giving up what they love, just so they can choose something that may make them unhappy career-wise, but better of financially. Something should be done about this.

23. chanda Says:
    May 6th, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    Candra,

    In 1992 after completing my BSW at Georgia State University, I was hired as a child protection worker for GA at the whopping 1649.00 per month. When I left my employer in 2005 I had moved to 2916.66 per month. I did not go into social work for the money, but for the compassion and doing what I love. The low salary I had was to cover rent ,utilities, car pymnt,and then had to start paying for the liability coverage on my vehicle when our then-governor dropped coverage of personnel using their cars to conduct the business of the state, protecting children.
    Those in control of the funding for higher education and repayment of student loans, must be made aware of our struggles. Please join other social workers in getting the HB’ passed by contacting your US representatives.

    Also, the University of GA has a dual degree MSW/M.Ed in Adult Education program that may be of interest to you.

24. admin Says:
    May 6th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Social Work Advocacy

    Higher Education Act Reauthorization - 6/12/2007–Introduced. College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA)
    http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/issues/bills/?bill=10051871

    H.R. 5447, The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act - To establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress on policy issues associated with the recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work.
    Send a letter to YOUR Senators in support of S. 2858!
    http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/issues/bills/?bill=11274081
    Send a Letter to YOUR Representative in support of H.R. 5447!
    http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/issues/bills/?bill=11030061

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