Social Work & Careers in Helping People
What does it mean to be a social worker?
TRAITS
SKILLS
and
EDUCATION
Chapter 1:
What is Social Work?
As a profession, social work is about helping people. Its primary mission is to meet the basic and complex needs of people, communities and organizations to enhance their individual and collective well-being — especially people who are vulnerable, oppressed and impoverished.
As such, the profession is vast and includes jobs that help people individually, jobs that help the community, and jobs that help at the broad level, like working with policymakers to develop or improve social programs.
Essentially, the goal of social work is to improve people's lives and maybe even make the world a better place.
Chapter 2:
How Social Work Helps People
Because a key element of social work is addressing the unjust systems that negatively impact vulnerable people and communities, its impact must be felt at every level of society to be effective. To accomplish this goal, social work is divided into three levels: micro, mezzo and macro.
1. Micro Social Work
Micro-level social work is often considered the most “traditional” type of social work. At this level, professionals work directly with clients to help them navigate complex individual challenges. As a career, micro social work could be a licensed counselor providing mental health support one-on-one or someone in child welfare services helping a separated family reunite in a safe and healthy living situation.
2. Mezzo Social Work
Mezzo-level social work focuses on helping smaller groups instead of individuals. Like micro social work, the goal of mezzo social work is to help people who are experiencing individual challenges directly. However, effective social work at the mezzo level requires taking a step back to identify factors that negatively impact the well-being of individuals within an organization or a small community. Micro- and mezzo-level social work are often used simultaneously to create small-scale institutional, social and cultural change.
An example of a social work job at the mezzo level could be a counselor providing group support for recovering alcoholics or a community service manager leading an after-school basketball league for teens or young adults.
3. Macro Social Work
Macro social work helps people indirectly by addressing the systemic causes of social injustice at the large-scale community, state, national and international levels. Macro-level social work is often performed through research, political advocacy or other far-reaching interventions that affect large groups of people or entire communities and cultures.
If the only social workers you’re familiar with are characters on TV, macro-level social work may not even look or sound like the social work you know. Careers in macro social work could involve crafting laws, lobbying for legislative changes or even working to find solutions to global crises like human trafficking.
The most important thing to remember about the three levels of social work is that they aren’t necessarily distinct. Micro, mezzo, and macro social work function in tandem and constantly influence each other. Together, the social work levels work to promote social justice and human well-being at every level of society.
Chapter 3:
What is a Social Worker?
Social workers are highly-trained professionals who help people. Social workers work with individuals, communities and organizations to prevent and overcome problems in their everyday lives. They work in myriad different settings, and they even have non-traditional careers. Still, all social workers share a commitment to advocate for and improve the lives of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, underrepresented and underserved.
One of the benefits of a career in social work is the vast array of responsibilities, specializations and areas of practice you can work in. But, if you’re just discovering social work because you want a career that helps people, you might be asking yourself, “what do social workers actually do?"
While no two social workers do the same thing on a daily basis, all social workers apply the core values of social work to accomplish four ends:
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Help people obtain tangible services
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Provide counseling and psychotherapy to individuals, families and groups
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Help communities or groups provide social and health service
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Participate in legislative processes
What do social workers do?
Learn more about what social workers do, how they help people and the future of the profession.
Chapter 4:
How can I start working in social work?
To practice as a social worker, you’ll need to earn a social work degree from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). You can start your education with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), but it isn’t required to become a social worker. In fact, many undergraduate degrees that aren’t related to social work can provide excellent support for a career in the profession.
Thinking about getting an MSW but don't have a BSW? Explore 5 Undergraduate Degrees that Will Complement Your Master’s in Social Work.
A Master of Social Work (MSW) is the fastest way to enter the profession and begin a career that will allow you to help people and still pay the bills. While a BSW will prepare you for entry-level positions in the profession, a master’s degree is required for most leadership positions. It paves the way to becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW).
Regardless of what undergraduate degree you have, an MSW will prepare you to promote social change and development, empower individuals and enhance well-being in whatever career path you choose — whether you ultimately end up with the title of “social worker” or something else entirely.
In the same way that a Master of Business Administration (MBA) prepares you for a wide range of careers in corporate or entrepreneurial leadership, an MSW is the degree that prepares you for a wide range of leadership and change-maker roles in careers that help people.
Explore Baylor University's digital resource page: Master of Social Work
The MBA of the Helping Professions!
Chapter 5:
Start a career that helps people. Become a social worker at Baylor.
The journalist Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.”
As a social worker, you’ll spend your days helping the individuals and communities who most need it. The Master of Social Work degree at Baylor University is rooted in research, supported by expert faculty and flexible for even the busiest working professionals.
If you’re ready to make the world a better place, the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work is the perfect place to start. We can’t wait to meet you and help you get started on your journey to a career that helps people.
Become A
Social Worker
At Baylor
If you’re ready to make the world a better place, the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work is the perfect place to start. We can’t wait to meet you and help you get started on your journey to a career that helps people.
