Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in social work. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
- Median pay
- $77,570
- Doing it now
- 16,000
- By 2035
- Up 2.6%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
a year
across the country
1,100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as family behavior, child and adolescent mental health, or social intervention evaluation.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Supervise students' laboratory and field work.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Social WorkSee 621 colleges that teach it
- Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsSee 138 colleges that teach it
- GerontologySee 43 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Helping and teaching
Analytical and curious
Creative and expressive
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $77,570 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.