The 20 Worst-Paying College Degrees of 2010

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by TMW2009, Aug 6, 2010.

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  1. TMW2009

    TMW2009 New Member

  2. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

  3. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

    A friend of mine has her Masters in Social Work - she makes decent $ but it's still not great... none of the degrees listed in your link surprise me in terms of salary. It's not easy trying to combine a well paying career with what one really enjoys... I am fortunate that I have both.
     
  4. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I didn't see a degree in "Under Water Basket Weaving" listed so I guess I'm safe, lol.
     
  5. TMW2009

    TMW2009 New Member

    It may be a niche market but it has huge growth opportunities!

    On a more serious note, I concur wholeheartedly.

    It also amazes me that Art History degrees have a higher starting and median salary than teachers as well... I'd figure that the area would have a pretty limited market for jobs.
     
  6. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    But if you attend Pepperdine you can take courses in surfing.
    Pepperdine University Surf Class
     
  7. soupbone

    soupbone Active Member

    I'll say this, anyone considering the MSW needs to think hard about it. Unless schools are different my wifes MSW consists of 60 semester hours, requires multiple internships, and costs quite a bit more than other master's degrees due to the high hours required.

    She graduates in December and we hope that her pay increases. She's already been a counselor for around 10 years so this MSW should open up a few doors for her.
     
  8. cjzande

    cjzande New Member

    Ha! You know, as someone who has actually made woven baskets *above* water before, I have to say attempting to do it underwater would probably be a lot harder than many of the actual college courses I took. Eep.
     
  9. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I don't know why social work keeps coming up on this board but the reality of that field is that it is notoriously low paying. Always has been. Probably always will be.

    Here's a couple of articles that discuss the dismal pay of this career....

    Salaries for New Social Workers--How Much Will I Make?

    This is a very recent article from CNN.com. The title of the article is "College Degrees that Don't Pay." What's the #1 job in that article? Social work.

    College degrees that don't pay - Social Work (1) - CNNMoney.com
     
  10. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    That's weird, I run into social workers at my local hospital who make 70K per year on average with some making more than that. But then again, I also reside in the bay area of California where people have to more because of the ridiculous cost of living out here.
     
  11. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    70K in the Bay Area with with the amount of training and time commitment isn't very much. I would earn more than $70K in the same area in the military. That same $70K would equate to probably 45K to 55K at the most elsewhere in the country.
     
  12. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Yea, really sad, and that's coming from a teacher. The up side is that there is time to go after another income if you are motivated and don't tire easily.
     
  13. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member


    Hospitals don't traditionally employ social workers. My guess is that she really isn't a social worker. Social workers are typically employed by state agencies.
     
  14. soupbone

    soupbone Active Member

    Several hospitals in my area employ social workers. My friends mom is one of them and her actual title is social worker. I understand the way you view the definition as it applies to government work, but it's not limited to just that.

    As far as pay goes in my area the pay is decent but not what I would call high by any means. Luckily my wife loves what she's doing because the ROI is probably not worth it in terms of pay only.
     
  15. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    That is not correct. Most community based hospital have their own Social Worker Department that assist law enforcement in placing police holds on newborns babies that are born to drug addicted mother's who will be seized by the state. Hospital Social Workers also deal with setting up referrals for low income elderly patients who need assistance.

    I worked in health care for 9 nine years in a past life, and I used to work closely with the Social Work Department at our hospital. Social Worker started at approx. 65-70K per year, and the head social worker, as known as, The Critical Incident Manager, was our head social worker who was breaking six figures if I had to guess. But again, I'm in the bay area so our wages are usually much higher than the rest of the US.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 7, 2010
  16. TMW2009

    TMW2009 New Member

    Just to add on to what others have said in response to this, another reason that hospitals have social workers (with masters degrees) on staff is that they can bill medicare (or is it medicade? Bleh) for counseling services. Psych degree'd counselors can't do that.
     
  17. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    It depends on the state. In NC there is licensing for LPA (Licensed Psychological Associate) which is a license for a MA. I can't find good internet sites about it for different states but TX for example is pushing through a law that will allow it. They have to work under a doctorate level psychologist unlike a LPC/LCSW but they can still bill.

    But yes, it is common for hospitals to have social workers on staff.
     
  18. rickyjo

    rickyjo New Member

    I would take any of those starting salaries in a heartbeat. :)
    I really should go get a 4 year degree :(
     
  19. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I seem to have stirred the pudding a bit with my comment on social workers and hospitals. Honestly, I'm still not buying it. I spent seven years of my life working in the medical field and have visited many hospitals from the smallest rural hospital to the largest university hospitals (Duke, UVA, etc).

    Just because you give a title to someone that says "social worker" doesn't necessarily mean they are one in the traditional sense. I've seen hospitals create the position of "patient care advocate," for example. The job responsibilities involved keeping a patient's family informed of his or her status during surgery. The hospital could've easily slapped the title of "social worker" on that person and gotten away with it. Was that person actually doing social work? No, not really.....just a glorified liaison.
     
  20. soupbone

    soupbone Active Member

    I'm not quite sure if we're debating the strict definition of social worker versus what your definition is but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics social workers are employed at many different levels of local government, state government, nursing homes, schools (private and public), hospitals, and addictions facilities (both private and public). --> http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm#nature & http://www.bls.gov/k12/help05.htm
     

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