human services vs social work

My son is disabled and has a case manager, and she has a sociology degree. No masters. I was told by many people in the various offices we have had to deal with in Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, and Arizona that if you want to be an actual SOCIAL WORKER, you need at minimum a bsw but preferably a msw. Now if you want to work in the social services field as basically anything else, you can have a degree in psychology, sociology, social work, human services, and to a certain degree even human/family/child development. My mom has an AS in Human Services and has worked for the last 10 years as a visitation monitor (monitors court ordered supervised visitations). So it really just depends on what your friend wants to do within the field.

 

Also consider looking into the addiction counseling fields. Easy to get into education wise but it has a very high ladder with 4 rungs that require additional education. I think just as helpful socially, and historically many open positions if you can meet the basic requirements. Positions pay pretty good at higher levels typically too.

 

Thank you. She has actually had to get just a generic job (customer service) while all the divorce stuff is getting worked out, so her degree process has slowed. I am, however, still making notes for her once she gets settled. Thanks for your input!!

 

Hi Jennifer,

I'm resurrecting this thread as I came across a new online BSW program that I thought your friend (others who happen upon this thread) might find of interest:

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This program from Briar Cliff University is only $360/credit!

 

Thanks! I will pass it on to her. She is actually in the final stages of her personal stuff, so we spoke about her starting school again...this is great timing!

 

Baptist Bible College and Seminary offers a very affordable Master of Science in Counseling that she may want to consider. She can actually begin with the Master of Arts in Counseling and roll all 30 hours into the MS which leads to licensure.

 

Thank you, she's only just accumulated 30 undergrad hours, so that might be a while out. I'm collecting ideas though, so thanks for sending it!

 

If you mean Baptist Bible College (Pennsylvania), I inquired about their distance learning programs and found them to be a bit conservative. They told me over the phone that they do not accept women. That was about a decade ago, so things might have changed. Or I might even be mistaken (though I am very rarely wrong).

 

Are BBC's Counseling progams available by DL?

 

Yes, Baptist Bible College & Seminary in Clarks Summit, PA (Accredited Christian Bible College & Seminary: Baptist Bible College & Seminary). I am unaware of gender requirements and there are none listed in the school catalog, but I wouldn't be surprised if they exist for the seminary curriculum (ministry). However, the graduate school does in fact have a policy against admitting divorced students, or students who have married someone who is divorced. Waivers, I believe, are possible.

 

Yes. I have been talking to their admissions department for months. Both the MA and MS are available via DL, but they do require a few short campus visits. I can't remember for sure, but I think there is 1 5-day requirement for the MA and 2 more for the MS. Don't quote me on that, but the visits are very few and quite brief.

 

... which is why I crossed these guys off my list