Social Workers receive professional training to help people struggling with some of life's toughest challenges: poverty, homelessness, mental illness, physical disability, trauma and others. Many social workers enter the field to serve the public and to help some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
As the cost of higher education continues to climb, social workers turn increasingly to student loans to obtain a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree.
Even greater financial difficulty awaits social workers following graduation. After four, six, or more years of higher education, social workers are offered positions in both the public and private sectors that often fail to adequately reward them for their educational attainment, professional licenses, and credentials.
Social work salaries continue to be among the lowest for degreed professionals in general and for those with master's level educations in particular. For example, here is the salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on social workers in mental health fields. The median income in 2004 was:
- $29,110 for social workers practicing in residential care centers
- $32,810 for those providing individual and family services
- $33,220 for social workers in outpatient care centers
31 states, including the District of Columbia, have enacted student loan relief programs to address the economic hardship of professionals in highly critical, but often low paying jobs.
Oregon currently does not offer such a program and many students that are interested in social work are choosing other professions because they are worried that they will not be able to make a livable wage and raise a family on a social work salary.
Due to low salaries and the fact that many social workers are retiring, leaders in the social work profession are increasing concerned about the recruitment and retention of social workers. According to the Department of Labor, the demand for social workers will increase significantly over the next decade particularly due to the aging baby boomer population. Social workers will be most needed in the areas of mental health, healthcare, substance abuse, and to serve over 1 million returning veterans. Student loan relief legislation is an extremely effective mechanism to address the economic hardship of social workers.
