5 Ways to Make More Money As a Social Worker

Are you eager to increase your salary or diversify your income streams? This article includes 5 expert strategies to make more money as a social worker. 

So you’ve entered into the wonderfully rewarding field of social work, congratulations! A career in this helping profession can be incredibly fulfilling and valuable, and the opportunities to serve others are endless! 

However, there continues to be a misalignment between the need and value of this profession and the amount social workers are paid. 

Starting salaries in this field can be discouraging, especially considering the taxing and demanding work a job in social work entails. The training, education, practice & emotional commitment to working with people and communities is not reflected by the pay….YET! 

I envision and hope for a future where social workers are paid as they deserve but until then, there is room to get creative and explore additional streams of income. 

This article will cover 5 strategies to consider when taking steps to increase your income. It will provide you with tangible options and avenues to explore as you take your career to the next level. 

This post is all about ways to make more money as a social worker so you can live the life you deserve (and work hard for)! 

5 Ways to Make More Money As a Social Worker

1. Specialize or develop a specific skill set 

The field of social work is vast, which can be equally wonderful and overwhelming. There are so many options for the type of work you can do in this career. 

Because of this, choosing an area to focus on and become an expert in can be a great idea! Specializing in a specific population, skillset or niche is the first step.

By this I mean consider the setting, population and type of work you want to provide. There’s direct practice, agency-based community work & macro level work which involves policy and larger scale social change. 

If you want to become more marketable, and in turn make more money, choosing an area to focus on is a great idea. 

You can become an expert on a specific population or setting. For example, school social work, medical social work, immigration social work to name a few… If you are passionate about a specific cause or social problem you can use that passion to guide the direction you take your course in. 

There are so many versatile skills that we carry as social workers. No matter the setting or support you are providing, the skills learned in your education & experience are applicable to a range of jobs. 

This is a great baseline & starting point! You can use your first years of experience or your required clinical experience during schooling to explore possible settings or areas of social work that might be of interest. 

But the next step, and what will set you aside from the rest of your social work peers, is specialization. That’s picking a niche, or a focus, and becoming an expert in it. 

Once you have some understanding of the type of social work you want to strengthen your skills in, the next step is specializing. By this, I mean instead of continuing to work in a variety of jobs and settings, begin to determine the population and specific social justice problems you are passionate about and committed to.

You can pick a niche setting, population, or social need and commit yourself to continuing your education and training in this area. Consider the strong social work foundation you already carry and then take it a step further. 

Becoming an expert in a niche area of this field requires real-life and professional experience. It requires ongoing education, networking & a desire and commitment to learn and strengthen your skills and knowledge about this specific area. 

There is not one clear path of how to specialize and become an expert but that leaves room for choice! Which, as social workers, we value.

You know yourself, you know how you learn best, you know what you know and what you don’t know… and we have the honor and privilege of working in a career that holds “continuing education” as one of its core values. 

2. Explore side gigs 

Ahh, the social work side hustle. A popular and flexible option for increasing income that is attractive to many social workers. 

A side gig or side hustle basically means a job you are doing in addition to your main job. You may be thinking… But i already work so hard and do so much!? And, you are honestly probably right. 

I go back to my sentiments in the beginning of this post, that this field is so important and necessary that we shouldn’t have to explore side hustles. We should have starting salaries that reflect the difficult and valuable work we provide. 

But, unfortunately the reality doesn’t yet align with my beliefs. And so, side hustles are a great way to explore additional income means without signing yourself up for another full-time job or huge commitment. 

Because of the versatility of this field, there are so many options for side gigs you could consider. Don’t let this vastness scare you, let it encourage you!! 

You can consider a side hustle that is related to your full-time job which would directly use the experience and skills you already have. 

Or, if you are navigating burnout and feeling maxed out with the work you are already carrying, a side hustle in an unrelated area could be a great option!

The beauty with side hustles are they are flexible & you can give as much or as little as you want to it. 

Some common social work side hustle ideas are starting a private practice (if you have your clinical license) which would allow you to provide therapy and have direct control over your caseload and hours. 

Some other popular side hustles for social workers include clinical supervision or consulting; creating a website or blog; or teaching/ being a professor. 

For a more in-depth article exploring top side hustle ideas, please refer to this article, 9 Side Hustles for Social Workers to Increase Your Income.

Bottom line, the beauty of side gigs are that anyone can do them, you can find or create one according to your strengths, experiences & skills and most importantly, you can control the time commitment & how much you put into it.

Last thing to note, is that a side hustle could be unrelated to the social work field all together if you would prefer. And with that I recognize how hard and emotionally weighted a lot of the work we do is and all we carry so for many social workers, considering doing more than full time work in this field might feel like too much. 

For folks like that, consider a job that would use your brain in a different way or help you transition out of work-mode.

For me personally, I have supplemented my full-time social work jobs with a part time gig in the service industry. Waitressing has been an avenue to make some money; transition out of work brain at the end of hard days and connect with people in a different, and usually less-stressful way. 

Consider what you enjoy & how to spend some time doing it. Side gigs can use your social work skills directly or indirectly. We have interpersonal skills, organization skills & communication skills as trained social workers that can be helpful and applicable to almost any type of job. 

So, don’t limit yourself or your options! Consider how you are managing your work stress, where your burnout is & how you can find a job that doesn’t cause you more stress than it does good.

3. Obtain your clinical license 

I wanted to limit my focus on clinical social workers as I recognize there are SO many solid and lucrative career options for folks who choose not to pursue a clinical license. 

However, it has to be mentioned as it is one of the most straightforward ways to increase your income and become more marketable. 

A clinical license is referred to differently in various states but essentially it is the qualifications you need in order to provide direct clinical work to clients and client systems. This usually comes in the form of therapy (individual, group, couples) but the settings you can work in vary greatly. 

If you obtain your clinical license it gives you the qualifications for any clinical-based job. And it can increase your marketability for non-clinical work too. By that, I mean with this title, even if you don’t want to provide therapy and want to continue in macro or systems based work, you will likely have a higher starting salary just with this license. 

Each state has different requirements and steps necessary to obtain your clinical license. You can usually find them listed clearly on the state education board website and with a little research. 

The biggest step with obtaining your license is getting your master’s degree in social work. This is a huge undertaking and a big commitment to make. However it can be extremely rewarding and beneficial in the long term.

Most states require a master’s degree, passing your licensure exam & completing a certain amount of clinical supervised hours in order to progress to your independent license.

Having an independent clinical license is not required, however it opens the doors for you to provide therapy in essentially any setting. Including working for yourself and doing private practice ($$).

Because of the educational requirements & mandatory clinical experience that a license requires, by having these credentials, employers are able to see the commitment to the field and the experience you already carry. 

For many social workers, private practice is the end goal, as it can be the most lucrative jobs in this field. When you can control your hours, your rates, and your clientele, you have the opportunity to make more money than most agency-based positions. 

Regardless of whether you want to work for an agency or for yourself, if you envision doing therapy or any form of clinical work, a clinical license is a must. 

4. Passive income 

Ahh, the elusive and desirable ‘passive income’ strategy. Nothing is more appealing than the idea of making money without having to work directly for it. 

I will say, there are very few, if any, ways to make passive income without doing some leg work up front. Most options will require some hard work and efforts before you will start seeing any income from your work. 

But there is no better feeling than making money off something you worked on years ago without having to move a muscle. 

Passive income is obviously desirable and understandably so. And, even better, is that there are many options and avenues to create passive income long term. 

Some options include creating an online course, writing an ebook or workbook, or creating a website or blog. I want to echo that these options are not completely passive (nor is anything) however they have the opportunity to make you money long after you put in active work to them. 

These are all great options as you likely carry the knowledge, experience and expertise to write about or teach others about specific social-work related topics without having to do much additional work on your end. 

As social workers, we have a deep understanding of human behavior, personal psychology, interpersonal relationships, and the systems at play. These are things that everyone can relate to and we have a deep understanding of many topics that people are eager to learn more about. 

It is appealing to consider providing knowledge or teaching on a subject you are already extremely knowledgeable in and if you’ve spent any time in the social work field, you already have a wealth of information to draw upon. 

Passive income is a long-term goal that requires work upfront but can have lasting benefits- both financially and with your time. It is important to be realistic about the time and effort it takes to start to see a profit and set your expectations reasonably in order to stay motivated when you might not see a profit right away.

But, if you can create passive income streams that can supplement or become your full income, down the line, it is one of the greatest gifts of all. Imagine a world where you can work minimally and still make money from things you have created or written years ago. 

The goal….and it is absolutely a doable one, just remember to think long-term and manage your expectations accordingly.

5. Learn how to market yourself 

Lastly, and most importantly, learning how to market yourself is one of the best ways to increase your income. This is because it can apply to anyone and everyone. 

If you are a clinical social worker or if you are not, if you work with individuals or with systems and communities; if you are new to the field or have decades of experience…. Learning how to market yourself and your skills is necessary in increasing your income. 

Marketing means different things but it involves presenting yourself, your experience, expertise & skills in a way that is appealing to employers or clients. If you can advertise yourself in a way that promotes all you have to offer, you will be much more successful in the long haul. 

With the world of technology we are in, we are constantly bombarded by options and comparisons. If you can learn what your specific skill set is and the unique perspective, skills, and experience you bring to the table, you will have much more success in finding jobs and making good money. 

Marketing can refer to how you present yourself and your experience & specialities as you network with other social workers, or network with folks in other fields; as well as how you network yourself to potential clients. 

Clients can refer to specific individuals (if you’re thinking private practice); or to agencies (if you’re thinking consulting) but the way you present yourself and “sell yourself” can play a huge role in whether or not you are successful. 

I’m not saying you have to get a degree in marketing, there is enough information and free courses online for you to learn from. But the business side of social work is not something that seems to be stressed heavily in curriculum and coursework so it will likely require you doing some research and learning on your own time. 

Now that you’ve read this article, you should have an idea of some options for increasing your income and which ones might be best for you. Consider the time you have to give, what your preferences & strengths are, and what is required to get started.

This article was all about ways to make more money as a social worker and take your career to the next level!