LCSW salaries? actually decent?

[Healthcare102]

I'm very confused about social work salaries. It is always said that social workers don't make good money and they are notoriously known for being a very low paying career.

However when I looked up the average LCSW salaries it saidbthw average nationwide is 65,000 dollars a year!

I dont know about other people but I think that is a very decent paying salary!

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[chartero]

Licensed Clinical Social Workers are a subset of social workers; the LCSW subset earns more than the larger set. Related: Clinical Social Work vs. Direct Services Social Work (socialworklicensure.org)

 

[Goobernut]

I second what chartero said. It takes about 2 years to become an LCSW so you have to work at a lower pay level until you get the LCSW. Depending on state and job you get at graduation, it's doable though.

 

[BX1959]

I think the LCSW figures may also be boosted by some very successful private practice folks. For instance, there's this figure from Payscale:

"Licensed Clinical Social Workers usually earn approximately $51K per year in the United States, but Self-Employed offers a significantly higher median of $118K." http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Licensed_Clinical_Social_Worker_(LCSW)/Salary

Now, you can't go into private practice and expect to earn that much, but some people do, and it may be enough to increase the average income on some reports.

 

[wesleysmith]

It's all over the place if you look at salaries -- private practice can be lucrative, so can supervisory or administrative positions. Heck, even "senior" status at the VA can kick up your pay grade. Then of course there's location. Payscale is not very accurate source for the LCSW (or clinical degrees in general from what I hear), the better ones are provided directly from the NASW, unfortunately, they're a bit out dated but they do provide a better idea of salary ranges. I posted them towards the bottom of the second page of the sticky thread at the top of this forum "The Official MSW Q&A Thread" if you wanna check them out.

 

[BX1959]

Thanks for noting the NASW salary survey -- I did look at the 2009 edition (published May 2010). http://workforce.socialworkers.org/8-SalarySurvey.pdf

The private practice data is very interesting. At the 75th percentile, you have a base pay of 80,000. (Is that gross or net? I fear it might be gross.) But then, on the 25th percentile, you have a base pay of only 33,000. The median is 52,000.

The 25th percentile data suggests to me that some folks are doing private practice part-time for supplementary income. Or perhaps they're not finding enough clients.

 

[bostongal109]

Speaking from some experience (I'm an LMHC and I work with LICSWs), all the master level clinicians I know work a second job, unless their married and have wealthy partners. I've worked 6 days a week since I graduated grad school. That 65K average to me, sounds high for 40hrs/week starting offl. Maybe after working 5 years or so you could be at that point. Most master level clinicians I know make that much, but by working an extra shift or two a week. But as mentioned in this thread, it really varies on your field.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thanks for noting the NASW salary survey -- I did look at the 2009 edition (published May 2010). http://workforce.socialworkers.org/8-SalarySurvey.pdf

The private practice data is very interesting. At the 75th percentile, you have a base pay of 80,000. (Is that gross or net? I fear it might be gross.) But then, on the 25th percentile, you have a base pay of only 33,000. The median is 52,000.

The 25th percentile data suggests to me that some folks are doing private practice part-time for supplementary income. Or perhaps they're not finding enough clients.

That 25th percentile of 33k doesn't sound very far off to me with respect to many state government jobs. Back before I applied to grad school, I remember looking at postings for various state agencies (e.g., family and child services), and recall seeing masters-level case worker positions starting between 30-35k. This was 10+ years ago, mind you, but I don't know if things have changed all that much in the interim for those positions.

 

[olayak]

In NYC I've seen it vary so much. I've seen LMSW who make $25 per session and I've seen LCSW who make $200 per session. There are government senior social work positions that are over $150,000 and there are hospital (and other agency) administrative positions that have salaries well over $200,000. So it really varies. $30,000 per year to over $200,000 per year. It really all comes down to what you want to do with the degree.

Btw I think the high salary social workers are not included in the charts if they take an administrative position because their title then changes. They aren't just LCSW anymore. They are Director of staff services or something like that.

 

[socwrkr]

LCSW salaries vary a lot. Generally, in the low sixties to low eighties as a direct service provider with a government agency, nonprofit and for-profit agencies, and prisons. It's pretty good salary and you can live comfortably on it provided you didn't go to an expensive MSW program that resulted in large student loan payments.