Annual Salary
£32,000 to £48,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Social workers help to protect vulnerable children and adults from harm or abuse, and support people to live independently.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on a rota
There will be
2.4% more Social worker jobs in 2027.
As a social worker, your duties will depend on the age groups you work with. For example, you might:
You could work in an office, in the community, at an adult care home, at a children's care home or in an NHS or private hospital.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a degree in social work approved by Social Work England.
You could also do a postgraduate degree in social work, if you have a degree in another subject. A postgraduate degree normally takes 2 years.
You might also be able to get a social work bursary.
Some universities offer a combined master's degree in nursing and social work (MNSW). You can check Social Work England to find information about approved courses.
You'll usually need:
You could apply to do a Social Worker Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.
This takes around 3 years to complete and is a mix of work placements and academic study.
You'll usually need:
You'll need experience of working with vulnerable groups or children to apply for most courses or jobs.
To get skills and experience, you could:
Graduate training scheme
You could do an intensive, work-based training programme to gain a master's degree or postgraduate diploma in social work. To apply you'll need at least a 2:
Current programmes include:
You'll need to:
You could join the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) for professional development opportunities and to build up your network of contacts in the profession.
You can get more advice about careers in social work from:Think Care Careers; British Association of Social Workers (BASW)
During your first year as a social worker, your employer is likely to offer you professional development, like the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE).
This includes extra support such as:regular supervision; a tailored caseload; training time to complete professional development tasks
With experience you could:become a senior practitioner, mentoring new staff and dealing with complex cases; become a practice supervisor or service manager, supporting a team of social workers; specialise in a particular area, such as substance abuse, mental health or child protection; move into research, teaching, consultancy and policy development
Explore roles in child and family social work to find out more about career progression options.
You'll need: