Clinical social workers require scholarship and training, balanced with creativity, compassion, and a global humanist philosophy. Equality, social justice, and service are core values. Social workers provide assistance, give voice to the voiceless, and advocate for the advancement of individuals and communities. SSW students and graduates pursue careers in diverse fields, with a wide variety of employers. Here are some examples of the fields and types of employers they choose:
community education| Fields of Practice | Employers |
| administration and management | family service agencies, child welfare departments, social service agencies, hospitals, employee assistance programs, state mental health departments |
| advocacy and community organizing | grassroots community advocacy groups, community development corporations, volunteer programs |
| aging and gerontology | hospitals and medical centers, nursing homes, senior housing facilities, senior centers, family services agencies |
| alcohol and substance abuse | residential treatment, dual-diagnosis programs, methadone maintenance clinics, community development settings, inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, schools, community mental health centers |
| child welfare and family | public and private child welfare agencies, child daycare, adoption and foster care agencies, family preservation agencies |
| domestic violence | shelters, community crisis services, hospitals,centers |
| organizational consulting | corporations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, development corporations |
| employee assistance programs | corporations, labor unions, hospitals, organizational development firms |
| health care social work | hospitals and HMOs, nursing homes, hospice care facilities, group homes, community health clinics |
| international social work | international aid organizations, relief organizations, refugee programs, human rights organizations, international adoption agencies, immigration centers |
| justice and corrections | court, community-based juvenile justice programs, private law offices, prisons, police departments, victim services programs |
| mental health | community mental health centers, private practice, psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, day treatment programs, managed mental health programs, employee assistance programs, college counseling |
| private practice | psychotherapy, mediation, personal coaching |
| school social work | elementary and secondary schools, special education placement offices, Head Start centers, counseling centers, early intervention programs |
