<p>I'm a History major from a top university and I have a 3.6 GPA. I don't have much work experience, but I am taking a year off and have done a year of AmeriCorps working in a low community environment helping people with legal paperwork for obtaining child custody and initiating and continuing divorces.</p>
<p>I'm mainly looking at California schools like the CSUs and UCs. Think I can make the cut?</p>
<p>Also, people keep telling me that Social Workers are paid a low salary. What is considered "low?" Are we talking about $8.00 an hour? Because if that's the case wouldn't it just make more sense to work at Starbucks? I know a friend who works for Child Protection Services, which is just one field of social work and he told me his starting salary was 53k and could cap at close to 80k unless he was promoted to a supervisor/administrative position.</p>
<p>The most selective MSW program is S.F. State University, with Berkeley close behind. That’s deceptive though. I think Berkeley is the most selective MSW program in the country because of the prestige of Berkeley, the better caliber of students who apply, and the fact the school is in the San Francisco region. It’s a tough program though, I know, I went there.</p>
<p>MSW salaries outside of governmental agencies is rather low. It varies though. An MSW who is licensed as a LICSW, has a private practice, and is on staff at a governmental agency can do very well. Think 6 figures. There are MSW listings at usajobs.com where the range is 60,000 to 100,000 depending on the part of the country the opening is. </p>
<p>The MSW degree is perhaps the most versatile of the therapeutic degrees. If you are entrepreneurial, and good at what you do, you can do quite well.</p>
<p>notaznguy, are you considering clinical or macro practice? </p>
<p>If clinical, any CSWE-accredited university in California is suitable as long as they have a strong track record of alumni passing the state clinical exam. </p>
<p>If macro, I recommend you apply to USC, UCLA or UC-Berkeley. They have stronger macro practice programs and field placements. State licensure is not required. You also have to be more entrepreneurial in your job approach. </p>
<p>Do not go into too much debt for the MSW.</p>
<p>I am from Ohio and have worked with a BSW degree for almost 25 years. I have specialized in aging. With that said my agency starts at $18 a hour, but most have experience in their field. We have recently been reviewing resumes and there are candidates currently working who are making between $13-22 an hour. I absolutely love what I do and so the pay is often offset by the rewards.</p>
<p>I was looking more into clinical. I don’t know if I’ll ever go into private practice, but it’s not off the table.</p>
<p>For the short term goals right now, the plan is to get an MSW and work for LA County’s DCFS. They seem to pay pretty well, but the work is hard. I may work there for a few years and if I don’t want to continue with it in the long run, I can quit, but it’s nice to have a place to start, know what I mean?</p>
<p>Anyways, given my stats, do you guys think I have much to worry about if I’m interested in schools like CSUs and UCLA?</p>