<p>I'm currently a high school senior, and I want to, eventually, be a social worker that focuses on foster children cases or child welfare in general. I've learned that jobs such as those mostly require a MSW. I want to get a MSW from possibly University of Washington or University of Chicago. </p>
<p>But I don't know what I should do as an undergraduate. Does majoring in Psychology make sense? Or is it better to major directly in Social Work? Because I've also heard that some Master programs want the applicants to have credits in other disciplines. Does Psychology count as a different discipline? Or does it not matter what my Bachelor's is in? (e.g. Applying for medical schools) </p>
<p>I am 100% certain I want to be a social worker. I'm just not sure what I should do to start on that path. Any reply would be wonderful!
Thank you!</p>
<p>Okay: Since you’re 100% sure you want to be a social worker with children, I commend your good intentions. Since I work with MSW’s and MSW interns every day (who work with homeless children), I’m just wondering if you’ve looked into the salaries of this position as well as the job prospects? </p>
<p>Your choices of universities will be very expensive. UW is $55K. Univ of Chicago is $63K. So you’re looking at paying over $200K for 4 years to receive minimal wages per year in a public agency. You will also need to pay for grad school; at my location, the interns are required to complete 1100 hours of direct contact, with no pay, before graduating. </p>
<p>So I hope your family is independently wealthy because they will have to support you in your education and future position. Most of the MSW’s, at my location, rely on the income of their spouses because the MSW"s make a little over minimum wage, and finding jobs is uber competitive. The jobs can be eventually found, but the pay is not good. Often, the MSW interns ask me about my occupation (Speech Pathology) because when they realize that the pay and job outlook isn’t rosy, they become stressed about graduating without good prospects. </p>
<p>So to answer your question, many of my co-workers majored in psychology, but most just had classes in sociology/social work.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion, but I think you should major in social work and minor in another discipline. That way you get to take other courses, but you could get through your masters faster. Most MSW programs are only 1 year for people who already have a bachelors in social work.</p>