How To Become A LCSW
The social workers represent a category of people who are making a
positive difference. Working as a licensed clinical social worker, or LCSW
for short, is an extremely challenging job where you will have to deal with
various difficult cases. However, many people are interested in how to become a
LCSW due to the social value of their work and the feeling that you are
genuinely helping people through difficult situations.
Preparation Required
If you are taking into consideration the possibility of becoming a
LCSW, at this stage it would be useful to better understand the type of
activities that the social workers are doing on a daily basis. For someone at
the beginning of the career, any useful insights are relevant in the process of
taking a decision with long term consequences. Hence, in case that you are not
familiar with social work, you should try to see for yourself what it refers to
and how the daily challenges fit into your personality.
The next stage is to see what the basic conditions are for
becoming a licensed clinical social worker. You may be interested to know the
following aspects:
• You should be at be 21 years of age to start. This is general
rule across the US.
• Your health, criminal record and moral character should pass any
complicated test. You need to be healthy, without a criminal past and an
ethical person. In the last case, the conclusion is made following a detailed
interview with the candidate for a LCSW job. At this point, the references of
former work and school colleagues may give an idea about your behavior.
How To Become A LCSW – The Qualification Stage
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| lcsw degree graduation |
A master’s degree will help
The hardest part is about to begin. In order to start earning
your LCSW salary, you need a proper education. The basic requirement is a
master’s degree in the domain of social work, with minimum 2,000 hours of
practice. You need to have high qualifications in both the theoretical and the
practical domain. The many hours of work are playing a fundamental role in
recommending someone for a LCSW position. On a day-by-day basis you will be not
only a better professional, but also you will understand the human complexity
behind any case.
You will be able to obtain the licensure and registration as a
social worker only if you have at least 3 years of supervised experience in
that field. The examination is very strict and you need to prepare many months
in advance in order to qualify as a successful candidate.
During your education, you can choose to improve your experience
in the following areas: mental health care, children and families, various
types of social services such as counselors.
Education plays a fundamental role in offering a bright professional
career to anyone interested in how to become a LCSW. Due to the high
professional level, the salaries for social workers are considered among the
highest in the field and, according to a recent research, are expected to rise
with at least 20% in the next decade.
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