Major Takeaways:
- A Master’s in Counseling focuses on providing therapeutic services for mental health issues, often requiring a narrower scope of practice than social work.
- A Master’s in Social Work (MSW) covers a broader range of topics, including advocacy and social welfare policy, allowing for diverse career paths.
- Counselors typically work in mental health settings, while social workers can work in various environments, including schools, hospitals, and government agencies.
- Both degrees offer rewarding career opportunities, but counseling generally requires more specific training in therapeutic techniques, whereas social work provides a wider range of skills for helping communities.
Choosing between a career in counseling and a career in social work starts long before you ever take your first graduate-level class. Instead, the all-important process of choosing the right graduate program begins now by exploring what’s available, weighing your options, and doing your due diligence to ensure you make the right choice.
And while counseling and social work have many commonalities, they are distinct careers. Counselors usually have a much narrower focus and work in the mental health space, providing therapeutic services to individuals, couples, and families. Social workers, on the other hand, work on a broader scale, providing resources and assistance for a wide variety of common problems, from help finding housing to providing counseling after a traumatic event.
If the master’s in counseling vs master’s in social work debate has you stuck, use this guide to get familiar with both programs, assess your career options, and make an informed decision about your future path.
Related:
- Introduction to MSW Programs at Christian Colleges
- Field Placement Opportunities in Social Work Degree Programs
- The Role of Research in Social Work Degree Curricula
Understanding Master’s in Counseling
Definition and Scope
Broadly speaking, a master’s degree in counseling equips you with academic knowledge and practical skills to provide therapeutic services to many different populations. Programs typically focus on a certain counseling specialty, such as mental health counseling, school counseling, or marriage and family therapy.
Educational Requirements
The educational requirements for becoming a licensed counselor vary from state to state. However, given the industry standard requirements set by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), there is some commonality between states.
This accrediting body is the gold standard for counseling programs. It outlines everything from the learning environment programs should provide to the curricular activities to professional practice standards and beyond. Typically, a CACREP-accredited counseling program curriculum includes at least 60 credits and explores topics such as:
- Counseling Ethics and Professional Issues
- Diagnosis, Psychopathology, and Psychopharmacology
- Group Counseling
- Counseling Theories
- Play Therapy
You might also take courses in counseling and addictions, couples and family therapy, and counseling assessments, to name a few. A 100-hour practicum with 40 hours of direct client contact time and a 600-hour internship with 240 hours of direct service are required.
CACREP-accredited programs usually require three years of full-time study to complete. However, some programs might offer accelerated options or year-round studies to help you complete your degree sooner. Once you graduate from a CACREP-accredited
Once you graduate from a counseling program, you must be licensed or certified in the state you wish to practice. Since the requirements for licensure are controlled at the state level, the precise steps you must take might vary.
For example, counseling certification requirements might stipulate that besides having a CACREP-accredited master’s degree, you must complete 3,000 or more supervised professional hours of work experience and pass a relevant test, like the National Counselor Exam (NCE).
Licensure areas you might pursue include the following:
- Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
- Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (LMHP)
- Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor of Mental Health (LPCC)
Career Opportunities
Most counseling program graduates have specific skills related to practice in a particular environment. For example, graduating from a program with a specialty in school counseling prepares you for a role as a counselor in a public or private K-12 setting. Similarly, a specialty in addiction counseling would prepare you to work in an outpatient or inpatient treatment setting, hospitals, or community mental health clinics.
Counseling job opportunities exist in other areas, such as:
- Private practice
- The military
- Federal organizations like the Department of Health and Human Services
- State organizations like Child and Family Services
Counseling career paths come with different counseling salary expectations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for counselors is around $53,000. However, counselors working in residential mental health tend to make less (around $46,000 per year) while counselors in private practice tend to make more (around $90,000 per year).
Pros and Cons
As with any career, counseling comes with numerous advantages and disadvantages:
| Advantages of a Counseling Career | Disadvantages of a Counseling Career |
| Endless job opportunities in many settings | High-stress work with a high emotional toll |
| Opportunity to help others navigate life’s difficulties | Potentially inconsistent schedule with need to be on call for emergencies |
| Potential for very high job satisfaction | High education threshold requires years of graduate-level study |
| Varied caseloads with unique issues to address with each client | Some clients can be difficult or frustrating to work with |
Understanding Master’s in Social Work
Definition and Scope
A Master of Social Work (MSW) is an advanced program exploring various social work topics and techniques. In addition to broad studies in areas like advocacy, social work administration, and training in diagnosing mental health disorders, MSW programs also offer a host of specializations. For example, you might concentrate your studies in any of the following areas:
- School Social Work
- Healthcare Social Work
- Clinical Social Work
- Child and Family Social Work
- Substance Abuse Social Work
Like counseling, social work offers many other specialties, too, giving you a wide selection of potential career paths. In fact, it might be argued that an MSW offers even more pathways to different careers than a comparable master’s in counseling.
Educational Requirements
Most MSW programs required two years of full-time studies. In a social work program curriculum, you’ll complete around 60 credits in areas like the following:
- Theories of Human Behavior and Development
- Social Welfare Policy
- Social Welfare History
- Social Work Interventions
- Diversity and Oppression
You’ll also take more specific courses, depending on your concentration area. For example, a clinical-focused program might require classes like Psychopharmacology, Mental Health Assessment, and Group Therapy. A school-focused social work program might alternatively require you to take courses like Social Work Practice in Schools, Support Services for Diverse Populations, and Mental Health and Addictions Practice With Groups.
Any MSW program you’re considering should be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). To become a licensed social worker, you must complete a CSWE-accredited program. These programs include social work certification requirements like completing a 900-hour supervised field experience. State licensing boards require you to pass an exam, too, typically one of the five available exams offered by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Each exam corresponds with a different type of licensure with different levels of education:
- Associate Exam
- Bachelor’s Exam
- Master’s Exam
- Advanced Generalist Exam
- Clinical Exam
Career Opportunities
The social work job opportunities available as a master’s-level social worker range from K-12 schools to hospitals to community mental health agencies. Many social workers also work for government entities, like the Department of Family Services or Child Protective Services. Other common social work career paths include the following:
- Juvenile Courts
- Victim Advocacy
- Rehabilitation Centers
- Inpatient Mental Health Centers
- Addiction Treatment Facilities
The social work salary expectations vary greatly depending on your education, experience, and the field of social work in which you work. Broadly speaking, the median wage for social workers is $63,770, according to the BLS. The pay range extends from around $38,400 on the low end to nearly $100,000 on the high end. Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) might make well over $100,000, particularly in private practice.
Pros and Cons
If you’re considering becoming a social worker, take the following advantages and disadvantages of this job into account:
| Advantages of a Social Work Career | Disadvantages of a Social Work Career |
| Opportunities to advance to new positions in varying fields | Many social workers have extremely large caseloads |
| Many different areas of specialization | Very stressful work that can lead to burnout |
| Rewarding work with tangible results as clients improve their quality of life | Low starting pay for many social work positions |
| Range of responsibilities that make each day of work unique and interesting | Safety can be a concern depending on the work environment and the types of clients |
Comparing MC and MSW
Needless to say, these degrees have many intricate details you’ll need to consider when making your selection. The table below summarizes much of the information presented thus far so you can compare the two side-by-side.
| Master’s in Counseling | MSW | |
| Educational Differences | Curriculum has a fairly narrow focus on therapeutic training and lasts three years. | Curriculum focuses on broad factors, including the social and economic influences on behavioral needs, and usually lasts two years. |
| Career Pathways | Master’s-level counselors often work in community mental health, schools, and private practice. The median salary is $53,000 per year. The BLS predicts strong job growth at 18 percent for the next decade. | Workers with an MSW work in schools, healthcare settings, the criminal justice system, and private practice. The median salary is $63,770. The BLS predicts 7 percent growth over the next decade. |
| Skill Sets and Roles | Counseling programs enhance your knowledge of mental health disorders, assessments, and therapeutic treatments. You’ll use this training in daily interactions with individuals, couples, families, and groups in a therapeutic setting. | MSW programs equip you with an understanding of human behavior, the forces that influence behavior, and how to arrange a broad range of services to assist clients in need. These skills are applied in various settings, including one-on-one therapy, advocacy, the court system, and schools. |
Factors to Consider When Choosing
Your counseling degree vs social work degree decision shouldn’t be made on the fly. Instead, it’s important to consider a wide range of factors so you’re sure to make the best decision for your needs.
Personal Interests and Strengths
Your personal interests strongly influence this decision. Be purposeful about examining your passions, how you want to help people, and whether a counseling or social work program best aligns with your interests.
It is essential to consider your strengths as well. Counselors should be empathic, effective communicators, and have unconditional positive regard for their clients. Social workers must be well-skilled, highly organized, able to problem-solve, and possess a high degree of cultural competence.
Long-Term Career Goals
Another factor to consider is where you see your career headed in the future. On the one hand, counseling is a great option if you want a long-term career in the same setting. On the other hand, if your goal is to grow from one job to another and have more opportunities to work in more settings, social work might be the better option for you.
Job Market and Salary Expectations
Be sure to consider the job market for counselors and social workers in your area as well. Though demand for both careers remains strong nationwide, some areas need well-qualified counselors more, while others need well-qualified social workers. While working in the helping professions is not about money, you have to consider what your financial future might be like working in these fields, too.
Work-Life Balance and Job Satisfaction
Both counseling and social work offer opportunities for extreme job satisfaction. But both are also really stressful careers. Explore the pros and cons of both fields and evaluate which one offers you the best work-life balance. You might also look at the work environment, the amount of paid time off, and the hours you would be expected to work as key details when evaluating the value of potential careers in counseling or social work careers.
Conclusion
In the end, working as a counselor or social worker can be a positive experience with ample opportunities to help other people, make a good living, and enjoy a good work-life balance, too. Ultimately, the answer to the question, “Should I pursue counseling or social work?” comes down to your ability to analyze both options and make an informed decision.
You’ve made a great first step in choosing your career by reading this guide. Continue your research to learn more about programs provided by specific schools, as the curriculum, professors, learning environment, and other factors can help you address any lingering questions about your decision. A healthy dose of self-reflection regarding where you see yourself in the future will also help!
