Social work is a practice-based profession that promotes social change, development, cohesion and the empowerment of people and communities. Social work practice involves the understanding of human development, behavior and the social, economic and cultural institutions and interactions.
Here is a list of the best career options for BA Social Work graduates in India, along with related information like salaries and growth opportunities.
Teacher
One more underrated career option for BA Social Work graduates is becoming a Teacher. Think about it, you have studied about this stuff for 3 years. Is there anyone else who is more applicable to become a teacher than you? Not if you ask us.
A teacher tends to teach students about a particular field and evaluate performance of students. Some parts of the job profile may differ from organization to organization, and the same goes for work-life balance.
If you are a fresher in this field, you can expect to get a package of anywhere around INR 3,50,000-4,00,000 at your first job. Monetary growth is slow, but quite steady. But keep in mind that teaching is never going to be a profession where you can get huge amounts of money. The money is good enough to maintain a decent lifestyle. Nothing more, nothing less.
The job market is brimming with aspiring teachers, so it might be a little difficult to break in, but if you really love educating people, then you can be sure that you are going to love being a Teacher.
Professor
Another great option for BA Social Work students right now is to become a Professor. Demand had been steadily increasing since the early 2000s, and has skyrocketed recently. And supply has not risen in proportional way, at least not yet. If you remember even a little-bit of high school economics, you would be jumping in joy because it means that your pay has just ballooned up.
What Professor actually do is this – Professors usually teach students a wide range of disciplines at the post-secondary level. They tend to deliver scholarly articles, perform research activities and instruct the students. Pretty simple, right? Well, not really.
Your organization would require you to put a lot of attention in this, because even one slight mistake can cost them a lot. Work–life balance is okay, and you may need to put in a couple of hours of overtime every so often.
Starting salaries are around INR 8,50,000, but as always, a lot depends upon your individual skills, the size of the organization, as well as the location where you are working. So, don’t come at me with pitchforks if your salary does not fall in this range. Monetary growth happens very quickly in this industry. Once you have some experience behind your name, you are golden.
Social Worker
Another fantastic choice for you if you recently graduated with a BA in Social Work is to work as a Social Worker. Decent pay, plenty of room for advancement, the chance to put all of your skills that you learnt during graduation to good use, and some travel thrown in for good measure. What more could a BSW graduate possibly require?
If you’re not sure, this is what a Social Worker does – Social Workers usually work for the betterment of the society. They personally counsel the clients approaching them or work in a non-governmental organization.
The job profile varies depending on the business and your place in the organizational chain, but this will be your primary responsibility. If leadership and management are essential factors for you in choosing a profession, opportunities are easily once you reach a certain level of experience.
Growth and leadership opportunities can be difficult to come by at first, but if you persevere, you will be rewarded with increased responsibilities (and of course; better pay). Work-life balance can be ridiculous at times, but it’s not impossible to achieve if you have good relations with your superiors.
Let’s get to the good stuff. Starting salaries are in the INR 3,20,000-4,00,000 range, but there is a lot of room for development. Also, bear in mind that this is an estimate; if you live in a major city or tier-1 city, your salary would be much higher.
Special Educator
If you’re unsure about all the above given options, then being a Special Educator may be the right fit for you. Lately the demand has been rising like crazy and now would be the perfect time to get into the job market for this field. If you have opened the ‘Classifieds’ section of the newspaper lately, you would have definitely seen that it is filled with employers asking for special educators.
Okay, great. But what does a Special Educator actually do? Here’s the answer.
The job role of a Special Educator is to plan and organize events concerning social issues. They tend to coordinate and facilitate committee meetings. Sometimes your responsibilities may be more or less, but in essence, it all boils down to educating the masses. So if you think that you would enjoy doing that, then becoming a Special Educator might just be your best option.
Let’s get to the juicy part. Starting salaries are in the range of INR 5,40,000-6,00,000, but the earning potential is sky-high. And keep in mind that this is an average estimate, and your salary would be more than this if you live in a major town or a tier-1 city.
Leadership opportunities are available with time, and the potential for career growth is phenomenal. But keep in mind that this is a desk job, so travel will rarely be a part of your professional life. So if travel is a big priority or a make-or-break thing for you, this career option may not be your best bet.
Project Manager
A great option for you, if you are a BA Social Work graduate, is to pursue the path to become a Project Manager. The work-profile is really interesting, and you would be required to solve unique problems every day. Is there a better feeling than that? Probably not.
In simple terms, Project Managers professionally head skill training centers and manage day-to-day operations of the center. He (or she) uses various different tools to perform these tasks and duties. BA Social Work graduates have an added advantage, as they have been trained to do this due to regular assignments and coursework during their 3 years of graduation.
Work from home is possible in this field, but whether you are allowed to do this or not depends a lot on the company that you are working for. And if you are assuming that there is a dearth of companies that hire Project Manager; take a look at related job postings on LinkedIn – it will blow your mind (Okay, it might not blow your mind, but it will definitely change your opinion).
Salaries are a mixed lot. Some firms offer really good starting salaries, whereas others would require you to slog for a couple of years before you get decent pay. On average, you can expect your starting salary to be around INR 7,65,000.
So these were some of the highest-paying professions that you can go for after completing a B.A. in Social Work. Did you like the article and found it informative? Then please share it with fellow social work students so that they can make well-informed decisions about their professional life. Subscribe to our newsletter to get a weekly update about the different career options added on the website.