“What is a typical work day for a social worker?”

Hi. It really depends on the kind of social worker you are. If you specialize in clinical social work you may see 6-8 patients per day. A medical social worker may spend the day coordinating patient care and resources after a hospitalization and visit with patients on the wards, a foster care social worker may visit with their foster parents, biological parents, and kids. CPS workers may spend time in the office and out doing home visits. Forensic social workers may spend time as a victims advocate in court or in correctional facilities. Military social workers may provide advocacy, prevention, education, and treatment in garrison and deploy to do combat and operational social work. Corporate social workers may provide clinical support in a corporate clinical setting and school social workers may assess and treat kids and work with parents and teachers in schools. These are but a few ways one might spend their day.

The typical work day for a social worker is atypical. Depending on your employer and speciality, you will likely be in the community about half the day, eat lunch in your car, and never able to follow your expected plans for the day. You will likely deal with at least one emergency each day, but you will also be trained to deal with these situations. When starting your rewarding career, make sure to get plenty of supervision and take care of yourself first or you cannot help anyone else if you fall apart!

There is never a typical work day. It's one of the best aspects of the job. I never know what the day is going to hold. Some days are very boring and slow, whereas others are hectic and stressful.

Hello and thank you for your question. The day of a social worker really depends of the type of social work and venue in which it is being practiced. Having worked for numerous organizations such as schools, health centers, colleges and hospitals your days is contingent on the type of social work you are practicing. I would suggest reaching out to social workers who work in various capacities and ask to speak with them or even shadow them for a day or two. Hope this is helpful. Best Regards.

To answer your question about a typical work day. I can tell you my typical work day. Before work, I do reminder calls for the day ahead. I get to work in time for my first client. I do psychotherapy for 50 min. to an hour. I give myself 15 minutes between clients when I can. Then I go to my next client. At the end of the day, I pull my charts for the next day, file today's charts make necessary phone calls and go home. If you want to do counseling, you are choosing the right field, Social Work. We have the most opportunities for employment than other counseling professions. There are many areas and fields for social work. I just chose psychotherapy for myself. I have been doing it for 32 years and I love it.