I TOLD You...Stay Away From Social Work.

But you just don't listen.  


CNN has their NEW! listing for the most stressful and underpaid professions in America.  


Topping the list is....


Can you guess?  


I'm not going to even type this, the answer is so obvious. 


And we're not even in the top 5.  Oh, no.  It's better than that.  We're number one. 


We win!  


That's right.  For four years of undergrad work, plus another two in grad school, plus another two years working towards the license, plus that stupid licensure test and all the post-education hours (read: mind numbing trainings), not to mention the annual fees that come along with the honor of being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, you too can earn a median pay of less than $44 K a year!  That's eight thousand dollars less than the national median! (pdf pg 4.)* And what's really great about this is that due to the rising cost of higher education, you'll likely be in debt for years for this privilege. 


But wait!  There's more!  You also get yelled at by clients, cussed out by client families, told you're incompetent on a regular basis, bitten by dogs, get to visit roach infested homes, snatch babies from their mother's teat, and if you're REALLY good, fall out of chairs in front of those you're supposed to serve.  


Honestly, who wouldn't want a piece of this profession?  (I should be the head of marketing for a social work department somewhere.)


Other professions on this auspicious list that didn't surprise me: Probation and parole officer (which, for the record, if you offered me a cool million a year, I wouldn't do), substance abuse counselor, high school teacher and marriage and family therapist (Therapy Doc?  You reading? Care to agree?)   


Some that did surprise me:  Museum curator, events coordinator, and music ministry director. 


And so as not to be called biased, here's their listing of the 50 BEST jobs in America.  I'd just like to point out that with the exception of one job (in which you need a Ph.D.), not one of the professions listed here is in the helping profession sector.  


What are we thinking, people?  Seriously.  ->




*The national median income is actually down a bit from 2007.