From community outreach to personal counseling, the field of social work is broad and diverse. If you are curious about exploring a future in this rewarding industry, you may be interested in social work education and earning a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree.

The question is, “What can I do with a MSW?”

The answer is broader than many expect. An MSW does not prepare graduates for a single job title. Instead, it opens pathways across clinical practice, community work, organizational leadership, and policy-adjacent roles. This guide walks through several common career directions to help you understand how an MSW can be applied and which skills support success in each.

Key Takeaways

• An MSW opens diverse career paths, including marriage and family counseling, substance abuse recovery, school social work, and healthcare coordination.
• Graduates can apply their skills in varied settings like hospitals, nonprofits, criminal justice systems, and corporate HR departments to drive systemic change.
• The degree offers versatility to pursue clinical licensure for therapy or move into administrative leadership roles that influence policy and community well-being.

What Can You Do with a Master’s in Social Work?

With an MSW, professionals can support individuals and families through counseling roles, address substance use and recovery, advocate within criminal justice and correctional systems, and design or manage programs in nonprofit and community organizations.

Getting a degree in social work also translates to work in schools, healthcare and hospital settings, services for older adults, and even human resources or organizational roles where an understanding of social systems, behavior, and ethics is essential.

8 MSW Career Paths and Job Options

An MSW does not funnel graduates into a single job title. Instead, it prepares professionals to work across systems, including families, schools, healthcare, justice, and organizations across the social work field. One of the major MSW benefits  is the versatility it provides, allowing graduates to pivot between direct practice and administrative leadership. Many MSW programs offer training that supports both clinical and community-based roles.

#1 Marriage and Family Counseling

Marriage and family counseling focuses on helping individuals, couples, and families navigate relational conflict, behavioral patterns, and emotional stressors. An MSW provides the clinical foundation needed to approach these challenges systematically. If you are wondering how to become a licensed clinical social worker  (LCSW) in this field, it typically involves completing your degree and completing supervised clinical hours to earn state licensure.

In this role, social workers often support couples during periods of strain, such as:

• Communication breakdowns
• Life transitions
• Unresolved conflicts

Work may involve individual sessions, joint counseling, or family-based interventions designed to address patterns rather than isolated incidents.

Family counseling also frequently intersects with child welfare. Licensed social workers may help children process anxiety, grief, or behavioral challenges that arise from family instability, while also connecting families to social services. Many clinical marriage and family roles require post-graduate licensure, such as the LCSW, though requirements vary by state.

#2 Substance Abuse Counseling

Social workers in this field rarely treat substance use as a standalone issue.^[1] Instead, they look at what surrounds it:

• Mental health
• Family dynamics
• Trauma history
• Housing stability
• Access to care

An MSW prepares practitioners to hold all those factors in mind at once. The work often involves building trust over time, adjusting treatment plans as setbacks occur, and coordinating care across medical, legal, and community systems. Social workers often also work alongside counselors, physicians, and case managers.

Progress is rarely linear, which is why this role demands both clinical judgment, strong social worker skills, and sustained patience.

#3 Criminal Justice and Corrections

Criminal justice social work applies social work principles within legal and correctional systems, supporting individuals affected by crime while navigating ethical and institutional constraints.

• Some types of social workers assist victims of crime, helping them understand legal processes, access compensation or counseling services, and regain stability during and after court proceedings.
• Others work within correctional facilities, supporting incarcerated individuals through reentry planning.
• Post-release support is another critical area. Social workers often work with individuals transitioning back into the community.

#4 Nonprofit and Community Organizations

Working in nonprofit and community organizations shifts the focus from individual intervention to collective impact.

Social workers in these settings spend much of their time translating community needs into programs that actually function on the ground.^[2] That might mean designing outreach initiatives, managing partnerships, or evaluating whether a program is serving the people for whom it was created.

An MSW is especially valuable here because it trains professionals to think in systems: how policy, funding, culture, and access interact.

#5 Human Resources and Office Administration

In corporate and organizational settings, social workers bring a people-centered perspective to human resources and administrative roles.

Here, a social worker’s responsibilities may include:

• Recruitment and onboarding
• Conflict resolution
• Policy compliance related to equity, safety, and workplace well-being
• Organizational development efforts to help leadership assess employee needs and design strategies to improve retention and performance

While this path is less of a clinical social work job, it relies heavily on interpersonal communication, ethical decision-making, and systems thinking developed through social work education. Additionally, modern practitioners are increasingly exploring the intersection of AI and social work to help streamline case documentation and predict patient outcomes through data-driven insights.

#6 School Social Work

School social workers support students’ academic and emotional success by addressing barriers that affect learning. MSW programs prepare graduates to work across educational systems in collaboration with teachers, administrators, families, and community agencies.

Daily work may include crisis intervention, coordinating services for students with disabilities or behavioral challenges, and serving as a liaison between schools and external support systems. In some settings, school social workers with clinical licensure may also provide counseling services, depending on state and district requirements.

#7 Social Services for Older Adults

Social workers serving older adults focus on promoting dignity, autonomy, and quality of life as individuals navigate aging-related challenges.^[3]

Often referred to as geriatric social workers, these professionals assess needs related to healthcare access, housing, caregiver support, and emotional well-being. Work may take place in hospitals, long-term care facilities, community agencies, or policy organizations.

#8 Health and Wellness Social Work

Health and wellness social work addresses the social and psychological dimensions of health within medical, social, and community settings.

Healthcare social workers (also known as hospital or medical social workers) conduct assessments, support patients and families during illness or hospitalization, and coordinate care across providers.

They play a key role in discharge planning, chronic disease management, and connecting patients to community resources that support recovery.

These roles often require strong collaboration with interdisciplinary healthcare teams and may work closely with physicians, nurses, and mental health professionals, depending on the scope of social work practice.

Find Your Career Path With Alliant

The potential career paths for MSW students and graduates are expansive. From policy administration to clinical research, there are still more options to explore. If you are interested in entering a social work career and want to know how to get a master’s in social work, the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant University can provide you with the quality education to make you a prime candidate. As an institution with a 50+ year legacy of excellence, we specialize in training multiculturally competent practitioners who can navigate the complex intersection of social systems and human behavior.

Students often ask, “How long does it take to get a MSW degree?”  While a traditional track typically takes two years, those who already hold a different degree may qualify for an Advanced Standing Master of Social Work, which can significantly shorten the timeline to completion.

At Alliant, our MSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and offers flexible online social work classes, 8-week semesters, and rolling admissions. These enable you to complete your master’s degree quickly and earn your spot in the workforce sooner.

Ultimately, our social work program is designed to prepare you for the career of your choice and ensure you have the expertise and confidence to succeed.

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Sources:

^[1] Osbourne, Nitara.  “Social Workers and their Role in Addiction Treatment | American Addiction Centers.” American Addiction Centers. June 10, 2025. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/social-workers-and-their-role-in-addiction-treatment. Accessed January 30, 2026.

^[2] Nouman, Hani, Ram A. Cnaan, and Daniel Y. Choi. “Human Service Organizations as an Arena for Social Intrapreneurship: A Cross‐Country Analysis.” Human Services Organizations Management Leadership & Governance. April 11, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2024.2339321. Accessed January 30, 2026.

^[3] Ghenţa, Mihaela, Aniela Matei, Luise Mladen-Macovei, and Simona Stănescu. “Quality of life of Older Persons: The role and challenges of social services Providers.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. July 14, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148573. Accessed January 30, 2026.

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