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Specialties that change the job

• Clinical practice

  Diagnosing and treating mental health conditions. The route to the highest pay and to private practice.

• Medical and hospital social work

  Discharge planning, oncology, transplant teams, palliative care. Fast, technical and well paid.

• School social work

  A school calendar, a district salary scale and a caseload of students and families.

• Child welfare

  The hardest assignment in the field, with the heaviest caseloads and the highest turnover, and the one most short of people.

• Substance use treatment

  Often combined with a separate state counseling credential, and in constant demand.