Community and Social Service · Holland code SIC
Healthcare Social Workers
Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers. Provide patients with information and counseling, and make referrals for other services. May also provide case and care management or interventions designed to promote health, prevent disease, and address barriers to access to healthcare.
Also called: Clinical Social Worker, Hospice Social Worker, Medical Social Worker, Social Worker, LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker), Nephrology Social Worker, Oncology Social Worker, Psychosocial Coordinator.
O*NET 21-1022.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $67,880
- Middle half earn $56,710 to $82,240. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Master's Degree
- 70% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 5 of 5
- Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
- Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
- Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
- Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary.
- Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
- Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.
- Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Speaking4.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
- Writing3.9 / 5
- Active Learning3.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Psychology4.9 / 5
- Therapy and Counseling4.7 / 5
- Sociology and Anthropology4.4 / 5
- English Language4.4 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
- Education and Training3.5 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic16
- Investigative54
- Artistic22
- Social99
- Enterprising26
- Conventional35
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- gerontology social worker · DE Sozialarbeiter im Bereich Altenhilfe/Sozialarbeiterin im Bereich Altenhilfe · FR assistant social pour personnes âgées/assistante sociale pour personnes âgées
- hospital social worker · DE Krankenhaussozialarbeiter/Krankenhaussozialarbeiterin · FR assistant social en milieu hospitalier/assistante sociale en milieu hospitalier
- palliative care social worker · DE Sozialarbeiter im Bereich Palliativversorgung/Sozialarbeiterin im Bereich Palliativversorgung · FR assistant de service social dans une unité de soins palliatifs/assistante de service social dans une unité de soins palliatifs
- clinical social worker · DE Klinischer Sozialarbeiter/Klinische Sozialarbeiterin · FR aide médico-psychologique
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Social workers (2461)139,800 employed
- Probation officers (2462)11,900 employed
- Youth work professionals (2464)10,200 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “その他の社会福祉専門職業従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥277,800
- Middle half earn ¥236,200 to ¥332,400 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 229,150
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.93. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (21-1022).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.
Take the career interests test