Human Services Education in Idaho
Idaho has plenty of opportunities for a well-educated human services worker. Whether it is in the form of working within Idaho’s school system as a school social worker, helping patients fill out Medicaid applications as a medical social worker, or acting as a mental health therapist, there are a variety of jobs for the human services worker. Whether you live in Boise or Moscow, Idaho is looking for citizens who want to give back to their community by working in a human services field.
The first step on your journey to the career of your dreams is deciding what your end goal is. If you wish to have a complex career with greater responsibilities you will need to have an advanced degree. We have built a database of common careers in human services that include overviews of many positions. Within each overview you will find information on career descriptions, duties, salary ranges, educational and licensure requirements. You will find some examples below.
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After you have attained a Bachelor’s degree from an Idaho university or college Human Services program, you canbegin to look for work in one of the following positions in Idaho:
- Licensed Social Worker (Bachelor of Social Work from a CSWE accredited school)
- If you are interested in licensure in Idaho you will want to read about the laws surrounding it here:
- Community Outreach Worker (Bachelor of Social Work, Sociology, Psychology)
- Community Outreach Workers tend to work for organizations that are interested in interacting with the local community to create a dialogue around a specific issue. There are many agencies that might wish to employ Community Outreach Workers including HUD at the Federal level:
- Behavioral management aide (Bachelor of Social Work, Sociology, Psychology)
- You will find that the Department of Education is a great resource as well as being an organization you might be interested in working for, check here:
- Probation Officer (Bachelor of Sociology, Social Work, Psychology or Criminal Justice)
- Here is an excellent resource for becoming a Probation Officer in Idaho:
- Case Management Aide (Bachelor of Social Work, Sociology, Psychology)
- You will find that the Department of Health and Welfare is an excellent resource as well as one of your most likely employers in this field, here.
- Idaho Substance Abuse Counselor (Bachelor of Sociology, Social Work or Psychology)
- You will want to visit the Idaho Drug and Alcohol Counselor website to learn more about becoming licensed in Idaho, here:
- Rehabilitation Case Worker (Bachelor of Social Work, Sociology, Psychology)
Justice)- Rehabilitation Case Workers will find that the office of Vocational Rehabilitation is an excellent resource and an organization that might end up being their employer, here:
When you have completed your studies and been awarded a Master’s degree from an Idaho college or university human services program, you can begin applying for jobs in a human services career of your choosing. Here are some examples:
- Social and Community Service Manager (Masters in Business Administration, Social Work, Psychology or Sociology)
- Licensed Master Social Worker ( Master of Social Work from a CSWE accredited school)
- Child Welfare Case Manager (Masters in Business Administration, Social Work, Psychology or Sociology)
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Master of Social Work from a CSWE accredited school + field experience)
- Marriage and Family Therapist (Master’s in Counseling, Psychology or Marriage and Family Therapy)
You may wish to continue your education until you have secured a Ph.D. in your field. If you choose this path you will have a long journey ahead of you, but tremendous rewards for those who are able to earn their doctorate. You will be able to have all of the previous career opportunities and several more that are otherwise unavailable. You could choose to take up a career in academia, joining the staff at one of Idaho’s universities. Some with doctorates choose to take up clinical research as their desired career. With a doctorate you may also be able to move directly into a leadership role within a human services agency, becoming part of the management team. Once you have your Ph.D. you will have your choice of career tracks within your field.
To start on your academic path, you must first determine what your target career is. By browsing our section on career overviews you can begin to learn some in-depth information about possible careers in human services. In our database you will find not only a description of how your career impacts society and people, but also information on salaries, educational and licensure requirements. With this knowledge you can make an informed decision on what career will meet your needs. Once you have dialed in on your career, you can then plan your education. When you know what the educational requirements for your career are, you can check our database of online and local schools in Idaho that have accredited programs that meet your needs. You will want to contact your school to learn about its particular application requirements and timing. If you plan on attaining an advanced license, you will want to know what its field experience requirements are and make a plan for your post-graduate work.