Champlain Valley AHEC is continually seeking ways to improve our services and programs. We are eager to hear your comments and questions. You can email us directly at and we will get back to you promptly.
Champlain Valley AHEC is continually seeking ways to improve our services and programs. We are eager to hear your comments and questions. You can email us directly at and we will get back to you promptly.
Health Careers Spotlight:
Social Workers provide a wide range of services to individuals, families, small groups, communities, and organizations. Working from a strengths perspective, social workers are guided by the values of social justice and human rights. Social workers often reach out to people who may be described as oppressed and underserved.
Where you might work: Social workers most commonly work in non-profit agencies and or government agencies. Some social workers choose to work in for-profit business or join private practice groups. Fields of social work practice include, but are not limited to, mental health, child welfare, family work, substance abuse, adult and juvenile justice, school or medical social work, geriatric social work, homelessness and housing, domestic violence, and community organizing/development.
Social workers rarely do their work without collaborating with other professionals like teachers, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors, community organizers and legislators.
Salary Notes: Salary for social workers is based on education, geographic location and experience and typically ranges between $29,500 and $53,740 per year.
Job Outlook: Employment is projected to grow faster than average for social workers. The job search is more competitive in cities than in rural areas. There are increased opportunities for social workers who are bilingual and for social workers who want to work in rural, underserved areas.
Education, Licensing & Certification: Bachelor degree-level social workers hold many human service positions. High school course work should be well-rounded, including math, science, and humanities. A master's degree and a state license are required for a social worker to receive third party payments for their work. Therefore a master's degree is required to do private practice work.
Professional Organization: For general information on a career as a social worker, visit one of the following websites:
For more information on a career as a social worker or another health career in Vermont, please call .
(updated 3/11/09)
Kerri Duquette-Hoffman, MSW is a Domestic Violence Program Coordinator at WomenSafe, Inc. in Middlebury, Vermont. Kerri received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont (UVM) in Religion, with a minor of Psychology. She also received her masters of Social Work at UVM.
We interviewed Kerri for the Fall 2006 version of The Convener to discuss her experiences working in the field of Social Work.
Q How did you become interested in becoming a Social Worker?
A I interned at the Women's Rape Crisis Center (WRCC) when I was an undergraduate at UVM. I loved the atmosphere and the feeling that I might actually make a difference in people's lives. One of the women who worked there suggested that a Master's degree in Social Work was a really versatile degree that would serve me well in the anti-violence field. After undergraduate school, I worked in the for-profit world for a few years, and really missed the feeling at the end of the day that I had at WRCC. I felt like the work I did was fun, but not terribly helpful for society. For this reason I decided to look into a different type of work, and getting my Master's degree in Social Work just felt like a really nice fit for my ideals and my life.
Q How long have you been working in the Social Work field?
A For four years.
Q Did any person influence your decision to become a Social Worker?
A The Hotline Coordinator at the WRCC when I interned there and staff and faculty at the Social Work Department at UVM. They really made me feel at home at the Social Work Department during the application process to graduate school, and throughout graduate school. They were such a great force in affirming that I was at the right place.
Q What personal needs are satisfied by your job?
A I love feeling at the end of the day (which happens most days) that my work made life a little better for someone I came in contact with.
Q In what ways has your occupation changed you as a person?
A I have a young child. I am not sure that it would be as easy for me to leave her during the week, and go to work, if I did not feel that the work I do is so important.
Q If you could have chosen any occupation (no limits) what would it be?
A A philanthropist.
Q If you didn't have to work, would you anyway? If not, what would you do?
A I think I would. If I didn't though, I would choose to be with my daughter all day, every day.
Q Describe the demands of your job...
A I work full time (40 hours) in four days. For 6-8 days a month I am on call after hours, which means that I carry a pager and staff our 24-hour hotline. I need to stay in the area, and be ready to drop what I am doing at a moment's notice if I get a call at that time. During a typical call week, I receive between one and nine after hours crisis calls. During an after hours call, I might talk with someone over the phone, or I might need to meet them at the police station or hospital. Each "call" lasts somewhere between 20 minutes and 8 hours.
The most difficult part of my job is that I usually only meet with people when they are in crisis. It is fairly rare for me to meet with someone when their life is going well again. When I do get to meet with folks in better times, I consider that meeting such a gift.
I do a lot of collaboration with the legal system, the social welfare system and the medical system. There is a lot of information that I need to have either memorized or available at a moment's notice about each of these systems. I enjoy the collaboration greatly, but it can be a challenge as well. Each agency that I work with has a different set of rules that they work with, and goals they are trying to meet. At times those rules and goals work well with ours, and at other times they clash. It is at the times when they clash that I find the work the most challenging.
Q What is a typical day for you?
A My typical day starts around 8:00 - 8:30 a.m. and I work between 9 and 12 hours depending on the day, four days per week. Often I spend at least a portion of the day at the courthouse or a number of other agencies assisting a woman who has experienced domestic or sexual violence in accessing what she needs to stay safe. Otherwise, I might attend a collaboration meeting, or offer a presentation at a local school, agency or meeting house. There is enormous variety in what my typical day might involve. That is part of what makes my work continually challenging and interesting.
Q Do you supervise the work of others?
A I have supervised two social work interns in the time that I have been at WomenSafe. I would love to have more supervisory experience. I greatly enjoyed working with both of the interns.
Q What personal characteristics are desirable to be a good Social Worker?
A Patience and empathy are two very important skills to have for this work. I also think that creativity and the ability to see the best in people are both attributes that really help.
Q What special knowledge or skill does a person in this job need?
A For social work in general I believe that a person really needs to have a firm understanding of social justice and be comfortable working from a place of recognizing the strengths and assets that others have. I also think it is very important that a worker have a firm understanding of the dynamics of violence against women, and be comfortable with confrontation. Often this work necessitates advocating for victims with other agencies and people. Strong advocacy skills are very important.
Q What kinds of people do you work with? Coworkers, clients...?
A All of my co-workers are women. The vast majority of folks that use our services are women as well. We work with people from every walk of life. The services that each person we work with may need varies widely.
Q What do you like best about your job and what aspects cause you the most frustration?
A I work at a very supportive agency, and I work with great people. However, it is difficult some days to see what we are capable of as humans. The violence that I hear about and see on a daily basis is not acceptable, and though we have made huge leaps towards an end to violence against women, we are not there yet. In 2004 we saw a dramatic increase (20%) in the number of acts of sexual violence reported to law enforcement over the past five years (Vermont Crime Information Center, 2005). Though some of that can be explained by an increase of victims seeking assistance, the increase can not be fully explained by that. In other words, women in Vermont are sexually assaulted more today than in the past five years. This is disheartening to say the least.
Additionally, as more and more funds get diverted to war efforts, less funds are available to help those in need. Finding food and shelter for families is getting harder each month under these national financial conditions. However, there are a lot of people out there who care deeply and are very generous with their time, money and/or energy, and that helps to alleviate the strain.
Q What high school classes should be taken to prepare for a career in Social Work?
A World and United States history classes can be very helpful. Psychology and health classes are often helpful as well. Writing is a very important skill in this work, so English classes are essential. Really, any class that gets you to think critically and be creative is beneficial.
Q What requirements exist, in addition to schooling - training, experience, certification, license to become a Social Worker?
A Licensure is helpful for many social work positions. Work in the domestic and sexual violence field requires specific training, as well as basic legal training.
Q What are the career ladder possibilities in this field?
A There are many possibilities on a career ladder depending on the specific field you are in. Often the ladder looks something like this: direct service worker, program coordinator, supervisor, director. Many folks who work in the domestic and sexual violence prevention field start out as volunteers. From volunteering, folks could move on to be a paid advocate. From there, you may become a program coordinator on a local, regional or statewide level. Then you often work as a program director or do national work.
Q What changes are occurring in this field?
A Social work is one of the health professions that has struggled a bit in receiving respect. There are many reasons for this, both cultural and historical. It seems like this is changing. Many more social workers are receiving adequate pay and respect for their work.
Q How does the economy impact Social Work?
A In many ways. The most profound of which is that a slow economy impacts the amount of resources available to those around us with the greatest needs. This happens on many levels. If there are fewer jobs available, there are usually more people in need of public assistance. More folks in need of public assistance means that there is a larger pool of people who need to share the resource. Additionally, when the economy is weak, the government is less likely to fully fund public assistance programs, and more likely to focus on economic growth. When you have more people trying to make do with less, often many needs do not get met. This has a generational effect too; for example, we can look at how hunger negatively affects learning and growth.
Q What advice would you give someone who is planning to enter the Social Work field?
A It's not helpful to get into this work thinking that you are going to "save" people, or that you know the answers. Humility is a huge asset. Sometimes really good work looks like assisting a person in making it through the day.
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