Socio-economic status, educational debt, and career choices of social work students in the Southeast United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT An important goal of the social work profession is to maintain a qualified and accessible professional workforce across all practice areas. Little is known about socio-economic diversity among social work students and potential associations with career choices. The purpose of this project is to describe economic circumstances of social work students and to explore any associations between socio-economic status, debt, intent to stay in the social work profession, and their desired practice area. In this sample of social work students in the Southeastern United States, we find that the majority of students work and accrue student loan debt while in school. Parents’ education level was associated with preference to work in healthcare, mental health/substance abuse, and education settings over nonprofit settings. Parents’ income level had a non-linear association with likelihood of staying in the social work field. Students rated stability and health insurance as more important to choosing a job than salary. We find some potential influence of socio-economic status on career choices of social work students. Given this potential influence, educators should provide information about the features of different practice areas in the social work field and strategies for managing debt after graduation, especially for first generation students.