Social / Human Service Assistant
Career Area: Community and Social Services
Occupation Group: Human Services
Salary
Percentile wages tell how much a certain percentage of an overall population in a geographic area or within a given industry or field makes. The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
An example would be the 25th percentile, 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value. At the 75th percentile, 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
A typical Social / Human Service Assistant earns the following wages (national and state):
State
The average salary in North Carolina for those pursuing this career is $38,210
National
The average salary in the United States for those pursuing this career is $38,921
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Assists with identifying and arranging community services for clients. Works with social workers and other human services professionals. Helps with rehabilitation for people with disabilities or those in recovery, or coordinates home care services for the elderly; may also coordinate housing or job training assistance for immigrants, veterans, former inmates or families in crisis.
Employment Trends
The job demand and job growth statistics shown here were derived from job posts over the past year. Expected job growth projections are extrapolated from year-over-year job post listing history.
Job demand and job growth is expected at the following rates:
| Location | Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1578 | +13.6% |
| Nationwide | 55730 | +12.6% |
Skills
A professional in this position typically utilizes the following skills in the course of everyday work in this exciting and challenging field:
Baseline Skills
The following are baseline skills every Social / Human Service Assistant is expected to have in order to experience success in this field:
- Communication Skills: The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.
- Teamwork / Collaboration: Experience working in collaborative efforts with a team to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way.
- Planning: Working experience with the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve desired goals.
- Organizational Skills: Experience with a systematic process of structuring, integrating, co-ordinating task goals, and activities to resources in order to attain objectives.
- Computer Literacy: The ability to use computers and related technology efficiently for work tasks.
Specialized Skills
These skills are specific to working in this career:
- Case Management: Medical case management is a collaborative process that facilitates recommended treatment plans to assure the appropriate medical care is provided to disabled, ill or injured individuals.
- Social Services: Social services are a range of public services provided by government, private, and non-profit organizations.
- Mental Health: Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of mental illness.
- Customer Service: Working experience with the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
- Scheduling: Working experience making schedules, which are basic time-management tools, consisting of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place withing an organization.
Distinguishing Skills
Any Social / Human Service Assistant that possesses the following skills will stand out against the competition:
- Mental Illness: any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning
- Discharge Planning:
- Criminal Justice: Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts.
- Developmental Disabilities: Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions that are due to mental or physical impairments.
- Social Work: Social Work is both an academic discipline and profession that concerns itself with helping individuals, families, groups and communities enhance their social functioning and overall well-being.
Experience
This position typically requires the following level of experience. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Experience Required | % |
| 0 to 2 years | 69% |
| 3 to 5 years | 28% |
| 6 to 8 years | 2% |
Many of the programs offered through NC State are designed for working professionals who need additional credentials to enhance existing work experience.
Students who do not have the expected level of experience may wish to look into internship and employment opportunities.
Common Job Titles
It is possible to find work in this field in positions commonly listed as the following job titles:
- Care Coordinator
- Social Services Assistant
- Outreach Specialist
- Social Services Coordinator
- Community Support Specialist
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