All careersEducation, law & social work

Social & Human Service Assistant

$45,120
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Connect clients to benefits, housing, and services, and help caseworkers track and follow up on cases.

Where you work

Nonprofits, agencies, and group homes

The hours

Regular hours, some evenings or weekends

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$45,120
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~50,600
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+6%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
449,600
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: On-the-job training, paid from day one.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

CompassionOrganizationCommunicationProblem solving

The honest take

A foot in the door to social work, with paid on-the-job training and no degree required to start.

Standard Occupational Classification 21-1093. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.