How to Become a Social and Human Services Assistant

Career Description

Pros

• The type of work that is involved in this field helps people who may not be living very fulfilling lives have a better outlook.
• There are minimal training requirements in order to get a position in this type of work.
• This occupation is experiencing excellent career growth, so future prospects should be very good.

Cons

• You will need to be able to handle people with tact, as many of those you work with are experiencing problems in their lives.
• Although there are low barriers to entry in this work, oftentimes the pay is low and advancement requires special skill sets.
• The combination of low pay and high demand for this work means that this career can have considerable stress. This is the case for many mental health careers, including that of a Counselor, Psychologist, Psychiatrist and Psychiatric Aide.

Overview

A Social and Human Services Assistant works with other health professionals such as Social Workers, Family Physicians, Mental Health Aides and community support workers to provide their patients with a better quality of life. This type of work requires tasks that are usually done to support the other healthcare workers around them with tasks that they need. Because of this, social and human services assistants experience a lot of different variety depending on their workplace.

To be certain, this occupation deals directly with people. When a person comes to a clinic for social services a social and human services assistant will help to assess a person’s situation to find out what kind of aides that they need and can be approved for. They can offer transportation and even give people who some to see them a degree of emotional support to help them feel better about themselves. Many who require social services are struggling with many problems, and any kind of support or motivation can make their day. Because of this, being positive is important in social work careers.

It’s pretty likely that social and human services assistants are an integral part of their community. This can be attributed to the fact that they work in many places where they will work with struggling people. They will be found working in government housing projects, nursing homes and even food banks.

Education

The educational requirements to become employed as a social and human services assistant are pretty low, as most employers only expect prospective job applicants to have a high school education. However, it is usually helpful for those who would like the best positions to have some sort of training. This could be from a vocational school, a private training program or even a community college. A community college program will usually be under the concentration of human or social services.

Job Prospects

There is expected to be good growth in this field. As people get older, they require more social services in order to be able to lead good, quality lives. The population demographics are shifting towards an older generation, which fuels demand. This along with the fact that there is a need for people who can assist mental health and substance abuse professionals in their work drive the growth for Social and Human Services Assistants.

Advancement Opportunities

Due to the large amount of people looking for work in this career in healthcare coupled with relatively low pay, those who only have the minimum requirements for this job will experience difficulties finding opportunities for advancement. However, those who display leadership skills can grow into a role that allows them to manage other people. Plus, if one were to enroll in continuing education they will find opportunities as well. This is because they can enter into higher paying roles within their employer’s organization.