Do you want to bring change to people's lives? Do you want to help them overcome adversity and find peace? Do you define yourself by the amount of work you do for others? Do you become happy when you find out that you have brought a smile to someone’s face or made a difference? If that is true, then you are exactly what is needed in the field of human service education. You may or may not know a lot about this field. Maybe you read about it somewhere, or someone in your family or your friends told you about it. But if your answer to all the above questions is yes, then you need to seriously consider this field. Since you have a generous personality, you are meant for this field and everything that comes with it.
Whatever the case, Human Services is a vast field that contains a lot of subfields in it, and we thought we would tell you all about it. You have to know what type of education you need to start your career in human services. You also need to know what to expect so that you can prepare yourself for it. And there are a million other things that we can tell you about human services that you do not know. But we are going to keep it to the major seven things.
1. What does the human services field entail?
Ask for a human services definition, and you will get a plethora of answers. The reason is that a lot of careers fall under this one heading. To give you a general definition, "Human Service Professionals aim to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities." That is what the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) defines it as. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost all of the human services agencies fall under the state or local government. These can include anything from youth development agencies to women’s shelters, homeless shelters, and everything in between.
2. Who is a good fit for working in human services?
This industry is all about helping others and bringing peace, calm, and serenity to their lives. That means that there are some characteristics that you need to possess if you want to enter this field. These characteristics include being a good listener, caring about people, empathy, and others.
A good human service education will provide you with the means to develop these characteristics in you and use them for the benefit of others.
3. What work will the education prepare me for?
You will be working with underprivileged people, with children, adults, older people, addicts, and a plethora of other people. Having the right education can prepare you for the skills that you need to handle all of that. These skills include interpersonal skills, communication skills, patience, and others.
There will be a lot of situations that you will be handling for the very first time. With the proper education, you will be able to take these situations in your stride. Your education, as well as your experience, will prepare you to confront your own biases and open up your mind to a multitude of possibilities.
4. What you learn will benefit entire communities
One of the best things about becoming a human services professional is that you can see the change that you bring to entire communities. With your degree and your experience by your side, you will be a force to reckon with, and you will be in the best position to assist individuals, families, and communities. The course work will take you through the training and teach you all the tactics that you need to support your people. This will include crisis management, working on relationships, creating a stronger foundation for the community, and other skills like these.
5. You Will Be Helping People Achieve Self-Actualization
Give a man a fish, and you can feed him once, teach him how to catch one, and you can nourish him for life.' This is a famous adage, and that is exactly what your education will prepare you for. You would not just try to pull the people out of a hole once, and you will help them stay out. For this purpose, your learning will include things like understanding how people think and how to promote positive lifestyle habits.
6. Where can your Education land you?
Here are some of the careers that you can go for as a Human Service professional. Just remember that not all of these things can be achieved at once. For some of these careers, you will need experience, and for some of them, you will need a higher degree.
• Case Worker
• Certified Master Social Worker (CMSW)
• Child Advocate
• Clinical Mental Health Counselor
• Community Outreach Worker
• Crisis Intervention Counselor
• Disaster Relief Worker
• Domestic Violence
• Family and Human Development Worker
• Family Support Worker
• Grief Counselor
• Human Services Worker
• Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (LBSW)
• Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW)
• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)
• Marriage and Family Therapist
• Substance Abuse Counselor
7. It is all worth it
There will be burnouts, there will be drawbacks, and you will sometimes feel like putting your fist through the wall. But if you have the education and the experience, you will find a way out. This is the most important point that your learning will instill in you: It is all worth it.
Conclusion
So, now that you know the major points about becoming a human services professional does not it sound exactly like the career you have always wanted?