Becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California

The first major step towards a licensed clinical social worker career is to obtain the required educational degree for California. We recommend you being your search for an accredited social work program by reviewing those accredited by CSWE, the the national association representing social work education in the United States.

An example accredited social work program by the CSWE is the Online Masters of Social Work at Tulane University which has trained social workers since 1914. Tulane University’s MSW program helps prepare students to pass their clinical exams (84%) as well as their Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) exams (81%). Visit here to learn more about Tulane University and their online Master of Social Work program.

The average California licensed clinical social worker salary is $63,604. For those individuals who’ve gone on to obtain a master’s degree in social work, the average salary is $72,941. Those who have a doctoral degree earn $79,286 on average.

The demand for California social workers is expected to increase by 15 by 2026. Open social worker jobs in California are currently estimated to be 71,442 as of December 2017. Listed below are a few examples of organizations actively hiring social workers. The majority of these jobs for social workers prefer or require individuals with a masters degree.

• Kaiser Permanente
• California State University
• University of California
• Department of Veterans Affairs

Whether you are just starting off in your career as a licensed clinical social worker in California or currently work as a social worker but are interested in expanding your earnings potential then a graduate degree in social work might be the right fit for you. The Council on Social Work Education has accredited over 240 MSW programs. Begin your search for an MSW program below to begin the path of becoming a licensed clinical social worker in California.

Questions or feedback? Email editor@noodle.com