If you enjoy interacting with people in your local community, you might wish to pursue a career in human services. Many people rely on their community services to help them in tough situations. With at least an associate's degree in this field, you might provide these services as part of your occupation. Keep reading to learn more about how a human services associate's degree could translate to a career.
Duties of a Human Services Assistant
With an associate's degree in human services, you might work as a human services assistant for psychologists or rehabilitation specialists in community counseling environments. You would provide support to those who need community and social services as well as to the doctors, counselors and therapists with whom you work. Some of your duties would include assisting the elderly, children and youth groups. You might also run group meetings, make home visits and organize programs and activities.
Questioning families and children to assess needs, making referrals and providing necessary information, communicating with supervisors and managing reports and documents are additional responsibilities you could have. Other aspects of human services assistant's career may involve helping individuals who require housing or food stamp assistance, handling child-related situations and ensuring that government forms and paperwork are properly completed. In some cases, you might also use a government-issued vehicle to take those who don't have transportation to appointments, meetings and doctor's visits.
<h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutHumanServices">Important Facts About Human Services</h3><p></p><table border="1"><tr><td>Work Environment </td><td> Top industries employing human service assistants include individual and family services, state and local government, and residential care facilities</td></tr>
<tr><td>Possible Careers </td><td>Family service assistant, case work aide</td></tr>
<tr><td>Continuing Education </td><td> Related occupations may require a bachelor's or master's degree</td></tr>
<tr><td>Similar Occupations </td><td> Childcare workers, community health workers, rehabilitation counselors, social workers</td></tr>
</table><h3 id="section---Education">Education</h3><p>Since human services assistants are not actual healthcare providers or therapists, they aren't required to be licensed by the states in which they work. You should explore the educational option of obtaining at least an associate's degree in human services since employers may tend to hire applicants who have some education as opposed to none. In an associate's degree program, you can expect to take courses such as human services management, counseling techniques, intervention and psychology. Ethics, communication, case management and social work issues may be included in such programs. It might also be necessary to complete an internship.
</p><h3 id="section---JobOutlookAndSalary">Job Outlook and Salary</h3><p>According to a May 2021 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for human services assistants was $37,610 (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). Between 2021 and 2031, this job field was expected to increase by 12%. The BLS stated that part of this growth would be due to the evolving elderly population's need for social and community services. If one had education beyond the high school diploma, job prospects were likely to increase, the BLS indicated.</p>
