In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, there are not as many immediately available opportunities in the human services sector. This niche has recently been ravaged by job losses and unemployment. Nevertheless, in the long term, analysts at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipate that the overall employment outlook for the sector will be largely positive.
Even before COVID-19 became a global issue, human services careers tended to be emotionally challenging ones. COVID-19 has influenced this sector heavily, and this has resulted in additional complexities – and sometimes even additional opportunities – for the workers in this field. Let’s take a look at four of the career paths in human services that could offer viable opportunities for significant numbers of workers in the years ahead:
1. Psychologist
A psychologist’s first major function is to diagnose mental and emotional disorders — and then to provide therapy to help affected individuals, groups and families effectively manage these disorders. In the aftermath of COVID-19, there’s plenty of demand for psychologists’ services due to the increased amounts of stress and anxiety people have been experiencing.
2. Counselor
A counselor’s role is similar to a psychologist’s, although there are some differences between a psychologist and a counselor. In particular, it typically requires less education to get started as a counselor than it does to begin a career as a psychologist.
Counselors frequently specialize. The following are some of the paths you could choose if you were to become a counselor:
- Mental health counselor
- Rehabilitation counselor
- Substance abuse counselor
- School counselor
- Career counselor
Post COVID-19, analysts at the BLS are forecasting that counselors will ultimately enjoy an increasing number of job opportunities. This sector of the economy is expected to grow much faster than average. According to experts at the BLS, mental health counselors and substance abuse counselors will enjoy a 25 percent increase in the number of available job opportunities by the year 2029.
3. Social Worker
Social workers help people cope with social issues including child abuse, family problems, drug abuse and housing insecurity. Social workers are employed by governments, hospitals, schools, mental health clinics, prisons and other organizations. The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs is an example of a prominent employer of social workers.
4. Administrative Worker
There’s much administrative work to be done in the human services sector. Some possible roles in this niche include the following:
Program Director – Program directors are the overseers who implement human services programs on behalf of their employers. Frequently, they are also the ones who manage and supervise the programs after deployment.
Development Director – The role of development director can vary, but it frequently involves oversight of, and responsibility for, an organization’s fundraising strategy and associated activities. Development directors might interact with potential donors in hopes of soliciting funds. They may also be responsible for managing grant writers and other staff members.
Grant Writer – Various governments, charitable foundations and other organizations make grants available. Grant writers are tasked with researching such sources of funding and assisting their organizations with securing as much of it as possible.
These career paths are some of the most popular roles available in the human services sector. They’re all worthwhile careers to consider.
