Overview
Overview
Help make a bad situation a not-so-bad situation.
Description
We here at Shmoop know firsthand—helping people scores you some major karma points. Well, you get slightly less if you get paid to do it, but it's still a lot. Talking to people all day, finding homes for the homeless, and leading a person through rehab are some of the nicest possible things a person can do. Coincidentally (but also not because you are in this section), this is what social workers are here for.
The goal of the social worker is to make other peoples' lives better, which is about as selfless as it gets. They're among EMTs and pediatricians in levels of altruism, but among artists and sociologists in terms of wealth (or lack thereof). But hey, it's not all about money.
There are plenty of ways to specialize this major. For example, you can work in different industries, and with different people within those industries. This means you can keep helping people, but you also have the option of switching jobs somewhere down the road. Not everybody has those options, right, painters? If you go down this road, grad school could help, but it's not necessary. Less than half of the students go back for an additional degree.
Percentage of US students who major in Social Work:
0.53%
Stats obtained from this source.