Social and Human Service Assistants

Median salary

$45,930

Average salary

$47,690

Employment

437,860

Projected growth

6.4% growth

Annual openings

50,600

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

What Social and Human Service Assistants Do

Assist other social and human service providers in providing client services in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, or social work, including support for families. May assist clients in identifying and obtaining available benefits and social and community services. May assist social workers with developing, organizing, and conducting programs to prevent and resolve problems relevant to substance abuse, human relationships, rehabilitation, or dependent care.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed: 0.3%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
Psychologyimportance 4.3/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 3.9/5
English Languageimportance 3.7/5
Administrativeimportance 3.3/5
Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.3/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.2/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
Contact With Others4.9/5
E-Mail4.8/5
Telephone Conversations4.8/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.6/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.5/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists98% skill match
Community Health Workers98% skill match
Emergency Medicine Physicians98% skill match
Private Detectives and Investigators98% skill match
Fire Inspectors and Investigators97% skill match
Chiropractors97% skill match
Compliance Officers97% skill match
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers97% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.0/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
Persuasionimportance 3.4/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.3/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
Negotiationimportance 3.0/5
Time Managementimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Empathy
Cooperation
Dependability
Social Orientation
Sincerity
Optimism
Integrity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

SocialHigh
ConventionalMedium
EnterprisingMedium
InvestigativeLow
ArtisticLow
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where social and human service assistants make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).