Need advice with degree plan for TESC. Human Services vs. Psychology

[SweetSecret]

OP, another option you may want to consider is an LDAS degree. I am currently looking into that now. Its basically a "create your own degree" type of plan, so there is a lot of flexibility. I have a pretty varied background, & do a lot of volunteer work, & have worked in human services. The problem I see is that everyone & their brother seems to go for psychology. Unless you plan to get either your masters &/or PhD in psych then its not a very useful degree. Human services is great & has tons of jobs, but the pay for human service workers is generally very low... less than what I made without any degree. For the life of me, I don't know why TESC doesn't offer a degree in Social Work... because honestly of the three it is probably the most useful. Social work jobs won't often hire people without a social work degree, but human services jobs will almost always hire people with a human services, social work, or psych degree. I do notice though that most social work positions pay a lot better than human services positions... & a bachelors more related to social work will give you a lot more exclusive job options.

One thing though is if you want to look at a BA LDAS geared more towards social work, check your local state licensure requirements. After that, I'd recommend also looking at degree program requirements for any graduate degrees that you might consider doing later, so you can make sure your bachelors covers the necessary courses rather than having to play "catch up" later.

[sanantone]

There really is not much of a difference between the job opportunities for human services majors and psychology majors. Almost every job that asks for a human services degree specifically, and there aren't many, will also list psychology as being acceptable. I would bet a job search in just about every city would turn up more results for psychology. Yes, everyone and their mother has a psychology degree, but human services majors will be competing with everyone and their mother for the same jobs.

[sanantone]

OP, another option you may want to consider is an LDAS degree. I am currently looking into that now. Its basically a "create your own degree" type of plan, so there is a lot of flexibility. I have a pretty varied background, & do a lot of volunteer work, & have worked in human services. The problem I see is that everyone & their brother seems to go for psychology. Unless you plan to get either your masters &/or PhD in psych then its not a very useful degree. Human services is great & has tons of jobs, but the pay for human service workers is generally very low... less than what I made without any degree. For the life of me, I don't know why TESC doesn't offer a degree in Social Work... because honestly of the three it is probably the most useful. Social work jobs won't often hire people without a social work degree, but human services jobs will almost always hire people with a human services, social work, or psych degree. I do notice though that most social work positions pay a lot better than human services positions... & a bachelors more related to social work will give you a lot more exclusive job options.

One thing though is if you want to look at a BA LDAS geared more towards social work, check your local state licensure requirements. After that, I'd recommend also looking at degree program requirements for any graduate degrees that you might consider doing later, so you can make sure your bachelors covers the necessary courses rather than having to play "catch up" later.

Almost every state will require a CSWE-accredited social work degree, so the LDAS would be useless. There are only two small advantages to getting a BSW:

1. It will give you advanced standing in an MSW program if you're even interested in going that route.
2. You can become a licensed social worker at the baccalaureate level.

From what I've seen in my job searches, most social worker jobs require a masters degree. Whenever I see a bachelor's degree in social work listed as a requirement, it's usually for a non-licensed, social services job that also accepts related degrees in psychology, counseling, sociology, etc.

[hickory6]

Thanks for the continued discussion and input! I appreciate any advice I can get.
For my purposes I believe I have settled on Psych. I really just need to put an end to the indecision and lay my degree plan out, even if I change course (pun intended). I will post it in this thread once I do. Hopefully I can get some feedback. Sanantone I am using your wiki entry as a guide.

Thanks again!

[sanantone]

There is a lot of overlap between the human services and psychology degrees anyway. Besides the management requirement, the human services core is nothing but psychology courses. My guess is that any course related to gerontology will be transcribed as GER or SOC at TESC. If you want more flexibility, the BA in Social Science should suffice. I am really not a fan of not having an official degree title, which is what will happen if you choose to do the LDAS. Like liberal studies, it should be a last resort; but, I would choose liberal studies over a BA in LDAS.

[SweetSecret]

I am really not a fan of not having an official degree title, which is what will happen if you choose to do the LDAS. Like liberal studies, it should be a last resort; but, I would choose liberal studies over a BA in LDAS.

My thinking is that a lot if employers will overlook people with Liberal Arts degrees... they don't seem to have the best reputation. I think an BA LDAS degree is more likely to say that I concentrated in something specific, but wasn't a particular degree that the college offered.

[sanantone]

My thinking is that a lot if employers will overlook people with Liberal Arts degrees... they don't seem to have the best reputation.

Not for the types of jobs human services majors can get. Human services is nothing but an applied art anyway much like criminal justice, counseling, and social work except that social work can come with a license at the undergraduate level. Human services majors are at the same level and, arguably, even lower than the more recognizable degrees in the behavioral sciences. Physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics are liberal arts subjects, by the way.

I think an BA LDAS degree is more likely to say that I concentrated in something specific, but wasn't a particular degree that the college offered.

To me, learner designed area of study sounds like individualized studies, multidisciplinary studies, general studies, interdisciplinary studies, liberal arts, and liberal studies. At least if someone chose to do a BSAST or BSBA in an LDAS, one would still have an official degree title of Bachelor of Science in Applied Science and Technology or Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. The BS and BA in an LDAS don't have the same advantage.

[sanantone]

I should clarify. It's not that employers look down upon liberal arts majors; it's that employers want degrees that are related to the position. A psychology degree will not get you a job in accounting, in most cases, just like a degree in accounting will not get you a job as a substance abuse counselor. There just happens to be more demand for jobs that require applied degrees (finance, engineering, etc.) than liberal arts degrees (this includes biology with its high underemployment rate).

[SweetSecret]

It could be that I am an anomoly, but in my particular case just about any degree I get that relates to social work/human services/criminal justice would help me on the job front. The problem for me, specifically because I am focusing more on helping women with issues like criminal justice/domestic violence/human traffickings/rights blended with non-profit communications & fundraising, is that most programs are a lot more broad & not gender focused. I think sometimes know where you want to go is the key to planning how you will get these. In New Mexico specifically though, there are tons of jobs open in human services & as long as your degree somehow relates, they will hire you. Social work though is much more selective.

[sanantone]

It could be that I am an anomoly, but in my particular case just about any degree I get that relates to social work/human services/criminal justice would help me on the job front.

Sure. That's why a degree in human services doesn't give one an advantage over someone with a degree in psychology or social science.

The problem for me, specifically because I am focusing more on helping women with issues like criminal justice/domestic violence/human traffickings/rights blended with non-profit communications & fundraising, is that most programs are a lot more broad & not gender focused. I think sometimes know where you want to go is the key to planning how you will get these.

If the courses are coded as SOC (and sometimes AOJ), then they will fit into a social science program.

In New Mexico specifically though, there are tons of jobs open in human services & as long as your degree somehow relates, they will hire you. Social work though is much more selective.

I bet most of those social work jobs require a masters degree.