Reasons to Consider a Human Services Degree

This Article Highlights Reasons to Consider a Degree in Human Services Degree

Pursuing a degree in human services is a unique opportunity to start a career based on helping others and finding solutions for those who are most vulnerable. Human services is a multi-faceted discipline that combines problem-solving and intervention analysis to improve community and family life. Alleviating poverty and providing humanistic support to communities requires awareness of the root causes of poverty, both from a historical and modern perspective. A degree in human services prepares students for many different careers in this area, helping them understand the important dynamics behind poverty and various social problems.

According to the Council of Standards for Human Services Education, there are over 600 universities in the nation currently offering a degree in human services, underlining its popularity. However, many of these universities do not offer an online human services degree, representing a substantial drawback. Pursuing an online human services degree allows you to balance work, school and your social life. Among the top universities offering an online associates degree in Human Services is Brescia University.

A human services program should train you in ethical standards and the theoretical foundation underpinning the discipline of human services, preparing you to find solutions for whatever field you enter. The curriculum typically provides a background on the historical role of poverty and what important implications the past has on current poverty dynamics. Human services not only addresses the role of various cultures in society, but it will provide you with the tools to promote cross-cultural exchange in your future role as a human services professional.

Studying human services can prepare you for many different careers in government agencies, administrative services, child welfare, community development programs and social advocacy organizations. Studying human services typically allows you to explore issues surrounding poverty alleviation, multiculturalism, welfare, social inequity and organizational empowerment. Programs typically teach students to view problems from a socio-ecological perspective by examining human interactions and relationships from the viewpoint of society, community and family. You will also learn to identify trends and tease meaning out of all of these areas, especially in regards to how complex parts that make up our society interact with one another.

Graduates with a human services degree will find that there are numerous fields available to them. Pay scales for human services graduates depend on the field they enter, but earnings lie in the medium ranges for socially oriented careers. The field of human services also offers plenty of opportunities for those seeking work in health-related sectors, including drug counselors and mental health departments. Given that the two of the fastest growing sectors in the United States are healthcare and education, a degree in human services should provide various career opportunities for the long-term.

There is another important field available to human services graduates. According to the New York Times, one of the most resilient sectors for employment has been nonprofits, an area uniquely suited to those with a human services degree. Community organizing and poverty eradication activism, some of the core areas of study for human services majors, is the focus of much non-profit work. Human services graduates also have the opportunity to participate in important policy areas that effect those most at-risk. Having a human services degree places you in the unique position of having a broad enough range of skills to work in many non-profits around the country.

The skills provided by a human services degree are in demand, a finding supported by government projections. The US Labor Department has indicated in its Professional Outlook Handbook that human services is predicted to grow by 34 percent through 2016, faster than other professions on average. Typical careers include working as a substance abuse counselor, case manager, elderly service provider, or a social worker.

There are many unique challenges facing both the US and larger world community. A human services degree allows you to partake in finding solutions for those who are disadvantaged.

If a career based around trying to help people and improving your community sounds good to you, then a human services degree might just be what you’re looking for. Brescia University’s online Associate of Arts in Human Services helps you enter the field, and can be completed when and where you have the time.