What are the best paying jobs in Social Work?

The best jobs are with state governments and with counties. However they generally require a license (LCSW). In California the State of California has many openings for Social Workers. You also can laterally transfer from one city to another. There are State Hospitals around the state working with various populations/age groups. There are Developmental Centers working with DD clients. There are jobs working with the Forensic, Psychiatric, Behavioral etc. The Counties hire Social Workers for their Mental Health Clinics, Juvenile Justice, Elderly, Hospice, Homeless, Adolescent, Drug & Alcohol Programs, Parenting, Child Abuse Prevention etc. As funds have dried up from the Feds and the State, Counties have had to expand their programs using grants and bonds etc. County Social Workers also work in the school system. Some counties have more revenue than others. Every hospital is required to have a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (licensing requirements for hospital accreditation). So, there is demand and private hospitals pay well. Full benefits are given to LCSW's because the demand is so high.

I'm a graduate student working on a Master's degree in social work, so this question is one on my mind as well. It's obvious that social work has few opportunities that could be described as "high-paying", but I think it's totally valid to consider what areas of the profession are less-underpaid than others. I agree with Aaron, though, that finding a specialty within social work that you can be passionate about is the best place to start, because you will find that the small material rewards are usually made up for in emotional ones. The beauty of the social work profession is that you really can pursue a career across all sorts of settings doing many different roles, especially in urban areas and states that fund a range of social services. For specific information, you might try looking at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; here's a link to their earnings data on "Community and Social Service Occupations":  http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#21-0000 - to attempt to answer your question, the better-paid specialties within social work appear to be those within health care and educational systems. Also check out the National Association of Social Workers, which has information about careers in social work here: http://careers.socialworkers.org/explore/default.asp Good luck in your career!

The best jobs in terms of salary, benefits and job security are usually with the state or local governments. Licensed Clinical Social workers can work as private practitioners and can make fairly good money depending on their specialty and where they are located. I have never met a "rich" social worker, but I know plenty who say they couldn't see themselves doing anything else.