What Society Values
Social work has always been considered a "low paying profession". In the beginning, it wasn't a profession at all. Women with big hearts and tons of empathy reached out to help society's unfortunates, and that image of the social work profession has persisted to this day. With the Industrial Revolution, immigrants flowed into the U.S. and lived in dire poverty until they were assimilated into the economy of the 20th century. Cheek by jowl with wealthier neighbors, their poverty was uncomfortably visible in major American cities, and social work as a paid profession began to emerge. By the 1950s, social workers were required to be college level educated and finally, by the 1970s, required an advanced degree to rise to the top of their profession. Over the 20th century, social work had journeyed from well-meaning volunteers to highly educated professionals without society taking notice. As a result, proper pay has always lagged the professional status of social work giving social work the reputation of a comparatively "low paying profession".