To research more careers options, see our previous Job Market articles . If you have stability in your personal life, a good ear for listening and genuine empathy for people in need, you may be cut out to be a social-services worker. If there's turmoil in their own life and there's turmoil here, it will show up.
Workers have to take care of themselves, too.
Common sense and human compassion are required characteristics of a social-services worker, Connor said. A therapist, specifically, must have a master's degree or doctorate and be certified or licensed in the state of Washington. All therapists must complete a postgraduate internship in a clinical setting. Therapists can find work in for-profit and nonprofit agencies, hospitals, clinics and in private practice. A therapist at Family Services, for example, typically sees from five to seven clients a day.