Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in social work.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context work_styles

Tasks

• Provide professional consulting services to government and/or industry.

• Act as advisers to student organizations.

• Participate in campus and community events.

• Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.

• Select and obtain materials and supplies such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.

• Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.

• Perform administrative duties such as serving as department head.

• Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.

• Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.

• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

Back to top

Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

Back to top

Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Therapy and Counseling
  Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Back to top

Skills

Browse Skills

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Service Orientation
  Actively looking for ways to help people.

Back to top

Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Originality
  The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Back to top

Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Training and Teaching Others
  Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
  Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Coaching and Developing Others
  Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Back to top

Work Context

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Coordinate or Lead Others
  How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

Back to top

Work Styles

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Back to top