A career in human services is a great way to get involved in social good and allow you to
accomplish your goal of helping others. All human service professionals, even those who
are volunteers, are working in this field to assist in making the lives of the people they are
trying to help better. Regardless of their capacity When working in a human services
organization, everyone is working in unison to have a greater understanding of the
challenges each person is facing as well as trying to help people find the best solutions to
these problems their clients are struggling with. People who pursue a human services
degree are usually interested in working in the social services field in an administrative or
managerial capacity. Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, for-profit service
providers with a social mission are just a few of the different places human services
professionals may find themselves working. Human services professionals are working in
the industry as program developers, planners, supervisors, researchers, fundraisers, grant
writers, and human services managers just to name a few of the possible career paths that
someone could take. Each would require a different level of involvement in the day-to-day
operations of the organizations they are working for, as well as many different variations in
helping the people they are there to serve. Both human services and social work are
extremely important to the social services world, but they serve the needs of people in
different ways. A human services professional focuses on the bigger picture. For example,
they will help plan programs to serve the needs of a particular population, they will work in
administrative roles making sure things run smoothly in their particular social services
agency, and they will provide supervision and direction to the individuals who work with
them. Social workers often work in administrative roles, too, but they can also work
directly with clients to carry out social programs, connecting them with necessary services,
assessing their needs and providing counseling, which human services professionals do
not. The starting point of this starts with building a relationship with the client that is based
on trust. This is when everyone must work in partnership working together to come up with
ideas that can best serve their clients. Human service professionals and employees must
collaborate and take action to work towards meeting the needs of the people they are trying
to help. There are many ways a human service professional may help their clients such as
coordinating with others such as social workers, or financial advisors to obtain assistance
in specific areas. To garner the most favorable results everyone must work together and
have the same goals of helping the people who come to them.
Working in the human services industry can include a broad range of different types of
jobs. The human service industry is mostly made up of non-profit organizations with
professionals, non-professionals, and volunteers. Many of these roles overlap and
correspond with one another. It is important for all of these positions to collaborate for the
benefit of their client.
All human service professionals, non-professionals, and volunteers are working in this
industry to better the lives of their clients. All of these people must work to understand all
of the problems each person has and the behaviors/actions that follow these issues. The
base of this information starts with building trust and forming a relationship with the client.
This is when all helpers/employees must collaborate and work together to form a plan for
the client. Human service professionals and employees must converse and work towards
the same goals as their client. A human service professional may have their client work
with counselors, or finance managers to get guidance in specific areas. The guidance would
not be available or fluent without this system of collaboration and planning.
Human service professionals also differ from non-professionals working in the same
industry mainly by having a Master of the Arts in Human Services, while most other
volunteers only need a GED or high school diploma. Earning a MAHS Degree allows these
professionals to become leaders and can change and form different strategies that best
coordinate with the family they may be assisting (Wake Forest University, 2020). The
professionals are usually the ones delegating, managing, and pointing their clients in the
right direction as to whom they should seek next for more assistance. The other non-
professionals are just as important in this industry. We rely on these volunteers and
employees to create an inviting atmosphere for the clients and to assist them with small
issues.
To create any beneficial outcomes, human service professionals, non-professionals, and
volunteers that work in the human service industry all need to collaborate. Without the
conversation, these roles cannot help each other or help their clients. Although, there are
differences between professionals and non-professionals they are all working towards the
same goal.
Human Service professionals are like other professionals and non-professionals that work
in the same agency because they are there to support the client(s) in addressing problems of
daily living; they both have similar goals. Both professionals and non-professionals work
together to build trust with the client(s) and create an accepting and respectful environment
for them to address these issues. Professionals and non-professionals form a team, and each
member is responsible for contributing to the process.
Human Service professionals and non-professionals differ from one another in a few ways;
the first one being their education levels. Human Service professionals require some level
of higher education (Associates degree, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, etc.), whereas
a non-professional may require only a high school diploma or GED. The other ways
professionals and non-professionals differ from one another is because there are different
jobs, rule and regulations, and policies and procedures for each position that the individual
needs to follow.
Something that could be done to work collaboratively with both other professionals and
non-professionals in the agency is by building a network. Building a network is helpful
because you learn what different services are available for the client(s), and you start to
make personal contacts with other professionals and non-professionals. Referring clients is
also something that can be done collaboratively because you would start to learn who the
contact person is that you would reach out to for the different agencies. For example, if you
refer a patient to a mental health clinic, you would eventually learn who the secretary is and
you would start to develop a relationship with that person.
Resources:
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human Services (9th ed.).
Cengage Learning US. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781337671262
Wake Forest University. (2020, July 17). Human services vs social work: What's the
difference? WFU Online Counseling. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from
https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/human-services-vs-social-work-whats-the-
difference/
Stinchcomb, J. (n.d.). What is human services? MemberClicks, from
https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human Services (9th ed.).
Cengage Learning US. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/97813376712
