Resources for Careers in Human Services
What interests you in wanting to assist others? Are you interested in case management, therapy, school social work, advocacy or community organizing, or program administration? What type of clientele would you most want to work with: children and families, youth, elderly, addicts, homeless, others? The field of Human Services is broadly defined with the main goal of meeting human needs, remediation of problems, as well as prevention and commitment to quality of life for service populations. The National Association of Human Service (http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/) defines the profession as “one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but also by seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service delivery.”
Students interested in human services professions may come from many majors, building upon their summer internships and volunteer experiences for their first post-graduate experience, and pursuing graduate education in social work, counseling, public administration, or even business school to continue their careers in many different arenas.
Alumni Careers Network
Alumni have VOLUNTEERED to have students contact them for advice and information about majors and careers. The Alumni Careers Network (ACN), with 4,500 volunteers worldwide, is a searchable on-line database of Princeton alumni who are willing and eager for you to contact them so they can provide you with advice and assistance about their industry or career field.
Selected Online Resources
Idealist.org -http://www.idealist.org/ -This organization provides information and a job database for non profits both domestically and internationally. The areas of focus include many human services organizations.
AMTA Music Therapy Education Programs - http://www.musictherapy.org/- The Colleges and Universities listed on this site offer degree programs approved by the American Music Therapy Association, Inc.
ADTA Dance Therapy Education Programs - http://www.adta.org/ - Approved graduate degree programs in dance/movement therapy.
Child Welfare League of America - http://www.cwla.org/ - CWLA is a coalition of hundreds of private and public agencies serving vulnerable children and families since 1920. Their expertise, leadership and innovation is focused on policies, programs, and practices.
United Way of America -http://liveunited.org/- This national network has over 1000 organizations that focus on education, income and health and partners with local communities who focus on addressing key social issues related to children and youth.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ - This is the government’s principal agency for protecting the welfare of children and families.
Professional Associations
A professional association is an organization of people who have similar career interests. These membership- based organizations often offer a reduced rate for students that allow access to the many resources they provide. Professional association websites can also offer job/internship databases as well as opportunities to find mentors or other contacts.
Council for Standards in Human Service Education - http://www.cshse.org/ - The Council is committed to assuring the quality, consistency and relevance of human services education through national standards, accreditation, consultation, research and publication. This site lists accredited human service programs.
National Organization for Human Services – http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ - This organization is focused on strengthening the recognition of the role of the human services professional, including managing a certification process. They hold conferences and offer job listings.
National Human Services Assembly - http://www.nassembly.org/ - An association of national nonprofit health and human service organizations bound by a common concern for the effective delivery of health and human services.
American Association for Pastoral Counselors - https://aapc.org/- Pastoral Counseling is a unique form of psychotherapy which uses spiritual resources as well as psychological understanding for healing and growth. This site includes occupational information as well as job listings.
American Association of Social Work Boards - http://www.aswb.org/ - ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country, and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work.
American Mental Health Counselors Association - http://www.amhca.org/- The mission of AMHCA is to enhance the profession of mental health counseling through licensing, advocacy, education and professional development.
American Psychological Association - http://www.apa.org/- Research Office and Education in Psychology - Educational, career, and salary data for psychologists.
American Therapeutic Recreation Association - http://www.atra-online.com/ - The largest, national membership organization representing the interests and needs of recreational therapists.
American Counseling Association -http://www.counseling.org/ - This association has student rates and great information about seeking graduate education in the different counseling fields.