Social Worker
Support people through the hardest parts of their lives and make difficult protective decisions.
Degree-level grade: technical and management work one step below A1, with its own competitive exam. What does this group mean?
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- Typical pay
- €35k–€55k
- Usual education
- Degree
- Outlook
- High demand and high turnover — support and supervision quality matters when choosing an employer.
A day in the life
Home visits, assessments, court reports, multi-agency meetings and careful record keeping. Emotionally demanding and highly structured.
Ways in
- Social work degree
- Degree apprenticeship
- Support worker then qualification
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales
Portugal
Ciências Socioeconómicas
Italy
Liceo classico / scienze umane
Netherlands
Profiel Economie & Maatschappij
Austria
AHS Oberstufe
Belgium
ASO – General secondary
Exams you'll need
The gates between you and this job, and when each one comes.
EPSO competitions
The route into the same kind of work inside the EU institutions.
RequiredOposición Grupo A2 / B
Entry to this post is through the competitive exam for its group.
Skills that matter
Best courses to take
The study routes that lead most directly into this career.
BA Social Work
Safeguarding, law and supervised practice placements.
The qualifying degree with placements.
Helpful school subjects: Sociology, Psychology