Child, Family, and School Social Workers vs Clergy: Similar Median Pay, Different Work

Child, Family, and School Social Workers vs Clergy: what changes?

Consider Child, Family, and School Social Workers if you want to provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. Consider Clergy if you would rather conduct religious worship and perform other spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faith or denomination. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Child, Family, and School Social Workers and Clergy. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

National median pay (2025): $59,550
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 33,900

Know before you choose

Conflict, distress, or difficult interactions are recurring parts of the work, not rare exceptions.

See the full Child, Family, and School Social Workers brief

Clergy

National median pay (2025): $60,810
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Pray and promote spirituality.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 19,200

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Clergy brief

How the national numbers differ

Child, Family, and School Social Workers has the edge on projected growth

Child, Family, and School Social Workers is at 4.4% projected growth, compared with 2.4% projected growth for Clergy.

Typical preparation differs.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers: Bachelor's degree Clergy: Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Child, Family, and School Social Workers is at 33,900 annual openings, compared with 19,200 annual openings for Clergy.

Clergy has the edge on median pay

Clergy is at $60,810, compared with $59,550 for Child, Family, and School Social Workers.

59.9/ 100

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

50.4/ 100

Clergy

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Child, Family, and School Social Workers vs Clergy

Dimension	Child, Family, and School Social Workers	Clergy
Median pay (2025)	$59,550	$60,810
Pay percentile	47.1 percentile	49.3 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	4.4%	2.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	33,900	19,200
2025 employment	405,100	242,000
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Child, Family, and School Social Workers brief Read Clergy brief

Child, Family, and School Social Workers vs Clergy: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Clergy

How the national numbers differ

Child, Family, and School Social Workers has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers has the edge on annual openings

Clergy has the edge on median pay

Child, Family, and School Social Workers vs Clergy

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