Human Resources Specialists vs Social Workers
Human Resources Specialists earns $14,160 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Human Resources Specialists | Social Workers | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2025 | $75,940 | $61,780 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $47,180 to $128,720 | not published to not published |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 4 | 4 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | See How to Become One |
| Jobs opening up each year | 73,700 | 69,100 |
| Growth by 2035 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
| People doing it now | 939,700 | 816,100 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $110,970 in Washington DC down to $55,010 in Arkansas | $78,970 in Connecticut down to $43,330 in Arkansas |
Also compared: Accountants vs Human Resources Specialists Accountants vs Social Workers Civil Engineers vs Human Resources Specialists Dental Hygienists vs Human Resources Specialists Graphic Designers vs Human Resources Specialists Graphic Designers vs Social Workers
Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Social Workers covers 4 separate job codes. “3 of 4” means 3 of those 4 name that job as closely related.
Human Resources Specialists
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping
- Human Resources Managers
- Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
Social Workers
- Marriage and Family Therapists3 of 4
- Rehabilitation Counselors3 of 4
- Social and Human Service Assistants2 of 4
- Community Health Workers2 of 4
- Health Education Specialists2 of 4
- Mental Health Counselors2 of 4
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Jobs that take more training than this one
A job zone is the U.S. Department of Labor’s published measure of how much preparation a job takes. It says nothing about pay.
- Industrial-Organizational PsychologistsGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
O*NET 30.3 Database and O*NET Job Zones, U.S. Department of Labor. A job zone is a published measure of how much preparation an occupation takes, not a measure of pay or of whether a job is better. Pay differences are BLS median annual wages, May 2025, and are shown only where both jobs are on this site.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2025, and employment projections 2025-35. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.