Overview
Social workers serve communities — running NGOs, designing welfare programmes, advocating for marginalised groups, providing counselling. India's vast social sector (Pratham, Akshaya Patra, Smile Foundation, Teach For India, Azim Premji Foundation) and CSR mandate (2% of profits for large companies) have created stable, meaningful careers. Pay is modest but social impact is profound.
Day-to-day responsibilities
Conduct community needs assessments; design and run programmes (education, health, livelihood); manage field teams; mobilise donor and CSR funding; build partnerships with government schemes; document case studies and impact; advocate for policy change; counsel individual clients and families.
Skills required
- Empathy & active listening
- Community mobilisation
- Programme design & evaluation
- Grant writing & fundraising
- Cross-cultural communication
- Documentation & report writing
- Resilience to bureaucracy
- Hindi / regional languages
Education path
BSW (3 yrs) → MSW (2 yrs) at TISS Mumbai, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi School of Social Work, Christ University. TISS-NET is the most competitive entrance. PhD for academia / research. Foreign degrees (Columbia, LSE) for international development careers.
Career progression
- 1Field Worker / Programme Officer
- 2Programme Manager
- 3Senior Manager / Director
- 4Country Director
- 5CEO / Founder
Top employers in India
Useful certifications
- TISS short courses
- Indian School of Public Policy programmes
- M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation) certifications
- Project DPro for development