Also called: Neonatal Social Worker, Perinatal Social Worker
Supports families whose newborns are in the neonatal intensive care unit, helping them with fear, money, housing and sometimes grief.
She meets a teen mom whose baby was born at 25 weeks and arranges gas cards so she can visit every day. She sits in on a hard family meeting with the doctor, then books a Ronald McDonald House room for a family who lives three hours away.
Estimate based on healthcare social worker pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 7 years after high school. MSW and a state license, plus hospital social work experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Social Work, Psychology.
Growing faster than average. Healthcare social work jobs are projected to grow faster than average.
Low risk for 10 years. AI may speed forms and referrals; sitting with scared parents in hard family meetings stays human.
Classes: Psychology, Child development, Biology.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.