A Guidebook to Human Service Professions: Helping College Students Explore Opportunities in the Human Services Field

The twenty-one all new chapters in this second edition poignantly review a variety of different careers designed for individuals undecided about their future, beyond a desire or 'a calling' to work with people, and provide excellent cutting edge information about a large variety of human service professions and occupations, wrapped in the authors' 'real passion for helping people.' Part I discusses some of the tangible and intrinsic reasons why people want to be human service professionals, and defines and discusses career choice and human service, as well as the concepts of career, job and professionalism. Part II includes 18 chapters each authored by an 'all-star team' of 30 professionals with many years of service delivery experience and accomplished scholars, who hold or have held numerous leadership positions in, and have taught many graduate courses in, their respective professional disciplines. Each of the 18 chapters addresses 10 specific aspects of human service professions. Part III presents a brief overview of five major occupational areas where individuals with non-graduate degrees frequently find employment working with people. Within each area, specific jobs are described and salary and outlook information given. Part IV offers an in-depth discussion of professionalism in human services, defines and addresses the big four human service regulatory mechanisms: certification, licensure, registration and accreditation, and discusses autonomy, professional behavior, codes of ethics, the roles of knowledge in decision-making and professionals' ultimate decisions, and the importance of 'professional self-concept.' This book, designed as a textbook for undergraduate courses in human services, is a 'must read' for the young-and-eager or the mature second-careerist future human service professional. The thoughtful, knowledgeable, practical and cutting-edge approaches in this book provide an invaluable point of embarkation on anyone's journey to a personally and professionally rewarding career as a human service professional.