What is a family specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.,

Dr. T. Thao Pham Ph.D.

A family specialist provides guidance and support to families in various situations. They work to help families overcome financial struggles, relationship issues, parenting problems, and mental health concerns. Family specialists may also provide education to help families build stronger relationships and improve communication. They work in settings such as community centers, schools, hospitals, and government agencies. A family specialist aims to help families thrive and create a safe and healthy environment for everyone involved.

What general advice would you give to a Family Specialist?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreFamily SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,115

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.51%

Asian 2.67%

Black or African American 13.37%

Hispanic or Latino 15.12%

Unknown 4.19%

White 63.14%

Gender

female 67.56%

male 32.44%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.5

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Family Specialist?

Pros

Job security
Flexibility in work schedule
Opportunities for growth and advancement
Ability to specialize in an area of interest
Competitive pay and benefits

Cons

High stress and emotional demands
Long hours and unpredictable schedules
Dealing with difficult or resistant clients
Potential for safety concerns or exposure to violence
Exposure to traumatic situations may have personal impact

Key steps to become a family specialist

Explore family specialist education requirements

Most common family specialist degrees

Bachelor's

64.7 %

Master's

17.5 %

Associate

12.1 %

Start to develop specific family specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	22.24%
Foster Care	10.67%
Substance Abuse	7.36%
Crisis Intervention	7.34%
Child Abuse	5.58%

Complete relevant family specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New family specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a family specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real family specialist resumes.

Research family specialist duties and responsibilities

Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
Complete family assessments and supervise visit documentation for family DHS worker and also for court hearing purposes.
Co-Facilitate state require GPS: MAPP training for prospective adoptive parents.
Do MAPP trainings with potential foster and adoptive parents to assist them to make an inform decision.

Prepare your family specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your family specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a family specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Family Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Family Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Family Specialist resume.

Apply for family specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a family specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do family specialists rate their job?

2/5

Out of 1 Family Specialist reviews, 0% were positive.

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Based On 1 Ratings

Pay / Salary

1.0

Overall Rating

2.0

Work/Life Balance

1.0

Career Growth

2.0

Family Specialist reviews

2.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2024

Pros

The children are always worth it.

Cons

Stressful, dangerous neighborhoods, sometimes parents are dangerous as well. Work life balance isn't good. Documentation is very time consuming and you will bring that home to finish. If your agency requires that you do your app recorded time sheets then that will prove ardously time consuming constaint that cuts right into your work/home life balance...it's terrible. Wear and tear on your car, no shows from parents upsetting children and paid mileage is horrible. Get ready to barely have a life.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2022