6 answers
Millicent
Student
Roseau, Minnesota
1
Question
Asked
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What is the best career pathway for broad job opportunities: a doctorate in behavioral health or a master's in social work?
I hold a bachelor's degree in public health, a master's degree in public health, and a certificate in community and behavioral health. I want a pathway that will help me get a job more easily in most job sectors. Now I am thinking about a doctorate in behavioral health from the Cummins Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies or a master's in social work from NYU? Which career pathway should I choose?
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6 answers
Rishabh Saxena
Consultant
7
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Rishabh’s Answer
Hi Millicent! I think it would be great for you to chat with people from each of those backgrounds. Hearing about their experiences after studying can really help you see what their jobs are like. It might give you a good idea of whether you'd enjoy those careers.
Thanks for the help.
Millicent
Shreya Toliya
Oracle HCM Cloud Consultant
30
Answers
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Updated
Shreya’s Answer
Doctorate in Behavioral Health (DBH)
Pros:
Prepares you for advanced, specialized roles (clinical leadership, integrated care, consulting, academia).
May open doors to higher-level positions and potentially higher salaries.
Focuses on behavioral health integration, often in healthcare settings.
Cons:
More specialized—may limit you to behavioral health or academic roles.
Fewer direct clinical licensure options (DBH is not a clinical license like LCSW).
May be less recognized outside certain healthcare or academic circles.
Master’s in Social Work (MSW)
Pros:
Offers broad job opportunities in healthcare, schools, government, nonprofits, and private practice.
Qualifies you for clinical licensure (LCSW), which is highly portable and in demand.
Flexible—can work in direct practice, administration, policy, or community work.
Well-recognized and respected credential.
Cons:
Typically leads to mid-level positions (though advancement is possible).
May not qualify you for some academic or high-level consulting roles without further education.
Which Pathway Offers Broader Opportunities?
MSW is generally more versatile for job opportunities across sectors. It provides a clear path to licensure, is widely recognized, and opens doors in many settings (healthcare, schools, nonprofits, government, private practice). The DBH is valuable but more niche and less portable outside behavioral health integration or academia.
Summary:
If your main goal is broad job options and employability across sectors, the MSW from NYU is likely the better choice.
Pros:
Prepares you for advanced, specialized roles (clinical leadership, integrated care, consulting, academia).
May open doors to higher-level positions and potentially higher salaries.
Focuses on behavioral health integration, often in healthcare settings.
Cons:
More specialized—may limit you to behavioral health or academic roles.
Fewer direct clinical licensure options (DBH is not a clinical license like LCSW).
May be less recognized outside certain healthcare or academic circles.
Master’s in Social Work (MSW)
Pros:
Offers broad job opportunities in healthcare, schools, government, nonprofits, and private practice.
Qualifies you for clinical licensure (LCSW), which is highly portable and in demand.
Flexible—can work in direct practice, administration, policy, or community work.
Well-recognized and respected credential.
Cons:
Typically leads to mid-level positions (though advancement is possible).
May not qualify you for some academic or high-level consulting roles without further education.
Which Pathway Offers Broader Opportunities?
MSW is generally more versatile for job opportunities across sectors. It provides a clear path to licensure, is widely recognized, and opens doors in many settings (healthcare, schools, nonprofits, government, private practice). The DBH is valuable but more niche and less portable outside behavioral health integration or academia.
Summary:
If your main goal is broad job options and employability across sectors, the MSW from NYU is likely the better choice.
Thank you, Shreya!
Millicent
Abishek Thapa
4
Answers
Updated
Abishek’s Answer
Good question. However it’s completely based on you and your interest rather than job opportunity as I believe if your interest align with your subject then you’ll be expert in that subject in short course of time and earn more in future. For short I’ll prefer saying DBH has high earning potential in long run however it is less recognized globally. In context of MSW, it is Highly versatile: opens doors in clinical therapy, hospital social work, case management, policy, schools, international NGOs, nonprofits, and more. But remember it’s always you who knows better than others.
Thank you for giving me advice.
Millicent
Michelle M.
Actress
2660
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
STUDENT CHANGED STUDENT'S LOCATION FROM PORTSMOUTH DOMINICA TO Roseau, Minnesota SO THIS ADVICE WAS FOR STUDENT'S INITIAL LOCATION, NOT FOR MINNESOTA.
Hello, Millicent !
You have already achieved a valuable Masters Degree in Public Health. That is outstanding ! Much of the advice I will give you will be opinion, I admit, but still it can be something to consider. Despite not providing why you are thinking of getting additional degrees in a different subject, I will try to advise you in a way that I hope can help.
First and foremost, I do understand that Portsmouth is a very small island about an area of 22 miles. I am not sure if your location and the possible unavailability of jobs is the reason that you are seeking more degrees and in a different field of work. Regardless of not knowing this, my advice is to stick with your already obtained Masters Degree and keep applying for career jobs in the Public Health sector. It's just my opinion, but it just may not be worth the time and expense, once you already have a masters degree, to go to 6 more years of college (which the psychology fields will require). I would advise reconsidering thinking about this and not changing to a different field of work and utilize your Masters Degree at this time. But you didn't explain why you don't want to.
I would encourage you to make good use of all the hard work you put in to obtain your Masters in Public Health. There are indeed some options you have. Have you applied for Administrative positions at Ross University Medical School in your town of Portsmouth ? If not, seek employment there, go in person to their Human Resources Department. You can apply for things connected to compliance, quality control or any positions they have available and it's okay if you have to wait a little for them to have openings for these positions. You can consider relocating for an increased possibility for work in Public Health, but relocating is not always doable for many people, I understand.
Another thing you can possibly do with your Masters Degree is obtain a position as a university professor teaching Public Health. Speak with your last college advisor to see what the requirements are for teaching. Another thing, if you haven't done so already, is to apply for a position at the Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Health Investment in Dominica which is what we in the U.S. call the local Department of Health.
I would say to just take a job now to just have money coming in, but you have overqualified yourself for little jobs by having a Masters Degree at least that is how it is in the U.S. So you will need to sit back and relax for a while and really figure out what you want to do and if you are willing to pursue Public Health which you have built an expertise in.
As I've mentioned, if you go into more college for Social Work or Behavioral Health, you'll have to start from scratch and it would be approximately 6 more years of college. The path you took for Public Health would not prepare you for a career in psychology. The psychology professions require Licensing (sometimes) and Certification and you'd have to obtain that in the state, province, country, etc. that you want to practice in.
So, all things considered, this is a choice you are going to have to make after giving it some time and becoming well informed about the careers you think you want. I would say it would be a good idea to return to your last university and talk this out in detail with an academic advisor.
This may or may not be of help but I sure do wish you all the best as you move forward !
Hello, Millicent !
You have already achieved a valuable Masters Degree in Public Health. That is outstanding ! Much of the advice I will give you will be opinion, I admit, but still it can be something to consider. Despite not providing why you are thinking of getting additional degrees in a different subject, I will try to advise you in a way that I hope can help.
First and foremost, I do understand that Portsmouth is a very small island about an area of 22 miles. I am not sure if your location and the possible unavailability of jobs is the reason that you are seeking more degrees and in a different field of work. Regardless of not knowing this, my advice is to stick with your already obtained Masters Degree and keep applying for career jobs in the Public Health sector. It's just my opinion, but it just may not be worth the time and expense, once you already have a masters degree, to go to 6 more years of college (which the psychology fields will require). I would advise reconsidering thinking about this and not changing to a different field of work and utilize your Masters Degree at this time. But you didn't explain why you don't want to.
I would encourage you to make good use of all the hard work you put in to obtain your Masters in Public Health. There are indeed some options you have. Have you applied for Administrative positions at Ross University Medical School in your town of Portsmouth ? If not, seek employment there, go in person to their Human Resources Department. You can apply for things connected to compliance, quality control or any positions they have available and it's okay if you have to wait a little for them to have openings for these positions. You can consider relocating for an increased possibility for work in Public Health, but relocating is not always doable for many people, I understand.
Another thing you can possibly do with your Masters Degree is obtain a position as a university professor teaching Public Health. Speak with your last college advisor to see what the requirements are for teaching. Another thing, if you haven't done so already, is to apply for a position at the Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Health Investment in Dominica which is what we in the U.S. call the local Department of Health.
I would say to just take a job now to just have money coming in, but you have overqualified yourself for little jobs by having a Masters Degree at least that is how it is in the U.S. So you will need to sit back and relax for a while and really figure out what you want to do and if you are willing to pursue Public Health which you have built an expertise in.
As I've mentioned, if you go into more college for Social Work or Behavioral Health, you'll have to start from scratch and it would be approximately 6 more years of college. The path you took for Public Health would not prepare you for a career in psychology. The psychology professions require Licensing (sometimes) and Certification and you'd have to obtain that in the state, province, country, etc. that you want to practice in.
So, all things considered, this is a choice you are going to have to make after giving it some time and becoming well informed about the careers you think you want. I would say it would be a good idea to return to your last university and talk this out in detail with an academic advisor.
This may or may not be of help but I sure do wish you all the best as you move forward !
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Millicent
You're welcome, Millicent !
Michelle M.
********************TO EVERYONE : Please disregard this advice because when I answered it, the student indicated that the student lived in Portsmouth in the island of Dominica. Now I see that the student changed her location to Roseau, Minnesota. Although my advice was in consideration for the first location the student indicated, some of this advice can stand as true but it won't make sense my mentioning of her or his location. I still advise that a Masters in Public Health does not prepare one or transfer to a Masters for a psychology career and would have to be done from the beginning. *************************
Michelle M.
Claire (Wright) Chan
2
Answers
Updated
Claire’s Answer
hi Millicent - congratulations on the degrees you've obtained! I would recommend that, rather than pursuing additional degrees right now, you obtain a few years of direct work experience. There is so much you can do with your current masters, and the work experience you gain will help you narrow down future potential interests that could inform further degrees in the future
Grace Huckabay
Consultant for State, Local, and Higher Education projects
24
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Grace’s Answer
Hi Millicent you've received some great answers here, but just wanted to add on - you might want to consider a certification in business or take a few classes for a business/finance overview. This has really helped me out in transitioning between careers! A lot of the knowledge is transferrable so it makes for great talking point in interviews. It could also be useful if you ever wanted to start your own practice someday :) Good luck I hope this helps!
Thank you, Grace for the advice.
Millicent