Social Workers, Teachers, and Counselors: The Careers America Needs But Won't Finance

There's a cruel irony at the center of the new STATS rule: the majors most likely to lose federal loan access are the ones producing workers America desperately needs.

Social workers. Teachers. Counselors. Mental health professionals. These aren't niche careers. They're the backbone of functioning communities. And the government just made it harder to become one.

The Worker Shortage Is Already a Crisis

The numbers tell a story the STATS rule seems to ignore:

• Teaching: The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a need for over 100,000 new teachers annually through 2032. Meanwhile, education program enrollment has dropped 35% in the last decade.
• Social Work: The BLS projects 64,000 new social work positions by 2032 — a 7% growth rate. The field is already understaffed, with some states reporting vacancy rates above 30%.
• Mental Health Counseling: Over 160 million Americans live in mental health professional shortage areas. Demand for substance abuse and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% by 2032 — nearly four times the average for all occupations.

These aren't declining fields. They're exploding fields with chronic staffing shortages. And the federal government's response is to make it harder for students to finance the education these jobs require.

Why These Salaries Are Low (And Why That's Not the Graduates' Fault)

Social workers don't earn $38,000 because their education was deficient. They earn $38,000 because:

• They work in publicly funded systems. Social services, public schools, and community mental health centers are funded by state and local budgets, not by market forces.
• The clients they serve can't pay market rates. A therapist treating low-income patients through Medicaid earns less than one treating affluent private-pay clients — but the need is greater.
• These professions have been historically underpaid. Teaching, social work, and counseling are female-dominated fields that have been systematically undervalued. The earnings test codifies that undervaluation into policy.

The STATS rule measures market compensation as if it reflects educational quality. It doesn't. It reflects how our economy values care work. And right now, the economy gets that wrong.

The Unintended Consequences

If programs in these fields lose loan access, here's what happens:

1. Enrollment drops further. Students who can't access federal loans will choose different careers, worsening existing shortages.
2. Programs close. Without enough students to sustain them, universities will shut down education, social work, and counseling programs — especially at smaller institutions.
3. The workforce gap widens. Fewer graduates means longer wait times for mental health care, larger classroom sizes, and more overwhelmed child welfare systems.
4. Inequality deepens. Wealthy students can still pursue these fields without federal loans. Low-income students — often the most motivated to serve their communities — cannot.

What Students in These Fields Should Do

If you're passionate about teaching, social work, or counseling, don't give up. But be strategic:

1. Choose an affordable program. Minimize debt by attending in-state public universities or schools with strong scholarship programs for these fields. Compare program costs and outcomes here.
2. Pursue loan forgiveness paths. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is still available for graduates working in qualifying public service roles. After 120 qualifying payments (10 years), remaining federal loan balances are forgiven.
3. Look for funded programs. Some states offer tuition assistance, scholarships, or loan repayment programs specifically for teachers, social workers, and mental health professionals in underserved areas.
4. Consider adjacent higher-earning paths. Healthcare administration, school psychology (doctorate level), and public health combine a service mission with stronger earning potential.
5. Advocate for change. The STATS rule's earnings thresholds and the narrow definition of "professional degree" are policy choices that can be changed. Contact your representatives.

Our Take

We're a data platform. We believe in giving families the numbers and letting them decide. But we also believe in calling out when the numbers tell an incomplete story.

The STATS rule looks at what the market pays social workers and concludes the degree isn't valuable enough. We look at the same data and conclude that the market is underpricing essential work. The answer to that isn't to cut off the pipeline of people willing to do it.

Show families the data. Tell them a social work degree leads to $38,000 starting salary. Tell them the debt load and the repayment timeline. And then let them make an informed choice. Some will choose a different path. Others will choose to serve anyway, knowing the trade-offs. Both decisions deserve respect.