Social and community service managers oversee programs and staff that help people in need. You'll coordinate services, manage budgets, and lead teams. It requires a bachelor's degree and considerable preparation, but offers meaningful work in a growing field.
Pathly builds you a free, personalized roadmap and helps your counselor champion you along the way.
You manage social service programs and the teams that run them. Your days involve communicating with supervisors and staff, organizing and planning work, and handling administrative tasks. You stay current with policies and best practices, use computers to track program data, and get information from many sources to make decisions. You might oversee a shelter, job training program, youth center, or community health initiative. The work blends leadership, customer service knowledge, and human resources management.
Core work activities
Career video courtesy of CareerOneStop.
Social and Community Service Managers earn a median of $80,390 a year, based on 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and location.
The outlook is strong. Employment is projected to grow 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than average for all occupations, with about 18,600 openings a year.
Top skills
Knowledge areas
You'll need a bachelor's degree, typically in social work, public administration, psychology, or a related field. During your studies, you'll build skills in critical thinking, active listening, and writing. Many programs include internships or field placements in community organizations. After graduation, you'll often start as a program coordinator or assistant manager, then move into a management role. Your education and early experience together prepare you for the considerable responsibility the job requires.
Most people enter this career through a bachelor's degree program, so timing and school choice matter. Use Pathly can map the social and community service manager path that fits you to map out your education path and next steps, and keep your school counselor or academic advisor involved as you plan.
You do not need a license to work as a social and community service manager, but professional certifications can strengthen your resume.
Common certifications
You're drawn to leadership and making an impact. You enjoy organizing people and resources, solving problems, and working toward goals that benefit others.
Reading about a career is the easy part. Turning it into a plan is where most students get stuck. Pathly takes you from curious to a clear next step, and gives your counselor the insight to champion you along the way.
Start with a quick quiz and assessments that surface your personality, your EQ, and what really motivates you, so your next steps are built around who you actually are.
Your free AI guide weighs this career against your strengths and goals, and surfaces the colleges, trades, and scholarships that match, so you know if it truly fits before you commit.
Get a personalized, step-by-step plan to reach this career, with the training, coursework, and credentials tracked in one place. Link your school or IEC and your counselor in the loop.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
Data sources. Career details from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Salary and outlook figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 wages; 2024–2034 projections), delivered via the CareerOneStop API. Certification, licensing, wage, and outlook data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).