Jeff Sierra, MSW'17. Courtesy photo.
𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪: Clinical
𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: Mental Health
𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲: Assistant Director of Student Life, Dean of Students Office, Harvard Law School
As a new member of Boston College School of Social Work's Alumni Board, Jeff Sierra brings a fresh perspective to current students looking to make the most of an MSW degree.
While he is a licensed clinical social worker, he does not practice in a clinical capacity. Instead, he's carved out a lengthy career in higher education, and currently serves as the assistant director of student life at Harvard Law School.
"I've had several years of post-grad experience working in higher education, and while I maintain my LCSW license, I don't practice in a clinical capacity. Despite this, I still use my social work skills," says Sierra, MSW'17, who studied in the Mental Health field of practice at BCSSW. "My involvement on the board offers a valuable perspective for students and alumni who wish to obtain an MSW and all the skills that come with it, but do not want to practice in a 'traditional' social work environment."
When students find a professional match, he advises them to negotiate their salaries with confidence, saying that they have a "wealth of experience that can be leveraged to try to negotiate for higher pay or different benefits at work."
𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪?
Professor Matz-Costa. Her approach to teaching the statistics and research methods course made me feel completely at ease. I remember being very nervous about this course, but she made the content very accessible and was also available to support me with any questions I may have had about what we were learning.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗦𝗪 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿?
Do not be afraid to negotiate your salary - you have a wealth of experience that can be leveraged to try to negotiate for higher pay or different benefits at work. Please utilize your career services office to learn more about salary negotiation and different techniques to accomplish this.
𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:
I served on Michelle Wu's young adult council, SPARK, from 2024-2025. This experience allowed me to learn more about civic involvement in Boston and how the different departments work together to achieve the mayor's goals.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱?
I've had several years of post-grad experience working in higher education, and while I maintain my LCSW license, I don't practice in a clinical capacity. Despite this, I still use my social work skills. My involvement on the board offers a valuable perspective for students and alumni who wish to obtain an MSW and all the skills that come with it, but do not want to practice in a 'traditional' social work environment.