Social Workers please come in

Can you please tell me if this a career worth getting into. A good degree to have or a waste of time?

Re: Social Workers please come in

Depends on what you do with it.
You have to get a good stable SW job.
many people end up in roundabout SW positions that pay crap. I work in a school for handicapped M-F 8-4...love the hrs.

Re: Social Workers please come in

I agree. I also have to say that personality, experience and who you know is the key to finding a good job.

Be prepared to find a very flooded field making a very modest salary as well. Things are much different now than when I first started out back in the late 90's before I even got my Master's.

My biggest regret as well is going to a private school and not waiting to go to a public school where I could've probably gotten school paid for by the agency I ended up working for as well.

I have a lot of student loan to pay back now.

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It is hard to get into a school thought right? Usually there is only one social worker per school or am I mistaken?

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It depends on what you want to do. I wanted to work in a school until I interned there. I found it to be much too political and, in all honesty, many schools don't follow the laws with regard to reporting child abuse/neglect. Despite these experiences, I interviewed for schools when I was looking. It is VERY hard to get into a school district. There are a ton of people to go up against, and not many positions.

I now with in an agency and I do addictions counseling. I worked as a therapist in residential care for 6 years and loved it (and got paid pretty well too). I am actually in the process of starting my own private practice. In private practice, you can get paid very well and create your own schedule. Plus, if you love to do clinical work, it's awesome.

Again, it really depends on what you want to do with that degree. I think it's great b/c you can work with any population in really any setting. Schools, universities, agencies, hospitals, state facilities, private work, etc. While I am no millionaire, I don't regret becoming a social worker for a minute. I love my job and the people I work with (both colleagues and clients).

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I absolutely don"t have all my eggs in one basket that is why I started this post because I am unsure of my options.

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I interned in a school setting and didnt get a school position.
I will tell you this, people think school SW is easy bc you work with the kids...its actually not. its 10xs harder then working with adults. Reason being is that children CAN NOT consent to anything so you are always dealing with the parent and their issues. Children cant just come to you to talk. They need parental permission AND the parents can request copyies of what was discussed. When you deal with kids you are dealing with a WHOLE family. When you are dealing with an adult, you are dealing with the adult. Ive been on both sides of the fence. its just that much easier with adults.
My preference was hospital Social work.

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Also, aside from just SWers alot of SW positions let in other majors which is completely unfair. Ive seen service coordinators with bus. degrees. I think the SW salary would go up if the profession wasnt so overloaded.

Re: Social Workers please come in

PrincessP makes some excellent points.

Also a big reason I have never wanted to work with kids.

I also posted some vents about my current position in the "wrong career" thread the other day.

To summerize, I am not supervised by other social workers which makes my job very difficult to put it mildly.

I also run across a ton of "professionals" daily who are not "social workers", yet, use the title and basically do more harm than good with clients because of their lack of education/experience.

There are also many, many people who go into our field who have yet to resolve their own issues who can make my job very, very hard as well.

Lastly, I have found, that at the last several jobs I have worked out (including current!) there is a strong lack of supervision due to lack of money and just time. Client problems can be extremely complex. I have had to develop an informal peer network with other colleagues for support to come up with ideas to help some of my clients at times, and overall, to just VENT which is what we do need sometimes to handle what we do.

Lack of supervision, especially for a NEW social worker could make or break a job IMO.

Re: Social Workers please come in

So true about working with people above you NOT being SWers. My direct line of supervision is a SWer, However, the 2 people above us that finalize the decisions 1 has a rec therapy degree the other has a business degree.
The real severe cases, ones that need to be reported to APS/CPS are directly pushed to them and we dont see them again. For me, it feels like unfinished work...KWIM...

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I'm a social worker - in the field for 6 years. I've been pretty lucky with the jobs I've had - but it is definitely who you know.

I now work at NSLIJ in the child and adolescent outpatient department doing therapy - it's a union job with what I think is good pay. I do want to start a private practice and I need to really get on finishing the application to sit for the LCSW since I have my supervision hours.

My intern told me that you can no longer bill ins comps with a LCSW, just a LCSW-R. Anyone know more about that?

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I have been a social worker since I graduated school in 2008, and I'm in my 3rd job now. My first one was not clinical at all (which is what I really wanted), the second one was working for an agency that placed me in a school (something I thought I'd like, but ended up not being what I wanted), and now I work for a not-for-profit agency doing counseling for families, adolescents, and adults and, although it's been less than a month, I love it.
It goes without say that the money in social work will never be great (unless you become director or some high position), but the lives you are able to change/help/make a difference with are worth millions. Social workers have to be in it because they want to help people - not because they want to be rich.
There are so many different fields and opportunities out there, and sometimes it takes a while to find your niche. I definitely do not regret becoming a social worker, but I do regret the amount of money I paid for my education (I wish every day that I went to a public school instead of private).

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It is best for me to go for my Masters correct?

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Re: Social Workers please come in

Message edited 11/24/2010 7:53:16 PM.

Re: Social Workers please come in

I was a social worker and I loved it, however, it was VERY difficult to find a job where you make any more than $30000 per year+ no raises, no bonus, etc. Some people luck out and find a job in a school or a hospital, but again, those jobs are far and few between. When I went into the field, people told me this and I didn't want to believe them so I got a bachelors and Masters in Social work. Now, after going back for a second masters, I am a teacher.

I guess if you are not in need of money, go into the field. If you have to work to pay your bills.... go into something else.

Re: Social Workers please come in

Good points!

If you live on LI especially you definitely will need 2 incomes to survive, even if you make over 40 or 50K a year IMO. Many social work jobs don't provide family medical benefits either---at least none that I have worked for (hospitals and schools may be different), or inquired about.

Right now I pay $357.00 per WEEK pre-tax for my family health insurance. I make in the 50's per year, however, I really have no idea how someone making any less than that really could afford healthcare otherwise.

It really is a struggle for DH and I, especially because he is self-employed and does not often bring in a paycheck.

As cost of health insurance rises though, many social work agencies cannot afford it. Pretty sad, especially because I WORK in health care.

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No, not a month.......I said a WEEK!

Re: Social Workers please come in

Message edited 11/27/2010 12:52:53 PM.

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I seriously wish I was kidding.

For the most part, I am working for our health insurance.

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I got into social work by accident. :long story:

My undergrad was not in social work. It was a hard masters program for me, my first year my internship was placed in a psychiatric hospital (with no experience, and no clue) My second year my internship was sooo easy, in an elementary school with kids that had 'small', 'regular' problems (death of grandparent and divorce) I used games and play therapy to help them talk about their feelings.

I graduated, and found a position at a non-profit agency that supports individuals with developmental disabilities. It was by accident too :long story: I LOVE IT and I LOVE this population.

I make ALMOST 40,000 almost 4 years later. I have my LMSW (got it within 6 months of graduating-my pay did increase at that time when I got the L) I left school with a huge loan. My husband has not had steady work in 4 years. If it was not for family we really would be struggling. My benefits are AWESOME. Health is basically free (we pay all year and put in for it under some special flex benefit and get the money back) Its good health benefits too-covers a lot, low co-pays. I have AMAZING vacation and personal days. Weeks and Weeks and weeks!!

The best part of my job is the "clients" -they make a bad day good in 1 second, and the most frustrating part is how slow CHANGE is for them- So much needs to be done to improve their lives and there are so many barriers!

The most money is if you get a LCSW, in a hospital, a public LI School, or supervisory role. Non-profit seems to have the best benefits.

In social work, you can work with any population in so many settings. You can also do things like academic advisor in a college or human resources or adjunct teaching. So its easy to find something you love since there is so many options.

GOOD LUCK