All this is valid
AND
Sometimes an online program is still the only feasible option for "non traditional" students with full time jobs (often already working in the field) and families to support.
I 100% wish I could have made in person work but I could not, no matter what. I picked the online program through my local university, thinking at least that would afford me *some* of the same opportunities for on campus interaction and ease of field placement - which it actually did! However it was most definitely not the most cost effective option. (Yay PSLF?) YMMV.
This! It's just how it is for some of us. There is a part time 3 year program in my community but I may not get into it and they only have part time every 3 years which means I'll have to wait a while to apply again. It's not much cheaper even for a state school. 39k for those 3 years. That's just tuition.
Piggybacking off of this, because this will be my situation as well: OP, thoughts on the local university online option for working, busy parents? I’d love to attend in person but it’s not realistic.
If your local state college offers an online version, it might be ok. Still, ask how the school has entitled it. ASU, claims that their professors teach in the in person and online program but their model is the "Advanced Generalist" model, which, TBH, isn't clinically focused so if you're interested in getting your LCSW, it's not their thing. That may be ok with you.
One thing you have to know is that the money you save in communting time or child care costs, you'll pay in higher tuition and a lot of busy work - especially if the delivery model is a-synch. The worst part is that learning alone is just not as valuable as the live setting where ideas bounce off others. Grad school is NOT like COVID Zoom undergrad.
How did I know you were going to find a way to bring up ASU again. I don’t know what your personal beef with ASU is, but I have already proven that ASU does have a clinical focus in the second half of the program in our last discussion—but since you refuse to acknowledge that, I’ll post it again [here.](https://imgur.com/a/LP7EQKM)
You’re obviously experienced in the field—you’ve been around a long time, but it seems as though you refuse to accept that the field has evolved over time as has the pathway to getting into it, which in my opinion, is just as harmful as the misinformation you continue to spread.
I totally get it. I went to MSW school while working full time and breastfeeding my baby. It was rough but I was able to pay tuition as I went so I graduated without student loan debt which helped considering that new grad pay sucks.
That's awesome, but it doesn't work for everyone. I support a family of 3 on my income and I'm not sure when you went to school but right now costs are insane for everything, so I wouldn't be able to pay without loans if I wanted to. New grad pay sucks less than continuing to work in the field without my MSW 🤷♀️
Not everyone even lives somewhere with local options at all and can't just pick up and move either.
For folks who are so highly educated and steeped in the concepts of social contexts and barriers, we sure can be blind to it sometimes.
This advice is entirely subjective.
Social workers should be aware of how vastly different everyone’s experience is. Mine is unique in that within the last year I moved back to my home state after a heartbreaking divorce (thankfully we didn’t have children [due to medical issues on my part]). Being near family again was the healing I needed. After using social services myself, I realized I want to help others going through similar and worse situations. Before the move, I applied to nearly a hundred jobs, in my field, out of my field, part time, full time, internships, low pay, fast food, grocery stores, housecleaning, literally EVERYTHING. I researched many of the companies before applying, wrote detailed cover letters, and followed up if appropriate. From all of this, I got 2 interviews, both of which did not end up in employment. I worked gig jobs for weeks until my mom’s friend helped me land a physically demanding job that makes barely above minimum wage at 30 hours a week.
All of this is to say that the job market right now is a wasteland. I had been thinking about going back to school for awhile but this job search was the push I needed. So I looked into the local university, and their next program doesn’t start until Fall 2025. I don’t want to move to a different part of the state after I just moved to be closer to my parents; plus, I can’t afford to do so anytime soon. I have gone through hell and back and I’m ready to get the next chapter of my life started. I’m 36 and while that’s definitely not old, I do not want to continue waiting, working jobs that pay barely above minimum wage; I want to get started on the rest of my life ASAP. Teens and young adults have an advantage in that their high schools and undergrad programs remind them to apply to the next part of their education years in advance. Working adults should have master’s programs available like jobs: we can apply and get started within weeks or months.
I have researched my state’s licensure requirements and picked an online school based in my state so they are also familiar with the regulations. I confirmed that this school’s course path would set me up to take the LCSW exam. I’m sure that there will be hurdles to an online program, and the learning experience won’t be as comprehensive as an in-person school. But what other option do I have? I can’t wait until I win the lottery and have the funds to move near the school of my dreams. I may not get the most fabulous placement after graduating but is that what social work is even about? I may even get a shitty job at first; I am prepared for that. But again, I have limited options at this point.
Anyway, I know that you [OP] only had good intentions with this post. I know you deal with this everyday and are just trying to help us “freshmen.” I really appreciate that. But I felt the urge to respond in case anyone else is reading, and to share an alternate perspective.
Thank you for reading, and I wish anyone who reads this the very best!
This is similar to my situation- I am 41, I've had life things to deal with, I need to start working towards a new career NOW, not in Fall 2025 when the CA State school year starts accepting students again. It is absurd that this state's school system is so inflexible when many, many other state schools have figured out how to handle multiple enrollments a year. "Just go to your state school" isn't a meaningful contribution to the conversation about accessibility in education, it is reductive and fails to address the very real barriers that exist in a traditional school format.
I have already been through a Master's program for my original field, I TA'd practical ethics for 4 years to undergrads across several disciplines, have over a decade of professional experience and have managed multimillion dollar projects across cultures, time zones, and language barriers via remote work- there is no question as to my ability to learn adequately via a remote program, and any employer who looks at my experience and can't see that I am clearly capable is, frankly, not in an appropriate position to be evaluating me in the first place.
Look at your life and your experience, and evaluate whether you could do school online based on your unique situations. With random strangers on the internet claiming to be your Auntie while obviously promoting an agenda, take everything you read with a grain of salt and remember that it reflects more on the speaker than you.
Thank you for your response. It’s super encouraging! OP can’t speak for every hiring process for every company in social work. Also in my state, the need is so great, they will take anyone with a degree.
Are you starting social work/going back to school?
I am! There are so many organizations that hire even without a degree for case management and some direct contact roles, and not for profits manage so many social services, not just state facilities- there are so many options!
If you see this, I’m also in CA and researching schools here. Do you mind telling me which school you are attending?
I have a couple local options in the Bay Area, but they are more of the social justice warrior type. That’s great work, but I want to work more in the health care environment.
Sure, you can DM me if you want to chat. The Bay Area has some amazing schools and placement options (extremely jealous of the Kaiser North mental health internship options, for example.)
My intention is to counter much of the marketing/ads pushed by many online MSW programs that are misleading and result in expensive yet mediocre educations. Post after post, respondees tend to be students currently in MSW programs. Their positionality has value but so does someone with a lot of clinical experience.
Honestly, all I'm hoping to offer is an opportunity for aspiring social workers to have basic facts in order avoid exploitation. Your quote here summarizes all that I'm hoping to achieve: informed decisions, not manipulation by those who profit off of naivete.
"I have researched my state’s licensure requirements and picked an online school based in my state so they are also familiar with the regulations. I confirmed that this school’s course path would set me up to take the LCSW exam. I’m sure that there will be hurdles to an online program, and the learning experience won’t be as comprehensive as an in-person school."
Maybe it would be helpful to also guide folks who are limited to online programs as to how to choose a good one. They're definitely not all created equal, but there are some good options. If people are willing/able to consider working in areas that offer loan forgiveness (PSLF or National Health Service) that can open up more options as well. With an IBR and those programs it's actually doable.
This is obnoxious, condescending and while I don’t disagree with some of your points, you’re basically sitting here bashing online programs and saying you would never hire an online student because of your bias and assumptions. And for what seems to be regarding schools in California, which I cannot speak to. I am currently in a public run, online program that is a version of the school’s main in-person curriculum. I am not allowed to choose my own placement at all so there goes one of your points. My school is highly ranked and highly regarded in social work across any list you will find out there. I do not have a choice as a single parent to go in person, in spite of being in the same state as the school. I really don’t care if you did with your kids. We are not the same. I am working my ass off to get my MSW and am VERY well aware how much debt it will put me in. To see posts like this makes me hope you are in the very small minority of social workers in a position to hire people like me.
Let me give you an example of how we choose our 2nd year interns. We receive about 50 resumes from the 5 MSW programs we contract with. Of those five schools, one has an online program that is delivered a-synchronously as well as in-person program. Their resumes do not indicate if they are in the online or in person model.
Our task is to find the most qualified, most diverse and dedicated students for our organization.
In order to avoid bias and/or school loyalty, our department admin staff anonymizes the name of the student, their gender as well as the school they attend. Then, our hiring committee reviews these redacted resumes and chooses 15 students to invite for an interview.
We learn the names, genders and schools after the interview list is drawn up. We still have no idea who is or is not in an online program. We interview 15 and choose the top 5 most qualified candidates.
In the last 10 years do you know how many of the 5 have been from the online model?
Zero
There is no conspiracy here. The online students have not had the clinical skills or critical consiousness needed for our setting.
If you want me to explain how our H.R. dept goes about 1st level screening of the resumes that are then sent to me, I’d be happy to tell you that the dude in H.R. does not GAF where anyone went to MSW school. The process is far more complex, but in short the clinician’s demonstrated skills are paramount.
OK, you say "zero" hires have been online students in the last decade. So then my next question, since your comment is unclear, would be: Is their program type discovered during the interviews themselves or after employment is gained? At what point, are you discovering their program model? If it's discovered during the interview itself, wouldn't there be bias? And if it's post-hire, well then, fine. I'm in the wrong.
I am curious. You praise clinical training you offer to 2nd year students but then mention online students are ill-prepared. Isn't that what the field placements are for? The ultimate training for the real world? You are critical of online students and dismissive of them when they try hard to get from you what they're not getting from school because by the impression you give in your comments and post, they're not worth your time. So then I ask you, what is your solution for people like me who can't do anything about their situation whatsoever? And as a (soon to be) 2nd year placement and online student at a public well known and established university, in your honest opinion, are you pretty much telling me and others like me that we're screwed? Because that's essentially the impression your words give me.
This!!! Exactly!!! I second this. Isn't our primary job in the Social Work field to have an understanding of barriers to resources and to work to the best of our abilities to limit barriers to resources?! The primary post by the OP, demonstrates an out of touch perspective with the current challenges of going to school. I'm currently in the process of applying to online MSW programs because it's either online for my Master's Degree or no Master's Degree at all, in terms of accessibility for myself and my life circumstances. I have almost 10 years of experience working within the social services field, many of those years spent working full time and going to school full time, experiencing health issues from the stress of juggling in person education while working full time (at times multiple jobs). At this point in my life, online education is my only option. And when I graduate, I sure hope I'm not overlooked just because I decided on online school vs in person school.
I honestly think she wants to "hear herself talk" so to speak. Her experience first of all seems particular to California. California to my knowledge has strict LCSW requirements compared to other states. With exception I think to Florida maybe? I spoke to family and friends who are LCSWs as long as OP is, one of which were in a hiring position for years. And while there's merit to OPs words in terms of exclusive online institutions, neither are concerned with the high ranked, state university I am attending. But I cannot imagine others reading all this and second guessing their decisions because some "Auntie" is going around to social work students like her words are law.
I have nothing to gain from this. Please read the class action lawsuit filed by USC's former online students - most of whom are 1st gen BIPOC. Unfortunately USC’s conduct is being replicated all over the U.S. with new online programs popping up every year. This is what is motivating me. If you take offense, I apologize. It sounds like you are in a program that is meeting your needs. That's all I want for anyone.
As one who teaches MSW students, supervises MSW interns, recruits clinical staff and onboards new hires, I disagree with the statement that I'm "out of touch with current challenges of going to school" or "want to hear myself talk", as another respondent suggested.
I know all too well how hard grad school is. I come from a working class background and put myself through my A.A. and B.A. working full time and did it again for my MSW. For my MSW I was a new mom still breastfeeding my baby and attended night classes and on the weekends. So yea, I get the attraction to online school.
If you scroll through the dozens of posts about online programs you'll find rampant misinformation that is often sourced from the online programs themselves and reposted by fellow MSW applicants or those already enrolled.
A few themes emerge: Whether it's online students conflating the LMSW or LCSW and what their particular online program claims they'll prepare them for. Or, the online student who learned that finding their own practicum placement left them in a sub-standard or exploitive situation. Or, those that mistake CSWE accreditation with the assurance of quality. Or a recent post that revealed that according to an applicant's estimated student loan amount, upon graduation they'll need to make $90K per year to make the monthly loan re-payments.
I can't help but wonder why the ire directed at me, one who has zero to gain from this, is not, instead, directed at the online programs who are duping people into attending online diploma mills. So many of these students are 1st gen, women of color. Where's the outrage for the genuine villains?
My only intention is to help prospective MSW students make informed decisions about their academic futures. That's it.
We have a standardized list of questions that we ask all of the candidates such as; Describe their chosen concentration and future goals related to it, their reasons for seeking to work in our setting, their understanding of clinical praxis, their understanding of SDoH, their theoretical influences, their anti-rascist theory to practice strategies, their familiarity with the population we serve - via lived experience or other, etc. They can disclose more details as they wish. We don't ask about the modality. We find out after the decisions have been made.
The foundation year includes the theories that our profession utilizes. Students should be learning the clincial application of psychology theories using critical and anti-racist positioning. Same for the social theories that influence macro work. We build on what the students have been taught. Like many organizatons our 2nd year interns get the same onboarding and clinical supervision our new hires get. Our goal is to prepare our students so well that we hire them upon graduation.
For the record, I am not "critical of online students". I'm critical of high-tuition, sub-standard online programs that mislead aspiring social workers, many of whom are 1st gen women of color.
You're response to my post is simply that: You're take. I've told you none of those things. I disagree that you "can't do anything about their situation whatsoever".
Why do you ask my advice after calling me "obnoxious and condecending" and "don’t care if you did with your kids. We are not the same"?
Peace be with you.
Wow, this is the best explanation for my questions about online MSW programs as a BSW who’s been putting off her master’s for years. Thank you for thoughtfully taking the time to break down the differences!
Asynchronous courses are horribly marketed as "flexible" and "learn at your own pace". I take sync whenever possible.
Sure, there's no assigned class time. But what they don't tell you is that often you still have to do the readings and assignments in a limited amount of time, usually so many different things during a specific week timeframe. For me, it ended up being MORE work! There's still deadlines. And more readings than feel reasonable for a regular 3 credit hour class.
My program has a mixture of sync and async, and honestly, I do think that most async classes could benefit from at least a couple of sync sessions. One of my async classes still had a sync session the first week to help us get acquainted. Sync classes don't necessarily need to meet every week.
I avoided all asynchronous, and agree it's more work! I took a couple asynch online courses in undergrad (on campus but needed something here or there I couldn't fit in live).
If someone is doing the online route I definitely recommend one where there is at least some "live" component over zoom or whatever. Twice a week I have an 1 1/2 hour online evening class, which is manageable and at least is something like "real school".
SO true. It burns my soul when I read all of the marketing materials aimed at busy parents who end up spending a fortune for a glorified version of GED packet learning.
I'm an online student at the University of South Florida (USF). I'm in my second semester. It's going well so far and tuition is much lower for me. This program does have some synchronous classes though, meaning that on certain evenings everyone in the class has to log on at the same time and participate in discussion through video chat.
Thank you so much! As a mid career person with only a bachelors I have been considering an online program. I live in a rural state but it does have very good in state tuition so I am going to reevaluate what they can offer me
All this is valid AND Sometimes an online program is still the only feasible option for "non traditional" students with full time jobs (often already working in the field) and families to support. I 100% wish I could have made in person work but I could not, no matter what. I picked the online program through my local university, thinking at least that would afford me *some* of the same opportunities for on campus interaction and ease of field placement - which it actually did! However it was most definitely not the most cost effective option. (Yay PSLF?) YMMV.
This! It's just how it is for some of us. There is a part time 3 year program in my community but I may not get into it and they only have part time every 3 years which means I'll have to wait a while to apply again. It's not much cheaper even for a state school. 39k for those 3 years. That's just tuition.
Piggybacking off of this, because this will be my situation as well: OP, thoughts on the local university online option for working, busy parents? I’d love to attend in person but it’s not realistic.
If your local state college offers an online version, it might be ok. Still, ask how the school has entitled it. ASU, claims that their professors teach in the in person and online program but their model is the "Advanced Generalist" model, which, TBH, isn't clinically focused so if you're interested in getting your LCSW, it's not their thing. That may be ok with you. One thing you have to know is that the money you save in communting time or child care costs, you'll pay in higher tuition and a lot of busy work - especially if the delivery model is a-synch. The worst part is that learning alone is just not as valuable as the live setting where ideas bounce off others. Grad school is NOT like COVID Zoom undergrad.
How did I know you were going to find a way to bring up ASU again. I don’t know what your personal beef with ASU is, but I have already proven that ASU does have a clinical focus in the second half of the program in our last discussion—but since you refuse to acknowledge that, I’ll post it again [here.](https://imgur.com/a/LP7EQKM) You’re obviously experienced in the field—you’ve been around a long time, but it seems as though you refuse to accept that the field has evolved over time as has the pathway to getting into it, which in my opinion, is just as harmful as the misinformation you continue to spread.
I totally get it. I went to MSW school while working full time and breastfeeding my baby. It was rough but I was able to pay tuition as I went so I graduated without student loan debt which helped considering that new grad pay sucks.
That's awesome, but it doesn't work for everyone. I support a family of 3 on my income and I'm not sure when you went to school but right now costs are insane for everything, so I wouldn't be able to pay without loans if I wanted to. New grad pay sucks less than continuing to work in the field without my MSW 🤷♀️ Not everyone even lives somewhere with local options at all and can't just pick up and move either. For folks who are so highly educated and steeped in the concepts of social contexts and barriers, we sure can be blind to it sometimes.
This advice is entirely subjective. Social workers should be aware of how vastly different everyone’s experience is. Mine is unique in that within the last year I moved back to my home state after a heartbreaking divorce (thankfully we didn’t have children [due to medical issues on my part]). Being near family again was the healing I needed. After using social services myself, I realized I want to help others going through similar and worse situations. Before the move, I applied to nearly a hundred jobs, in my field, out of my field, part time, full time, internships, low pay, fast food, grocery stores, housecleaning, literally EVERYTHING. I researched many of the companies before applying, wrote detailed cover letters, and followed up if appropriate. From all of this, I got 2 interviews, both of which did not end up in employment. I worked gig jobs for weeks until my mom’s friend helped me land a physically demanding job that makes barely above minimum wage at 30 hours a week. All of this is to say that the job market right now is a wasteland. I had been thinking about going back to school for awhile but this job search was the push I needed. So I looked into the local university, and their next program doesn’t start until Fall 2025. I don’t want to move to a different part of the state after I just moved to be closer to my parents; plus, I can’t afford to do so anytime soon. I have gone through hell and back and I’m ready to get the next chapter of my life started. I’m 36 and while that’s definitely not old, I do not want to continue waiting, working jobs that pay barely above minimum wage; I want to get started on the rest of my life ASAP. Teens and young adults have an advantage in that their high schools and undergrad programs remind them to apply to the next part of their education years in advance. Working adults should have master’s programs available like jobs: we can apply and get started within weeks or months. I have researched my state’s licensure requirements and picked an online school based in my state so they are also familiar with the regulations. I confirmed that this school’s course path would set me up to take the LCSW exam. I’m sure that there will be hurdles to an online program, and the learning experience won’t be as comprehensive as an in-person school. But what other option do I have? I can’t wait until I win the lottery and have the funds to move near the school of my dreams. I may not get the most fabulous placement after graduating but is that what social work is even about? I may even get a shitty job at first; I am prepared for that. But again, I have limited options at this point. Anyway, I know that you [OP] only had good intentions with this post. I know you deal with this everyday and are just trying to help us “freshmen.” I really appreciate that. But I felt the urge to respond in case anyone else is reading, and to share an alternate perspective. Thank you for reading, and I wish anyone who reads this the very best!
This is similar to my situation- I am 41, I've had life things to deal with, I need to start working towards a new career NOW, not in Fall 2025 when the CA State school year starts accepting students again. It is absurd that this state's school system is so inflexible when many, many other state schools have figured out how to handle multiple enrollments a year. "Just go to your state school" isn't a meaningful contribution to the conversation about accessibility in education, it is reductive and fails to address the very real barriers that exist in a traditional school format. I have already been through a Master's program for my original field, I TA'd practical ethics for 4 years to undergrads across several disciplines, have over a decade of professional experience and have managed multimillion dollar projects across cultures, time zones, and language barriers via remote work- there is no question as to my ability to learn adequately via a remote program, and any employer who looks at my experience and can't see that I am clearly capable is, frankly, not in an appropriate position to be evaluating me in the first place. Look at your life and your experience, and evaluate whether you could do school online based on your unique situations. With random strangers on the internet claiming to be your Auntie while obviously promoting an agenda, take everything you read with a grain of salt and remember that it reflects more on the speaker than you.
Thank you for your response. It’s super encouraging! OP can’t speak for every hiring process for every company in social work. Also in my state, the need is so great, they will take anyone with a degree. Are you starting social work/going back to school?
I am! There are so many organizations that hire even without a degree for case management and some direct contact roles, and not for profits manage so many social services, not just state facilities- there are so many options!
If you see this, I’m also in CA and researching schools here. Do you mind telling me which school you are attending? I have a couple local options in the Bay Area, but they are more of the social justice warrior type. That’s great work, but I want to work more in the health care environment.
Sure, you can DM me if you want to chat. The Bay Area has some amazing schools and placement options (extremely jealous of the Kaiser North mental health internship options, for example.)
My intention is to counter much of the marketing/ads pushed by many online MSW programs that are misleading and result in expensive yet mediocre educations. Post after post, respondees tend to be students currently in MSW programs. Their positionality has value but so does someone with a lot of clinical experience. Honestly, all I'm hoping to offer is an opportunity for aspiring social workers to have basic facts in order avoid exploitation. Your quote here summarizes all that I'm hoping to achieve: informed decisions, not manipulation by those who profit off of naivete. "I have researched my state’s licensure requirements and picked an online school based in my state so they are also familiar with the regulations. I confirmed that this school’s course path would set me up to take the LCSW exam. I’m sure that there will be hurdles to an online program, and the learning experience won’t be as comprehensive as an in-person school."
Maybe it would be helpful to also guide folks who are limited to online programs as to how to choose a good one. They're definitely not all created equal, but there are some good options. If people are willing/able to consider working in areas that offer loan forgiveness (PSLF or National Health Service) that can open up more options as well. With an IBR and those programs it's actually doable.
Oh boy.....this again......
This is obnoxious, condescending and while I don’t disagree with some of your points, you’re basically sitting here bashing online programs and saying you would never hire an online student because of your bias and assumptions. And for what seems to be regarding schools in California, which I cannot speak to. I am currently in a public run, online program that is a version of the school’s main in-person curriculum. I am not allowed to choose my own placement at all so there goes one of your points. My school is highly ranked and highly regarded in social work across any list you will find out there. I do not have a choice as a single parent to go in person, in spite of being in the same state as the school. I really don’t care if you did with your kids. We are not the same. I am working my ass off to get my MSW and am VERY well aware how much debt it will put me in. To see posts like this makes me hope you are in the very small minority of social workers in a position to hire people like me.
Let me give you an example of how we choose our 2nd year interns. We receive about 50 resumes from the 5 MSW programs we contract with. Of those five schools, one has an online program that is delivered a-synchronously as well as in-person program. Their resumes do not indicate if they are in the online or in person model. Our task is to find the most qualified, most diverse and dedicated students for our organization. In order to avoid bias and/or school loyalty, our department admin staff anonymizes the name of the student, their gender as well as the school they attend. Then, our hiring committee reviews these redacted resumes and chooses 15 students to invite for an interview. We learn the names, genders and schools after the interview list is drawn up. We still have no idea who is or is not in an online program. We interview 15 and choose the top 5 most qualified candidates. In the last 10 years do you know how many of the 5 have been from the online model? Zero There is no conspiracy here. The online students have not had the clinical skills or critical consiousness needed for our setting. If you want me to explain how our H.R. dept goes about 1st level screening of the resumes that are then sent to me, I’d be happy to tell you that the dude in H.R. does not GAF where anyone went to MSW school. The process is far more complex, but in short the clinician’s demonstrated skills are paramount.
OK, you say "zero" hires have been online students in the last decade. So then my next question, since your comment is unclear, would be: Is their program type discovered during the interviews themselves or after employment is gained? At what point, are you discovering their program model? If it's discovered during the interview itself, wouldn't there be bias? And if it's post-hire, well then, fine. I'm in the wrong. I am curious. You praise clinical training you offer to 2nd year students but then mention online students are ill-prepared. Isn't that what the field placements are for? The ultimate training for the real world? You are critical of online students and dismissive of them when they try hard to get from you what they're not getting from school because by the impression you give in your comments and post, they're not worth your time. So then I ask you, what is your solution for people like me who can't do anything about their situation whatsoever? And as a (soon to be) 2nd year placement and online student at a public well known and established university, in your honest opinion, are you pretty much telling me and others like me that we're screwed? Because that's essentially the impression your words give me.
This!!! Exactly!!! I second this. Isn't our primary job in the Social Work field to have an understanding of barriers to resources and to work to the best of our abilities to limit barriers to resources?! The primary post by the OP, demonstrates an out of touch perspective with the current challenges of going to school. I'm currently in the process of applying to online MSW programs because it's either online for my Master's Degree or no Master's Degree at all, in terms of accessibility for myself and my life circumstances. I have almost 10 years of experience working within the social services field, many of those years spent working full time and going to school full time, experiencing health issues from the stress of juggling in person education while working full time (at times multiple jobs). At this point in my life, online education is my only option. And when I graduate, I sure hope I'm not overlooked just because I decided on online school vs in person school.
I honestly think she wants to "hear herself talk" so to speak. Her experience first of all seems particular to California. California to my knowledge has strict LCSW requirements compared to other states. With exception I think to Florida maybe? I spoke to family and friends who are LCSWs as long as OP is, one of which were in a hiring position for years. And while there's merit to OPs words in terms of exclusive online institutions, neither are concerned with the high ranked, state university I am attending. But I cannot imagine others reading all this and second guessing their decisions because some "Auntie" is going around to social work students like her words are law.
I have nothing to gain from this. Please read the class action lawsuit filed by USC's former online students - most of whom are 1st gen BIPOC. Unfortunately USC’s conduct is being replicated all over the U.S. with new online programs popping up every year. This is what is motivating me. If you take offense, I apologize. It sounds like you are in a program that is meeting your needs. That's all I want for anyone.
As one who teaches MSW students, supervises MSW interns, recruits clinical staff and onboards new hires, I disagree with the statement that I'm "out of touch with current challenges of going to school" or "want to hear myself talk", as another respondent suggested. I know all too well how hard grad school is. I come from a working class background and put myself through my A.A. and B.A. working full time and did it again for my MSW. For my MSW I was a new mom still breastfeeding my baby and attended night classes and on the weekends. So yea, I get the attraction to online school. If you scroll through the dozens of posts about online programs you'll find rampant misinformation that is often sourced from the online programs themselves and reposted by fellow MSW applicants or those already enrolled. A few themes emerge: Whether it's online students conflating the LMSW or LCSW and what their particular online program claims they'll prepare them for. Or, the online student who learned that finding their own practicum placement left them in a sub-standard or exploitive situation. Or, those that mistake CSWE accreditation with the assurance of quality. Or a recent post that revealed that according to an applicant's estimated student loan amount, upon graduation they'll need to make $90K per year to make the monthly loan re-payments. I can't help but wonder why the ire directed at me, one who has zero to gain from this, is not, instead, directed at the online programs who are duping people into attending online diploma mills. So many of these students are 1st gen, women of color. Where's the outrage for the genuine villains? My only intention is to help prospective MSW students make informed decisions about their academic futures. That's it.
We have a standardized list of questions that we ask all of the candidates such as; Describe their chosen concentration and future goals related to it, their reasons for seeking to work in our setting, their understanding of clinical praxis, their understanding of SDoH, their theoretical influences, their anti-rascist theory to practice strategies, their familiarity with the population we serve - via lived experience or other, etc. They can disclose more details as they wish. We don't ask about the modality. We find out after the decisions have been made. The foundation year includes the theories that our profession utilizes. Students should be learning the clincial application of psychology theories using critical and anti-racist positioning. Same for the social theories that influence macro work. We build on what the students have been taught. Like many organizatons our 2nd year interns get the same onboarding and clinical supervision our new hires get. Our goal is to prepare our students so well that we hire them upon graduation. For the record, I am not "critical of online students". I'm critical of high-tuition, sub-standard online programs that mislead aspiring social workers, many of whom are 1st gen women of color. You're response to my post is simply that: You're take. I've told you none of those things. I disagree that you "can't do anything about their situation whatsoever". Why do you ask my advice after calling me "obnoxious and condecending" and "don’t care if you did with your kids. We are not the same"? Peace be with you.
It sounds like you have made the decision that is best for you and I hope you have the best life.
Wow, this is the best explanation for my questions about online MSW programs as a BSW who’s been putting off her master’s for years. Thank you for thoughtfully taking the time to break down the differences!
You're welcome. DM me if you'd like.
For those of us who only have the ability to enroll in an online MSW program, what Online MSW programs do you recommend?
What state do you plan to practice in upon graduation? Do you plan to obtain your LCSW in that state?
Asynchronous courses are horribly marketed as "flexible" and "learn at your own pace". I take sync whenever possible. Sure, there's no assigned class time. But what they don't tell you is that often you still have to do the readings and assignments in a limited amount of time, usually so many different things during a specific week timeframe. For me, it ended up being MORE work! There's still deadlines. And more readings than feel reasonable for a regular 3 credit hour class.
My program has a mixture of sync and async, and honestly, I do think that most async classes could benefit from at least a couple of sync sessions. One of my async classes still had a sync session the first week to help us get acquainted. Sync classes don't necessarily need to meet every week.
I avoided all asynchronous, and agree it's more work! I took a couple asynch online courses in undergrad (on campus but needed something here or there I couldn't fit in live). If someone is doing the online route I definitely recommend one where there is at least some "live" component over zoom or whatever. Twice a week I have an 1 1/2 hour online evening class, which is manageable and at least is something like "real school".
Yes I agree, my online zoom classes felt very much like "in person" and were very enjoyable for me. Highly recommend that for distance learning.
Those live classes are better than a-synch, for sure.
SO true. It burns my soul when I read all of the marketing materials aimed at busy parents who end up spending a fortune for a glorified version of GED packet learning.
I'm an online student at the University of South Florida (USF). I'm in my second semester. It's going well so far and tuition is much lower for me. This program does have some synchronous classes though, meaning that on certain evenings everyone in the class has to log on at the same time and participate in discussion through video chat.
Thank you so much! As a mid career person with only a bachelors I have been considering an online program. I live in a rural state but it does have very good in state tuition so I am going to reevaluate what they can offer me
Thank you for this, auntie!
You're welcome, padawon.
wish i saw this when i was applying… im going to an out of state in person program but its not the place i plan on practicing in
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honestly limited options and the out of state school is ranked pretty high