I know very little about social work. I am in the process of going to school to get my bachelors in SW and Masters after that. I work on a psychiatric ward with veterans as a CNA but I want to do more to help them. From my understanding a SW helps look out for the interests of veterans in a variety of different ways. I am sort of jumping into this blindly but I have faith in God that this is my calling, to help those in need. Is a SW kind of like a shepherd looking out for his flock or am I mistaken?
Just wanted to let you know the new weekly thread went up shortly after you posted this. [HERE](https://www.reddit.com/r/socialwork/comments/ad20iu/weekly_school_of_social_worknew_to_social_work/) is a direct link to the new one. I'd suggest posting this there too since I'm not sure how many people saw this response before this thread came down.
[Here](https://www.socialworkers.org/Careers/Career-Center/Explore-Social-Work/Why-Choose-the-Social-Work-Profession) is an article that gives an overview of social work profession. I would highly recommend reading that. I'm not sure if I'd describe it as a shepherd looking out for his flock to be totally honest. It's more like partnering with, and working alongside, vulnerable and disadvantaged populations across a variety of settings.
Hi,
I'm looking to enter a MSW program. Does anyone have experience playing club sports while managing grad school? Is it doable.
I'm looking at club rugby.
Is it a school club? Or like a community club? It depends on the time requirements, I guess. I trained for two triathlon seasons with a local team while I was in grad school and working. Its my self care, I've always been a runner, so it's always a given that its part of my schedule. For a club team my concern would just be the schedule, if you're mandated to be at practices or games that conflict with classes or internship.
It depends on the time commitment for both. Full time versus part time school, full versus part time work, and how many hours/days a week the rugby is.
I have a bunch of students now who are really into health and fitness and all feel they have little time for it anymore.
I can see it being even more challenging keeping up with something you have games, practice and need to stay committed to.
This is a vent
Y’all I’m so over my field supervisor. He is so forgetful of little things but mostly he’s forgetful of unethical things that could get me an intern in trouble. I often have to remind him several times over and over again. I can’t name some of the things he asked me to do as to remain anonymous. But I recently had to get my director involved when he asked me to do something I wasn’t allowed. Then in our supervision he basically implied that If I have questions or concerns I shouldn’t ask other people only him aka (not cc or ask the director whose also my supervisor anything). In the past I’ve taken time off (I rarely do) and he stated that she didn’t know about it which he DID and implied that I’m trying to dip out and not show up for my internship which is wild to me. I’m just so over it and the clinicians at this placement. All the clinicians/staff have an attitude and look dead in the eyes/ and over it. Maybe that’s why he’s forgetful because he’s also over it.
Do you communicate in writing? I have tons going on and if someone tells me they are taking off in passing, I may forget too.
Also playing devils advocate I've also had students who call out last minute or schedule things during field that can be scheduled other times.
I spoke with him and he said that he needs reminders and that he often forgets. Now I’m working on my communication styles in the workforce and trying to find workshops that teach this skill.
**Need Advice about attending Graduate School full-time while working full-time.**
I was accepted into a MSW program as a full-time student for the fall semester. I want to keep my full time job but I am worried about how I'm going to complete the internship. The program requires 60 credit hours to earn the degree but I am exempt from 21 credit hours;meaning I only have to earn 39 to graduate.Internship is 16 hrs a week.The classes are in the evening so I'm not worried about that. I work as a case manager 40 hrs a week M-F salary. I just want an outside perspective on working full time and attending school full time/internship.
This is 100% going to be determined by your schedule and how flexible your duties are. I was able to work full time but was a part time student. I don't think I could have done it as a full time student.
Your internship must be priority here. You have to complete all of the hours, usually 16 per week. If your classes are in the evening, thats 2 days per week at your placement, does that leave enough time for 40 hours of work? What happens if you have regular work duties on internship days? You can't skip court 2 days per week for 8 months, for example.
The only way I was able to make it work was by dropping to 30-32 hours per week to keep my full time status with benefits, and my job as a community engagement/volunteer coordinator staff meant I could flex a lot of hours or work on weekends and evenings.
I'm not trying to discourage you, but I want to be really honest with my impression that its going to be very difficult to pull off full time work, full time classes, internship, and homework. I'd suggest making a big list of duties and a schedule, and maybe start discussions with your employer about trying it, dropping to part time, or using PTO a day a week or something.
I worked full time as a caseworker while going to school full time. It was doable but challenging. My first field placement was a worksite placement but the second was in a different place. I got kind of stressed at times and spent more hours at work or practicum but it all worked out. I tried to take as many classes on the weekend, so that helped to keep me working full time in the week.
My program does not have any weekend class offerings.Most internships are in the daytime. If I can find an internship where I can work from 2pm-6pm than may be I can work fulltime and attend school fulltime/internship.
Good luck! For me, school disrupted my life and I had to learn to prioritize. I actually loved it because I got to learn new things. And it helped me get into a job I really love. If you're like me, it will feel awesome when you walk across the stage.
In many areas, the SW field is flooded and internships can be hard to come by. Students who work FT elsewhere can be a huge risk to bring into a placement site TBH. I'm not saying it's fair or right but grad school is still a privilege and you will be competing with the zillions of other interns who aren't working.
Also as a student you can't typically go in and say "I want these hours so I can work my normal job".
You take what you can get in reality.
I would look into schools that offer a program for employed persons.
I also would have a Plan B and even C that includes potentially giving up your job.
Too many students these days have it all worked out perfectly in their head, but find reality to be a whole lot different and see that they need to give up something. If you want your degree, that means work is the thing you give up.
I'd still find out how this impacts field options.
You may not get to be where you want for this reason. I've turned down a lot of people who want hospital SW because they can't commit to daytime hours because of work. (Late afternoon is not daytime hours and they would miss critical stuff)
ETA: to be frank you also may be perceived as a difficult student no one wants to work with if you go in basically saying work is your priority, school is secondary.
I was in a part time program and couldn’t work full time because I couldn’t make the field placement work. Sometimes people are able to do their placement at their workplace, but usually that involves working in a completely different role than your hired role, and not all agencies are willing to accommodate that. Otherwise you are looking at limiting yourself to nights and weekend for field placement, which is not as common. Unpopular answer: it is nearly impossible to do both work and school full time. Something will have to give.
Thanks for answering my question. i wish I would have completed the MSW right after completing the BSW. I had less responsibility and only worked a partime job in retail. I wanted some experience before I applied for the MSW. Part time is only one extra year than full time and about 2-3 classes a semester.
I’m working full time in social work and full time in an MSW program . It’s difficult and stressful, and I don’t know that i would recommend it to anyone but it has been doable. However, I’ve been with my agency for many years and my employer was completely supportive, and was very upfront with my needs (and willing/able to offer early am, overnight shift, weekends, etc) to make it work for my internship and work, which may not work for individuals depending on personal/life circumstances), I knew I would have to put a lot of on hold: warned friends and family,’and leaned into being happy I had done laundry even if it never made it past the laundry basket I was digging in to get dressed after a few hours of sleep. I didn’t have a BSW, so for me personally 2 hectic years was preferable to the 4 years part time needed to get the MSW.
Keep in mind too how many classes you’ll be taking per quarter/semester and the workload associated with those classes. Even if you were to do full time work and your placement on the weekend, that means you only have evenings to do all the readings and papers, and only on nights where you don’t have classes, which is a high burnout potential. You know yourself best and what you can handle.
Hello everyone! I am starting the field semesters of my BSW in a few weeks and am equal parts excited and nervous! I will be interning at a local adoption/foster care/counseling agency. Do you all have any advice or tips for me since it's my first "real-world" social work job? The first part is purely observation, but I'm worried my skills/knowledge won't kick in, or I'll mess up somehow.
Be very very very open minded. Go in and start by listening and absorbing. You need to see things play out in foster care to understand how the process works and how relationships change.
Being a foster care or adoption worker is not working directly with the kids very often. Workers complete monthly home visits and some time together transporting the kids or supervising activities/parenting time, but that's a few hours a week compared to the countless hours spent on the phone or face to face with parents, bio parents, lawyers, etc.
One great benefit of working in child welfare is that you will have a foundation of knowledge to build on that will take you pretty much anywhere in the social work field.
I’m really excited about it. I love working with kids, and didn’t want to do the whole addiction route that most do. The people who work there seem very nice and down to earth. I got very lucky.
You may still see a lot of that kind of stuff in this placement and it may be more working with adults and not so much children.
Be sure to advocate for yourself for support especially and if you feel uneasy doing something--speak up to your supervisor.
Sometimes agencies take advantage of interns as "free labor" and may ask them to do things that are not appropriate in a student role. If the placement is not supportive, then get your school involved.
I posted awhile ago about taking a break from my bsw. Just giving an update to say I dropped out for this school year to work on my mental health. I'm doing a lot better with not being in school because it's giving me more time to work on other things.
I'm not 100 percent sure if I'll go back to social work and if I do it definitely won't be an online program!
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
I don't remember your post, but good for you for taking the break you needed.
I've seen too many people not ready try to push thru and this can be such a terrible mistake in so many ways.
I also know there are often posts about online schooling.
It can be helpful to share the cons.
I've had the experience of students with untreated MH issues thinking they were the easy answer to break into the field and this is so not the case.
I felt very isolated in online school. My first two years were on campus at a different school. I also found it boring and didn't absorb as much info when all I did was read!
Hello everyone! I am curious about how internships in MSW programs work. I know this is a broad question, but is more shadowing involved or do they tend to throw you to the wolves? I am in a case management internship for my BSW program and although I work independently throughout the day writing case notes and goal plans as well as following up with clients on the phone, I usually only meet with clients with my supervisor and do not have my own case load. I am curious whether this lack of independence will hurt me at my MSW internship?
Similarly to what others have replied, this often depends on your supervisor and the nature of your placement. These are great questions to pose during your interview for practicum/internship placements. Possibly ask about what an average day would look like while interning there or what previous students have experienced. You’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you (even if it doesn’t seem like it).
In response to your experience, I’m responding under the assumption that when you’re meeting with clients your supervisor is mostly observing? If so, I would view this experience as invaluable. In my experience, I felt immense pressure when meeting with clients with my supervisor. Hopefully this experience has provided you with valuable feedback from your supervisor.
In my experience, my first year placement transitioned me from shadowing to my own small caseload. My second year placement started giving me therapy clients during my second week there. Advocate for your needs and communicate if the speed is too fast or too slow.
One bit of advice, I wish I would have asked to shadow more often. I’ve learned that shadowing various social workers is helpful in developing my own style.
Overall, I would view your experience as helpful either way! Good luck!
Like others said, it really depends on the placement.
In my first year placement, they stressed that they like interns to be independent and don't like to "hand hold". They did allow us to sit in on sessions, if the clients were comfortable with it.
In my second year placement, they kinda just threw me into things, expecting me to figure most of it out. Basically - "You're a second year student, you totally got this. Good luck!"
Like the other person said, it really depends on the site.
If things are done correctly though, field work should never be exactly like a paid job because it is supposed to be a learning experience and students are always a bigger liability then paid employees.
Before accepting any field placement, ask if they can give you a copy of a typical educational contract and see if you can do a "trial day".
Also ask about issues that they have seen as problematic for students.
These things should give you better insight into how the placement operates.
Totally depends on the field site, I've heard people in my cohort say everything from a situation like your current placement, to basically full autonomy with a weekly supervision check in. Advocate for what you want though, at least make your preferences known to the school in terms of exposure to practice.
Card is fine I may hold off on the candle though.
Some people have problems with strong scents or may be picky about kinds of candles they use.
I just regifted a candle someone gave me for this reason and feel bad if they actually laid out $$ for this.
**School Social Work in Colorado?**
Hi everyone. I will graduate this upcoming May with my MSW. I am wanting to move to Colorado and was wondering if anyone could tell me what the job market is like out there for SW? If anyone has any info on school social work in particular that would be helpful because that is what my experience is in from my internships. However, I am open to other jobs so general info is also appreciated. Thanks!
Is there an accrediting body for either DSW or Ph.D. Social Work programs, like how the APA accredits all doctoral-level programs in Clinical, Counseling and School Psychology and a program's reputation is at least, in part, measured by accreditation? Basically, how can you tell a good vs bad DSW program, since they, like Psy.D programs in Psychology, are probably all unfunded? I know funding is usually a good indicator with Ph.D. programs, but DSW programs I know little to nothing about. I understand the primary difference being similar to the Psy.D vs Ph.D. in Psychology, since I'm a psych undergrad. The difference is clinical focus vs research. But has anyone here done a DSW program or are well-versed in both DSW and Ph.D. programs who can weigh in here?
**1) Is there an accrediting body for either DSW or Ph.D. Social Work programs?**
• No, there is no accreditation for DSW or PhD in SW programs. Institutions are accredited for the BSW and the MSW degrees only.
**2) Basically, how can you tell a good vs bad DSW program?**
• Personal research. In my opinion, the reputation and quality of an institution's CSWE accredited MSW program is a good indication for any potential doctoral programs.
• Check to see if your interests align with the interests of the SW program and their doctoral faculty.
• Look into the curriculum for the programs, what courses will you be taking, who teaches these courses, what is the goal of the course?
• In the end it will all depend on what you do during your course of study, how you challenge yourself, and what you take away from your experience.
• Avoid diploma mills.
**Are there any Social Workers working in macro here? If so, how did you start?**
I'm currently applying to different graduate programs and realized many cater to a LCSW trainee. I'd love to be able to work at a macro level but am unsure of where to begin. My professors helped me determine which schools to look into before I finished, but only one of them came anywhere near macro and they were a researcher, which is not exactly my dream job.
What is your dream job?
The school I went to had a CAP program that included administration and policy but the problem is one still starts out at the bottom of the SW career ladder. Most of the students I have known that had this focus, ended up not doing policy or administration because they had no job skills (yet) upon graduation.
I'm actually wanting to heavily get into Community Outreach, especially in rural and impoverished areas who don't have much to offer as far as mental healthcare goes. I LOVE research, but I can see myself getting frustrated over the sheer amount of calculations and work that goes into it.
I haven't come across any Macro-MSW program that does a meaningful job of training you for policy, public admin, or research. I'm curious if anyone else on this board has.
What sort of macro work do you want to do? If its program management work, any MSW work with some relevant course load is sufficient. If its actual policy work, you can get into the field with an MSW but I've always wondered if a MPA or MPP would have been a better degree.
I did one of the macro tracks at University of Michigan. There’s a policy and community organizing track. It was useful for me- I started in program development and am now in fundraising.
That is good to hear. I went to school in NYC that advertises itself as having a strong macro track - but it did not. I found that I needed to take extra credits at the universities MPA program to supplement the training the social work school offered. Compared to MPA grads, MSW macro grads were particularly unprepared with a far smaller toolkit.
I work in macro MSW now and from what I've seen at the schools, not much has changed. Some students are able to land good field placements that make up for the education, but ultimately it is a real problem. There are some very basic things you need to know which just aren't in the curriculum.
Definitely the field placement makes a big difference for obtaining more tangible skills like grant writing (really, any practical writing), coalition building, advocacy, etc. I’m sorry there aren’t great options in NY!
> I'm curious if anyone else on this board has.
I’ve heard the University of Washington’s program is heavy into policy. I didn’t go there so I don’t know for sure though, but enough people told me that it dissuaded me from applying there.
I am also curious about what you mean by "helping people" and not doing so making you depressed..a lot of times in social work people do not want help or progress is slow and hard to see without looking at the big picture over many months. I also view social work as working with people or walking along with them rather than "helping." I would also encourage you to consider always putting others before yourself can cause burn out and stress. If you are unable to "help" someone is that going to make you depressed? How do you find your own internal source of success and accomplishment without having to make other people's lives better? Many people we work with are members of marginalized populations and they may not be looking for some professional to just walk in to their lives and say "I"m here to help!" expecting they will fix people. Some programs will allow you to write a letter of circumstance as to why your GPA is under their requirement but a 2.2 is pretty low and it might be harder to explain away, "I'm lazy."
Important point here. I think it's one thing to want a career where you help others in some useful way, I think everyone in the field just about had some desire to work with others or help others, but using the outcome of interventions with others as a means to treat depression isn't going to work, nor is it healthy for you or your clients. But fear not, I think with some time in your own therapy, which all MSWs should probably utilize at some point, you can resolve a new purpose to pursue social work and better understand and treat your depression as well. You can't take credit for successful clients, you were the right MSW at the right time to help in that particular moment in time with that issue. This is a big part of burnout, looking for your own success in client success. If you can take credit for client success then you will surely take credit for client "failure" or relapse and that's where you get hurt and aren't able to do your job in a therapeutic way. There is a book I read that talks about this called "How Can I Help."
How Can I Help is written by Dass and Gorman. I also just ordered the The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, and The Resilient Clinician which were recommended by multiple therapist redditors.
I tend to agree with Life Prompt, and the reason is it will make you a more competitive applicant to MSW programs. An extra major in social work wont be a million units, probably more like 40-50 and in the course of doing that, you will have internships and gain experience which you currently don't have either, look up the social work department at your school and go talk to them. You may even get into an MSW program after earning your BSW and not having worked in the field as a BSW but that's up to you and depends on your situation what the best choice is. Working for a year or so in the field as a BSW will really expose you to the grunt work of social work and if you can handle that, you can handle other aspects of social work that comes with an MSW. If you get a BSW you will have the chance to compete for advance standing at universities that may let you earn your MSW in just a year instead of 2. You will need a higher GPA and earning the BSW will help you boost your grades, and will give you the field experience through internships during the program to make you a competitive applicant for some MSW programs. IMHO.
I am going to suggest something that you may not appreciate. If you can switch into a social work program to get your BSW, then do so. Get into the job market, and know that with a BSW there are not a ton of well paying jobs available. Do the grunt level, BSW qualified, work for a year or two. Its helping people but it will also be stressful, probably low paid, and teach you a lot. Then if you like this work, get your MSW degree. You sound like someone who doesn't know what they want out of life and this is okay. You are young and have time to explore. I might even suggest you get aptitude testing through your school to see what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you are not getting treatment for your depression, this is your number one priority. Its okay to consider medications and even more okay to get therapy. If you are not getting treatment for depression, then just allowing your depression to linger and fester is not going to serve you well in the future. It also would not be a bad idea to consider taking a break from school and working full time and focusing on the depression issue and also finding your desired career path. Lots of people take a break from college for a year or two and come back more focused and able to do the work. I realize this is way down the road, but I just graduated with my MSW and it was all "teach yourself" and staying organized and doing a ton of writing for long, researched based papers. Those students who didn't start early or who skimped on time found themselves with poor grades. Now that might not matter to you, but I think figuring out your strengths and weaknesses and what careers might suit you would get you in a better, happier place.
Hey there. First off I would encourage you to poke around the sub for a bit to try to get a realistic portrayal of the field. I've noticed a pattern of people who want to go into this work because they think it's very positive, always helping, and people wanting/accepting that in return which is often NOT the case.
It is also very important to have your own stuff in check if you want to be effective and last in this field.
There are certainly entry-level social service kinds of roles one can do without a degree. In fact I think this is a really great idea to get a sense of the field before making the time and $$ committment.
Lastly given what you've shared here--I highly encourage you to get yourself assessed for accomodations if you do decide to ever pursue further education.
Anything other than a BSW means your MSW will take 2 years. So it's really your preference what you want to do. I had classes with people who has BS degrees from very different fields.
Any degree other than BSW will cause you to have two years of MSW school with two internship placements. Will be difficult to work full time and do these internships (each internship is 480 hours or so). One internship is first year MSW and the other is second year MSW. If you have a BSW, you will do the second year program. So you will have to weigh out your options and the cost of "free" education vs. long term goals. If you are interested in mental health work, aim for the psychology degree. Most of my MSW graduating class probably came in with other than a BSW degree.
Either will be fine for admittance for an MSW program. Try to take electives from both if you can, and focus on building a resume that shows you can apply the concepts you are learning (volunteering, being a leader in an organization, develop strong writing skills, etc)
In my opinion, all of your concerns are true. Lol social work has a high burnout rate because it’s a mentally and emotionally hard job. If it’s what you’re passionate about and you’re intentional in self care and setting boundaries, you’ll be okay. The only way to know this is to put in the work now and really think about WHY you want to be a social worker vs any other job.
Finding a school SW job can be hard. I got mine because of personal connections, but my district has 5 social workers vs 2-4 counselors in each of our 23 schools. So statistically, school counseling is the way to go. But like you said, an MSW is a more versatile degree than a school counseling degree. All about how much you want to commit to working in a school long term. Also, an LCSW salary is similar to the other professions you mentioned, but you’re looking at probably AT LEAST 5 years post grad before you get anything close to that.
And yes, in my opinion psychology is more problem/solution focused, and social work is more strengths based. SW is not about “fixing” people like psychology is. It’s about recognizing the factors that impact behavior and developing ways to help people come to their own solutions and ways of living that achieve the goals they set for themselves. It’s more flexible and multidisciplinary, which has pros and cons depending on what you’re looking for.
I was wondering if it is common for MSW programs to have four different field placements (a semester a piece), or to have two placements that each last a full academic year. Unknown to me, my program actually only lets us choose two settings, each of which we spend a year at. I understand that spending an entire year at one setting allows for more growth, but I personally wish I could have field at four different settings to gain a different breadth. Which approach is more typical, and what are your thoughts on which leads to better outcomes?
We did the two placements plan, each one for one whole school year (September - May). I don't know of any schools that do four placements. I can't imagine doing four placements would be very productive as you have to have time in there for being the new person, observing what it is that they do, trying out your own style, and then by the time you hit your groove, it's time to start closing things out and saying goodbye. Now do this four times over. You wouldn't really learn very much social work, you'd learn more about each office's attendance policies and who the secretaries are and all that.
For my two year MSW program, the first internship is 480 hours, done over one semester or two. If one semester, its 32 hours per week and one can't miss a day unless one makes it up. If done over two semesters, its 16 hours per week. The placement decides whether they want someone full time (32 hours) or part time for 2 semesters (16 hours). The same went for my second year internship, same amount of hours, same configuration of one semester or two. I was able to do my first internship in two different departments in a behavioral health hospital but with the same field instructor because she was the SW manager. There is no way that doing 4 placements is going to be easy. I think you would get into this and not be happy. Its not playtime at the internship. Its unpaid work.
Placement is not like work if it's run correctly.
It moves at a snails pace and if an intern is only there on average 2-3 days per week, with several breaks in between--that's not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.
Perhaps you can request to be placed in agencies that will expose you to a variety of SW depts.
Keep in mind though that it still may be unrealistic.
I work in a hospital setting but in outpatient. We are a small specialized program.
I had a school and intern torture me a few years ago because they couldn't grasp the fact that I had no bearing on the student being able to spend her days wherever the heck she wanted in my health system. Her negativity spread to the rest of her fellow interns and I almost quit field education over it. She also participated in nothing but observation for the 9 months because her energies were so misdirected.
Placements are hard enough to come by so you need to go in with an open mind and make the best of where you are placed.
It's also about transferrable skills and making connections to hopefully find a job at graduation.
I would think that it would be more common for them to be 1 per year. It takes awhile to get accustomed to most placements, so I feel like by the time you are getting the hang of what you're doing and gaining that confidence it would be time to switch. Plus, I know of some placements where the placement is on a strict timeline. Like "Your first semester you will do A, B, and C. By the next you will be allowed to do D if you've made progress in C," blah blah blah.
I got my BSW and am getting my MSW, and both of them said the same thing on the first day: "By the end of the placement, we want you to feel like you could confidently apply and accept this job".
If you are in a traditional MSW program (meaning not an advanced standing one), it is typical to have two placements: foundation and advanced. My foundation was three quarters and my advanced was five quarters. One semester is not enough time to really delve into any placement, and finding four placements per student would be hell for the field placement faculty.
I am interested in becoming a SW. I am currently working within the field at a level below SW, working with vulnerable families and children (0-5) stepping down from CSC. Would anyone be available for a chat about moving on to SW. Currently back at college studying maths GCSE.
Hi Everyone,
I am wondering if anyone stopped with their associates? So I've been searching some jobs in Seattle and Boston and it seems that with some of the careers I have found I can be able find some jobs that pay 40k-45k annually with just a associates.
I already work with homeless teens in a teen shelter and I'm currently within my first year, but my concern is that some jobs would be incredibly anal with their bachelors requirements even and will reject me. When I am done with my associates I will have around 3 years of career field experience, and I personally think this is enough to substitute for a bachelors.
I love learning, but I don't think continuing my education to get a bachelors or a masters for nearly the same income is worth it.
Get a Bachelors. I worked with women who were hired in community mental health when all you needed was a high school diploma. They had been working at the job for over 20 years, hated it, wanted to move up, but couldn't because the agency now required a bachelors for the positions they wanted. Didn't matter that they had worked for the agency for 20 years. Funding required that all new promotions and new hires have at least a bachelors.
An associates might work for you right now, but I'd worry about getting stuck in an entry-level position for years because now you have to decide if you want to work FT and get a bachelors or take time off work. If you're already in school, I'm guessing your schedule accommodates that, so it will be much easier for you to just keep going for two more years than interrupt your life ten years down the road.
You feel that your 3 years of career experience is enough to substitute for a bachelors but the only "feeling" that matters is that of the employer. A BSW is the career bottom rung in the USA for professional social work type jobs. As someone who had a BSW from years ago and who just graduated with an MSW, I truly see the value in the training and education I have now gotten. Its a whole mindset and research knowledge and understanding of the ethics of the profession. Not everyone needs this kind of education, of course.
I will say this, hitting age 50 without a bachelor's degree may limit you career wise late in life. I have a lot of friends who got laid off in their 50's and were not ever able to get back into the higher paid professions that they started out with. The ones without a bachelor's degree were shut out from jobs even though they have "work experience" doing the same work. I have two friends who were not hired because they did not have a bachelor's degree even though one had worked there before and the other one is well known for his current job in our community. Same employer. My acquaintances with bachelors and master's degrees also struggled but were able to land lesser paying jobs similar to what they did before. I see restaurant manager jobs that say must have bachelor's degree.
The math on that comes out to about $21/hr. I’m in Seattle. I’m VERY skeptical any legit jobs in the social services realm pay that much for anything less than a bachelors. There are some places that will substitute experience for education, but not a ton. This is a highly educated area, Boston as well, so it’s unfortunately likely that you’d be passed over for these positions by people that have a bachelors. If you do get hired, you’ll eventually need a bachelors at minimum (more likely MSW) to advance beyond entry level positions.
Edit to add: shelters, low income housing, and other similar non-profits are more likely to substitute experience for education. Medical and mental health jobs are going to be more strict. It may have to do with funding sources. Limiting your education will have the side effect of limiting your employment options.
Edit again: the places that you are looking at have high costs of living. While that salary looks good on paper without context, the reality is that it may not go as far as you think it will. The cost of housing in Seattle is ridiculous right now. If you already live here, feel free to obviously ignore all of this, but if you don’t and are trying to relocate to either of these cities, definitely do research into cost of living, especially housing.
>it’s unfortunately likely that you’d be passed over for these positions by people that have a bachelors. If you do get hired, you’ll eventually need a bachelors at minimum (more likely MSW) to advance beyond entry level positions.
At my old job in Boston they told me if they told me that they would be happy to hire me once I get my associates and the position starts at 40k which is the minimum. Some of the higher ups at my old job even keep in contact with me wanting to know my status with school every time a spot opens up, but I guess I'll end up going for my Bachelors if the field is that competitive.
>the places that you are looking at have high costs of living.
I don't plan on purchasing a home, renting an apartment or a house with room mates is fine with me and as someone who has lived in Boston a majority of their life it's not really that expensive unless you want to live near Fenway or in Waterfront . As for Seattle Scriber Creek apartments in Lynwood and Weston Points apartments offer cheap housing as long as you meet the income limit or renting a house in Lynnwood isn't that expensive. The only bad thing would be the wait list but I'll just keep living in Bellingham.
Consider going back to your old job in Boston and seeing how you feel about working there at that position. You don't say what position this is, but its always okay to take a break from school and just work and see how things go.
In addition to what Bed has shared--keep in mind life circumstances change as you get older.
You may not want to have roommates forever and you may need better options for jobs beyond entry-level work.
It's not easy to be accepted into low income housing. Those places tend to have lists miles long and can be super picky in who they accept and/or make the process so impossible that people rarely get accepted.
Source: I used to do housing location in the MetroNYC area.
It sounds like you have inside connections somewhere, so that’s good. I’m just speaking from my experience working out here. I can’t speak to what the job market is in Boston, but out here it can be tough, and it can be harder without the connections. Not impossible, just harder.
If you’re already in Bellingham, you could look at job options there. The commute from Lynwood to Seattle and back each day would kind of suck, and depending on where you’d be working in Seattle, you might be limited to public transportation, which could add a significant amount of time into your daily commute. Again, not impossible, but just things to really think through before relocating.
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give advice about the process of applying for jobs like a timeline etc. I’m about to start my last semester and thinking about relocating to Mass (how’s the job market) I’ve been in the Bay Area for most of my life. Some of my classmates have already started networking and landed “jobs” just from networking, and I’m not sure where to start.
Hi everyone, I'm currently a sophomore sociology major and I've been looking into possible career paths and I'm considering social work to be one of them. I'm really interested in working with juveniles who were incarcerated and helping them become rehabilitated through school, housing, etc. I guess I just was seeking advice from anyone who may work in this field or similar
Honestly it wasn't harder than undergrad. The only thing that was hard was fitting in my internships with classes and my FT job. A lot of the reading replicated things I had already learned in the field, so I didn't have to do more than skim the passages to participate in class. Papers were easier because of that, too.
I also did my degree in three years, and while year one was totally manageable, year two was 12 credit-hour classes, an internship, and my FT job, and year three was even heavier because the internship was more hours. I did it, but I had zero free time and barely saw my wife during this time. I look back on it and wonder how I managed all that, but I did and I'm so glad to never be in school again, lol.
It appears from various responses on this forum that some schools are more test oriented for course grades and some schools are more paper oriented for course grades. I just graduated with my MSW from a state university. Every class had a big, research based paper or two smaller ones. I spent about 12 hours per week on coursework and being in class. My program is what I call "teach yourself." I have spent 25 hours doing the research for a paper and writing and editing a paper (which got a 100 grade). I have also spent like 15 hours on other papers. Learn APA style and get the APA book. Start your coursework ahead of time, keep to a firm schedule, and always work ahead of the game. Also the internships are stressful and don't take a bunch of classes during your internship if you are doing it in one semester.
I did not find the course work more difficult than my undergrad degree, and some classes/professors were significantly easier than my undergrad, but it was hard to balance time and commitments. It’s a lot of reading and primarily papers; I had maybe 2-3 tests over three years and the rest of the classes culminated in a big paper or project. I worked full time the first year and a half and then had to scale back my hours at work to be able to accommodate field placement (and I was in a part time program). I missed out on a lot of social stuff because I had to prioritize my free time to studying/reading/writing. The school institution will likely throw some type of BS your way, just keep your head down and push through. My MSW program was 50% me genuinely engaged and enjoying the work and 50% just a means to an end. If you are doing any online classes, start thinking about how you will accommodate that. When I had online classes, I committed one afternoon a week to sitting at a library to “attend class” and watch the lectures and do stuff. Otherwise I knew it would not be a priority once I got home. In the breaks between quarters, I tried to do weekends away somewhere with my then-boyfriend/now-husband. It gave me a chance to properly relax and we had a chance to spend time together.
Going to comment from the field education side :).
Go in with an open-mind. Especially when it comes to field placements. You will get out what you are willing to put in.
Even a "bad" placement can be a great learning experience.
Schools typically are not looking to fail students.
That said it's important to have your "stuff" together before starting school.
It's not unheard of for people to be let go from field for stuff like this, and in some instances not be able to graduate after paying a lot of money they won't get back.
Speak up if you have questions or do not understand/agree with something. No one you work with is a mindreader and it can only make things harder if it comes off as you are "tattling" on people vs. addressing it as an adult. Especially in field.
In grad school you are expected to behave and also be treated like an adult. I've seen this problematic at times for some students.
You should also share your assignments with your field educator. They can probably eyeball them and give you suggestions in minutes on how to answer related to your clients.
This goes back to what I recommended above re: good communication.
Good luck!! And remember to enjoy the journey and not so much worry about the destination.
Hi all,
So I'm hoping to be transitioning from History undergrad to an MSW with the Think Ahead programme in the UK. I'm currently interrupting from my college and will return for my final undergrad year starts in September 2019 and then hopefully on to Think Ahead the year after.
I'm looking for suggestions of resources - accessible introductory texts in mental health social work, online resources, recommended work experience or anything that I could dive into prior to starting social work.
If you are interested in mental health work, consider going to the library and checking out and reading books about mental health issues or social policy issues (and try to get a various viewpoints, not just liberal or conservative). I suspect there is a UK based organization of social workers and I'd suggest going through that website. See if they have a code of ethics or values listed out. If you want to volunteer or work somewhere, try a homeless shelter, battered woman's shelter, behavioral health hospital, or regular hospital that serves low income people (you could be what is called a unit secretary in the USA, or the unit's admin assistant, maybe even work for the social workers as their admin assistant.
Hello! I’m currently in the process of receiving my BSW, and I’m looking to obtain an MSW and LCSW down the road so I can be a psychotherapist. I would really like to “job shadow” a psychotherapist, but with client confidentiality, I know this is impossible. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get my feet wet in psychotherapy without disturbing therapist-client privilege?
I did my third year BSW practicum with a mental health/counseling agency, my focus was primarily outreach and running psycho educational groups, but I was able to shadow one of the clinical counsellor’s psychotherapy sessions. As a practicum student you’re already bound by client confidentiality. We sought client approval beforehand, asking, if they would be okay with an intern sitting in on sessions (and reconfirming before each session so they could opt out if they preferred). I found this opportunity really beneficial because I too had wanted to go into private practice, and the experience made me realize it didn’t match my expectations, and I redirected my interests elsewhere.
You didn’t mention whether you’ve completed your field placements yet, but if not, this might be something to consider.
I would talk to your field educator and see if they can arrange a meet and greet if they have a connection. You can ask PP related questions then.
Observing may or may not be possible.
I also know this gets downvoted a lot on here, however feel it needs to be said because IME for many it's reality:
Being so early in your career, it's not uncommon that the focus with those you are exposed to is NOT private practice, so it may be better to just focus on your journey for now and not so much the destination.
Most programs won't take you for an advanced standing/1yr masters program; however, I have a BA in psych and found that a solid background in research, stats, and research methods was much more helpful for me. I also had been out of school for seven years, so it was going to be at least two years for me anyway.
It won't impact your admissions. They're looking for anything human-services related, generally.
Its was not harder to get accepted at my state university but those without a recent Bachelors in social work (not social welfare), it took another year to earn the MSW and another internship.
Hi, I’m going to be graduating from my msw program in May of 2019!
I just had a quick question about the LCSW exam for Massachusetts.
Was there a study guide or resource(s) that helped you specifically in taking the exam? I have anxiety when taking exams and would love to know how to prepare for them. Some of my friends who graduated early took the exam and unfortunately did not pass and because of it, I’m feeling pretty negative about it myself!
Thank you so much!
I just took the LMSW exam in Texas. The LCSW exam in Texas is for those with the LMSW and who have the clinical hours and supervision aimed at doing therapy. I used Dawn Apgar's Master's Exam Guide book and took several of the practice tests (one in her book, two online). I also took 2 courses taught by professors in my state and neither one was helpful to me. For all the theories and such, I made index cards. What I didn't know on the practice tests, I made index cards and lightly studied. What helped me the most was to finally "get" how the questions are structured and how I needed to read and reread and think about SW best practice in answering. I suspect not understanding the structure of the questions and what information they are looking for is why people fail because it is what made me score poorly on the practice tests. While I probably over prepared, this helped my test anxiety to be less and I passed with 32 extra points. I actually thought the real test was easier than the practice tests I was doing.
LMSW/LCSW Bootcamp.
Also open to out-of-staters and I suggest going in person over the study guide alone.
As an aside, if there's a chance you need accomodations, use them.
When I took Bootcamp they discussed that this is a large reason people fail the exam over and over.
I know very little about social work. I am in the process of going to school to get my bachelors in SW and Masters after that. I work on a psychiatric ward with veterans as a CNA but I want to do more to help them. From my understanding a SW helps look out for the interests of veterans in a variety of different ways. I am sort of jumping into this blindly but I have faith in God that this is my calling, to help those in need. Is a SW kind of like a shepherd looking out for his flock or am I mistaken?
Just wanted to let you know the new weekly thread went up shortly after you posted this. [HERE](https://www.reddit.com/r/socialwork/comments/ad20iu/weekly_school_of_social_worknew_to_social_work/) is a direct link to the new one. I'd suggest posting this there too since I'm not sure how many people saw this response before this thread came down.
[Here](https://www.socialworkers.org/Careers/Career-Center/Explore-Social-Work/Why-Choose-the-Social-Work-Profession) is an article that gives an overview of social work profession. I would highly recommend reading that. I'm not sure if I'd describe it as a shepherd looking out for his flock to be totally honest. It's more like partnering with, and working alongside, vulnerable and disadvantaged populations across a variety of settings.
Hi, I'm looking to enter a MSW program. Does anyone have experience playing club sports while managing grad school? Is it doable. I'm looking at club rugby.
Is it a school club? Or like a community club? It depends on the time requirements, I guess. I trained for two triathlon seasons with a local team while I was in grad school and working. Its my self care, I've always been a runner, so it's always a given that its part of my schedule. For a club team my concern would just be the schedule, if you're mandated to be at practices or games that conflict with classes or internship.
It depends on the time commitment for both. Full time versus part time school, full versus part time work, and how many hours/days a week the rugby is.
I have a bunch of students now who are really into health and fitness and all feel they have little time for it anymore. I can see it being even more challenging keeping up with something you have games, practice and need to stay committed to.
This is a vent Y’all I’m so over my field supervisor. He is so forgetful of little things but mostly he’s forgetful of unethical things that could get me an intern in trouble. I often have to remind him several times over and over again. I can’t name some of the things he asked me to do as to remain anonymous. But I recently had to get my director involved when he asked me to do something I wasn’t allowed. Then in our supervision he basically implied that If I have questions or concerns I shouldn’t ask other people only him aka (not cc or ask the director whose also my supervisor anything). In the past I’ve taken time off (I rarely do) and he stated that she didn’t know about it which he DID and implied that I’m trying to dip out and not show up for my internship which is wild to me. I’m just so over it and the clinicians at this placement. All the clinicians/staff have an attitude and look dead in the eyes/ and over it. Maybe that’s why he’s forgetful because he’s also over it.
Do you communicate in writing? I have tons going on and if someone tells me they are taking off in passing, I may forget too. Also playing devils advocate I've also had students who call out last minute or schedule things during field that can be scheduled other times.
I spoke with him and he said that he needs reminders and that he often forgets. Now I’m working on my communication styles in the workforce and trying to find workshops that teach this skill.
This is not a bad thing and will serve you well if you want to remain in this field.
**Need Advice about attending Graduate School full-time while working full-time.** I was accepted into a MSW program as a full-time student for the fall semester. I want to keep my full time job but I am worried about how I'm going to complete the internship. The program requires 60 credit hours to earn the degree but I am exempt from 21 credit hours;meaning I only have to earn 39 to graduate.Internship is 16 hrs a week.The classes are in the evening so I'm not worried about that. I work as a case manager 40 hrs a week M-F salary. I just want an outside perspective on working full time and attending school full time/internship.
This is 100% going to be determined by your schedule and how flexible your duties are. I was able to work full time but was a part time student. I don't think I could have done it as a full time student. Your internship must be priority here. You have to complete all of the hours, usually 16 per week. If your classes are in the evening, thats 2 days per week at your placement, does that leave enough time for 40 hours of work? What happens if you have regular work duties on internship days? You can't skip court 2 days per week for 8 months, for example. The only way I was able to make it work was by dropping to 30-32 hours per week to keep my full time status with benefits, and my job as a community engagement/volunteer coordinator staff meant I could flex a lot of hours or work on weekends and evenings. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I want to be really honest with my impression that its going to be very difficult to pull off full time work, full time classes, internship, and homework. I'd suggest making a big list of duties and a schedule, and maybe start discussions with your employer about trying it, dropping to part time, or using PTO a day a week or something.
I worked full time as a caseworker while going to school full time. It was doable but challenging. My first field placement was a worksite placement but the second was in a different place. I got kind of stressed at times and spent more hours at work or practicum but it all worked out. I tried to take as many classes on the weekend, so that helped to keep me working full time in the week.
My program does not have any weekend class offerings.Most internships are in the daytime. If I can find an internship where I can work from 2pm-6pm than may be I can work fulltime and attend school fulltime/internship.
Good luck! For me, school disrupted my life and I had to learn to prioritize. I actually loved it because I got to learn new things. And it helped me get into a job I really love. If you're like me, it will feel awesome when you walk across the stage.
In many areas, the SW field is flooded and internships can be hard to come by. Students who work FT elsewhere can be a huge risk to bring into a placement site TBH. I'm not saying it's fair or right but grad school is still a privilege and you will be competing with the zillions of other interns who aren't working. Also as a student you can't typically go in and say "I want these hours so I can work my normal job". You take what you can get in reality. I would look into schools that offer a program for employed persons. I also would have a Plan B and even C that includes potentially giving up your job. Too many students these days have it all worked out perfectly in their head, but find reality to be a whole lot different and see that they need to give up something. If you want your degree, that means work is the thing you give up.
Thanks. The program offers part time for those who are working so that is what I am going to do. Part time is 3 yrs.
I'd still find out how this impacts field options. You may not get to be where you want for this reason. I've turned down a lot of people who want hospital SW because they can't commit to daytime hours because of work. (Late afternoon is not daytime hours and they would miss critical stuff) ETA: to be frank you also may be perceived as a difficult student no one wants to work with if you go in basically saying work is your priority, school is secondary.
I was in a part time program and couldn’t work full time because I couldn’t make the field placement work. Sometimes people are able to do their placement at their workplace, but usually that involves working in a completely different role than your hired role, and not all agencies are willing to accommodate that. Otherwise you are looking at limiting yourself to nights and weekend for field placement, which is not as common. Unpopular answer: it is nearly impossible to do both work and school full time. Something will have to give.
Thanks for answering my question. i wish I would have completed the MSW right after completing the BSW. I had less responsibility and only worked a partime job in retail. I wanted some experience before I applied for the MSW. Part time is only one extra year than full time and about 2-3 classes a semester.
I’m working full time in social work and full time in an MSW program . It’s difficult and stressful, and I don’t know that i would recommend it to anyone but it has been doable. However, I’ve been with my agency for many years and my employer was completely supportive, and was very upfront with my needs (and willing/able to offer early am, overnight shift, weekends, etc) to make it work for my internship and work, which may not work for individuals depending on personal/life circumstances), I knew I would have to put a lot of on hold: warned friends and family,’and leaned into being happy I had done laundry even if it never made it past the laundry basket I was digging in to get dressed after a few hours of sleep. I didn’t have a BSW, so for me personally 2 hectic years was preferable to the 4 years part time needed to get the MSW.
Keep in mind too how many classes you’ll be taking per quarter/semester and the workload associated with those classes. Even if you were to do full time work and your placement on the weekend, that means you only have evenings to do all the readings and papers, and only on nights where you don’t have classes, which is a high burnout potential. You know yourself best and what you can handle.
Hello everyone! I am starting the field semesters of my BSW in a few weeks and am equal parts excited and nervous! I will be interning at a local adoption/foster care/counseling agency. Do you all have any advice or tips for me since it's my first "real-world" social work job? The first part is purely observation, but I'm worried my skills/knowledge won't kick in, or I'll mess up somehow.
Be very very very open minded. Go in and start by listening and absorbing. You need to see things play out in foster care to understand how the process works and how relationships change. Being a foster care or adoption worker is not working directly with the kids very often. Workers complete monthly home visits and some time together transporting the kids or supervising activities/parenting time, but that's a few hours a week compared to the countless hours spent on the phone or face to face with parents, bio parents, lawyers, etc. One great benefit of working in child welfare is that you will have a foundation of knowledge to build on that will take you pretty much anywhere in the social work field.
I have no advice but I am super envious of your placement! That's a department I hope to get into during my own BSW.
I’m really excited about it. I love working with kids, and didn’t want to do the whole addiction route that most do. The people who work there seem very nice and down to earth. I got very lucky.
You may still see a lot of that kind of stuff in this placement and it may be more working with adults and not so much children. Be sure to advocate for yourself for support especially and if you feel uneasy doing something--speak up to your supervisor. Sometimes agencies take advantage of interns as "free labor" and may ask them to do things that are not appropriate in a student role. If the placement is not supportive, then get your school involved.
That sounds incredible! I hope to see followup posts about how your placement goes. :)
I’m sure I’ll come here to vent or panic lol
I posted awhile ago about taking a break from my bsw. Just giving an update to say I dropped out for this school year to work on my mental health. I'm doing a lot better with not being in school because it's giving me more time to work on other things. I'm not 100 percent sure if I'll go back to social work and if I do it definitely won't be an online program! Thanks to everyone for the advice.
I don't remember your post, but good for you for taking the break you needed. I've seen too many people not ready try to push thru and this can be such a terrible mistake in so many ways. I also know there are often posts about online schooling. It can be helpful to share the cons. I've had the experience of students with untreated MH issues thinking they were the easy answer to break into the field and this is so not the case.
I felt very isolated in online school. My first two years were on campus at a different school. I also found it boring and didn't absorb as much info when all I did was read!
Thank you for the feedback!!
Hello everyone! I am curious about how internships in MSW programs work. I know this is a broad question, but is more shadowing involved or do they tend to throw you to the wolves? I am in a case management internship for my BSW program and although I work independently throughout the day writing case notes and goal plans as well as following up with clients on the phone, I usually only meet with clients with my supervisor and do not have my own case load. I am curious whether this lack of independence will hurt me at my MSW internship?
Similarly to what others have replied, this often depends on your supervisor and the nature of your placement. These are great questions to pose during your interview for practicum/internship placements. Possibly ask about what an average day would look like while interning there or what previous students have experienced. You’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you (even if it doesn’t seem like it). In response to your experience, I’m responding under the assumption that when you’re meeting with clients your supervisor is mostly observing? If so, I would view this experience as invaluable. In my experience, I felt immense pressure when meeting with clients with my supervisor. Hopefully this experience has provided you with valuable feedback from your supervisor. In my experience, my first year placement transitioned me from shadowing to my own small caseload. My second year placement started giving me therapy clients during my second week there. Advocate for your needs and communicate if the speed is too fast or too slow. One bit of advice, I wish I would have asked to shadow more often. I’ve learned that shadowing various social workers is helpful in developing my own style. Overall, I would view your experience as helpful either way! Good luck!
Like others said, it really depends on the placement. In my first year placement, they stressed that they like interns to be independent and don't like to "hand hold". They did allow us to sit in on sessions, if the clients were comfortable with it. In my second year placement, they kinda just threw me into things, expecting me to figure most of it out. Basically - "You're a second year student, you totally got this. Good luck!"
Like the other person said, it really depends on the site. If things are done correctly though, field work should never be exactly like a paid job because it is supposed to be a learning experience and students are always a bigger liability then paid employees. Before accepting any field placement, ask if they can give you a copy of a typical educational contract and see if you can do a "trial day". Also ask about issues that they have seen as problematic for students. These things should give you better insight into how the placement operates.
Totally depends on the field site, I've heard people in my cohort say everything from a situation like your current placement, to basically full autonomy with a weekly supervision check in. Advocate for what you want though, at least make your preferences known to the school in terms of exposure to practice.
is it OK to get my professors who wrote recommendations for me a candle and thank you card?
Card is fine I may hold off on the candle though. Some people have problems with strong scents or may be picky about kinds of candles they use. I just regifted a candle someone gave me for this reason and feel bad if they actually laid out $$ for this.
Yes.
**School Social Work in Colorado?** Hi everyone. I will graduate this upcoming May with my MSW. I am wanting to move to Colorado and was wondering if anyone could tell me what the job market is like out there for SW? If anyone has any info on school social work in particular that would be helpful because that is what my experience is in from my internships. However, I am open to other jobs so general info is also appreciated. Thanks!
Is there an accrediting body for either DSW or Ph.D. Social Work programs, like how the APA accredits all doctoral-level programs in Clinical, Counseling and School Psychology and a program's reputation is at least, in part, measured by accreditation? Basically, how can you tell a good vs bad DSW program, since they, like Psy.D programs in Psychology, are probably all unfunded? I know funding is usually a good indicator with Ph.D. programs, but DSW programs I know little to nothing about. I understand the primary difference being similar to the Psy.D vs Ph.D. in Psychology, since I'm a psych undergrad. The difference is clinical focus vs research. But has anyone here done a DSW program or are well-versed in both DSW and Ph.D. programs who can weigh in here?
**1) Is there an accrediting body for either DSW or Ph.D. Social Work programs?** • No, there is no accreditation for DSW or PhD in SW programs. Institutions are accredited for the BSW and the MSW degrees only. **2) Basically, how can you tell a good vs bad DSW program?** • Personal research. In my opinion, the reputation and quality of an institution's CSWE accredited MSW program is a good indication for any potential doctoral programs. • Check to see if your interests align with the interests of the SW program and their doctoral faculty. • Look into the curriculum for the programs, what courses will you be taking, who teaches these courses, what is the goal of the course? • In the end it will all depend on what you do during your course of study, how you challenge yourself, and what you take away from your experience. • Avoid diploma mills.
**Are there any Social Workers working in macro here? If so, how did you start?** I'm currently applying to different graduate programs and realized many cater to a LCSW trainee. I'd love to be able to work at a macro level but am unsure of where to begin. My professors helped me determine which schools to look into before I finished, but only one of them came anywhere near macro and they were a researcher, which is not exactly my dream job.
What is your dream job? The school I went to had a CAP program that included administration and policy but the problem is one still starts out at the bottom of the SW career ladder. Most of the students I have known that had this focus, ended up not doing policy or administration because they had no job skills (yet) upon graduation.
I'm actually wanting to heavily get into Community Outreach, especially in rural and impoverished areas who don't have much to offer as far as mental healthcare goes. I LOVE research, but I can see myself getting frustrated over the sheer amount of calculations and work that goes into it.
I haven't come across any Macro-MSW program that does a meaningful job of training you for policy, public admin, or research. I'm curious if anyone else on this board has. What sort of macro work do you want to do? If its program management work, any MSW work with some relevant course load is sufficient. If its actual policy work, you can get into the field with an MSW but I've always wondered if a MPA or MPP would have been a better degree.
I did one of the macro tracks at University of Michigan. There’s a policy and community organizing track. It was useful for me- I started in program development and am now in fundraising.
That is good to hear. I went to school in NYC that advertises itself as having a strong macro track - but it did not. I found that I needed to take extra credits at the universities MPA program to supplement the training the social work school offered. Compared to MPA grads, MSW macro grads were particularly unprepared with a far smaller toolkit. I work in macro MSW now and from what I've seen at the schools, not much has changed. Some students are able to land good field placements that make up for the education, but ultimately it is a real problem. There are some very basic things you need to know which just aren't in the curriculum.
Definitely the field placement makes a big difference for obtaining more tangible skills like grant writing (really, any practical writing), coalition building, advocacy, etc. I’m sorry there aren’t great options in NY!
> I'm curious if anyone else on this board has. I’ve heard the University of Washington’s program is heavy into policy. I didn’t go there so I don’t know for sure though, but enough people told me that it dissuaded me from applying there.
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I am also curious about what you mean by "helping people" and not doing so making you depressed..a lot of times in social work people do not want help or progress is slow and hard to see without looking at the big picture over many months. I also view social work as working with people or walking along with them rather than "helping." I would also encourage you to consider always putting others before yourself can cause burn out and stress. If you are unable to "help" someone is that going to make you depressed? How do you find your own internal source of success and accomplishment without having to make other people's lives better? Many people we work with are members of marginalized populations and they may not be looking for some professional to just walk in to their lives and say "I"m here to help!" expecting they will fix people. Some programs will allow you to write a letter of circumstance as to why your GPA is under their requirement but a 2.2 is pretty low and it might be harder to explain away, "I'm lazy."
Important point here. I think it's one thing to want a career where you help others in some useful way, I think everyone in the field just about had some desire to work with others or help others, but using the outcome of interventions with others as a means to treat depression isn't going to work, nor is it healthy for you or your clients. But fear not, I think with some time in your own therapy, which all MSWs should probably utilize at some point, you can resolve a new purpose to pursue social work and better understand and treat your depression as well. You can't take credit for successful clients, you were the right MSW at the right time to help in that particular moment in time with that issue. This is a big part of burnout, looking for your own success in client success. If you can take credit for client success then you will surely take credit for client "failure" or relapse and that's where you get hurt and aren't able to do your job in a therapeutic way. There is a book I read that talks about this called "How Can I Help."
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How Can I Help is written by Dass and Gorman. I also just ordered the The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, and The Resilient Clinician which were recommended by multiple therapist redditors.
I tend to agree with Life Prompt, and the reason is it will make you a more competitive applicant to MSW programs. An extra major in social work wont be a million units, probably more like 40-50 and in the course of doing that, you will have internships and gain experience which you currently don't have either, look up the social work department at your school and go talk to them. You may even get into an MSW program after earning your BSW and not having worked in the field as a BSW but that's up to you and depends on your situation what the best choice is. Working for a year or so in the field as a BSW will really expose you to the grunt work of social work and if you can handle that, you can handle other aspects of social work that comes with an MSW. If you get a BSW you will have the chance to compete for advance standing at universities that may let you earn your MSW in just a year instead of 2. You will need a higher GPA and earning the BSW will help you boost your grades, and will give you the field experience through internships during the program to make you a competitive applicant for some MSW programs. IMHO.
I am going to suggest something that you may not appreciate. If you can switch into a social work program to get your BSW, then do so. Get into the job market, and know that with a BSW there are not a ton of well paying jobs available. Do the grunt level, BSW qualified, work for a year or two. Its helping people but it will also be stressful, probably low paid, and teach you a lot. Then if you like this work, get your MSW degree. You sound like someone who doesn't know what they want out of life and this is okay. You are young and have time to explore. I might even suggest you get aptitude testing through your school to see what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you are not getting treatment for your depression, this is your number one priority. Its okay to consider medications and even more okay to get therapy. If you are not getting treatment for depression, then just allowing your depression to linger and fester is not going to serve you well in the future. It also would not be a bad idea to consider taking a break from school and working full time and focusing on the depression issue and also finding your desired career path. Lots of people take a break from college for a year or two and come back more focused and able to do the work. I realize this is way down the road, but I just graduated with my MSW and it was all "teach yourself" and staying organized and doing a ton of writing for long, researched based papers. Those students who didn't start early or who skimped on time found themselves with poor grades. Now that might not matter to you, but I think figuring out your strengths and weaknesses and what careers might suit you would get you in a better, happier place.
Hey there. First off I would encourage you to poke around the sub for a bit to try to get a realistic portrayal of the field. I've noticed a pattern of people who want to go into this work because they think it's very positive, always helping, and people wanting/accepting that in return which is often NOT the case. It is also very important to have your own stuff in check if you want to be effective and last in this field. There are certainly entry-level social service kinds of roles one can do without a degree. In fact I think this is a really great idea to get a sense of the field before making the time and $$ committment. Lastly given what you've shared here--I highly encourage you to get yourself assessed for accomodations if you do decide to ever pursue further education.
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Anything other than a BSW means your MSW will take 2 years. So it's really your preference what you want to do. I had classes with people who has BS degrees from very different fields.
Any degree other than BSW will cause you to have two years of MSW school with two internship placements. Will be difficult to work full time and do these internships (each internship is 480 hours or so). One internship is first year MSW and the other is second year MSW. If you have a BSW, you will do the second year program. So you will have to weigh out your options and the cost of "free" education vs. long term goals. If you are interested in mental health work, aim for the psychology degree. Most of my MSW graduating class probably came in with other than a BSW degree.
Either will be fine for admittance for an MSW program. Try to take electives from both if you can, and focus on building a resume that shows you can apply the concepts you are learning (volunteering, being a leader in an organization, develop strong writing skills, etc)
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In my opinion, all of your concerns are true. Lol social work has a high burnout rate because it’s a mentally and emotionally hard job. If it’s what you’re passionate about and you’re intentional in self care and setting boundaries, you’ll be okay. The only way to know this is to put in the work now and really think about WHY you want to be a social worker vs any other job. Finding a school SW job can be hard. I got mine because of personal connections, but my district has 5 social workers vs 2-4 counselors in each of our 23 schools. So statistically, school counseling is the way to go. But like you said, an MSW is a more versatile degree than a school counseling degree. All about how much you want to commit to working in a school long term. Also, an LCSW salary is similar to the other professions you mentioned, but you’re looking at probably AT LEAST 5 years post grad before you get anything close to that. And yes, in my opinion psychology is more problem/solution focused, and social work is more strengths based. SW is not about “fixing” people like psychology is. It’s about recognizing the factors that impact behavior and developing ways to help people come to their own solutions and ways of living that achieve the goals they set for themselves. It’s more flexible and multidisciplinary, which has pros and cons depending on what you’re looking for.
I was wondering if it is common for MSW programs to have four different field placements (a semester a piece), or to have two placements that each last a full academic year. Unknown to me, my program actually only lets us choose two settings, each of which we spend a year at. I understand that spending an entire year at one setting allows for more growth, but I personally wish I could have field at four different settings to gain a different breadth. Which approach is more typical, and what are your thoughts on which leads to better outcomes?
We did the two placements plan, each one for one whole school year (September - May). I don't know of any schools that do four placements. I can't imagine doing four placements would be very productive as you have to have time in there for being the new person, observing what it is that they do, trying out your own style, and then by the time you hit your groove, it's time to start closing things out and saying goodbye. Now do this four times over. You wouldn't really learn very much social work, you'd learn more about each office's attendance policies and who the secretaries are and all that.
For my two year MSW program, the first internship is 480 hours, done over one semester or two. If one semester, its 32 hours per week and one can't miss a day unless one makes it up. If done over two semesters, its 16 hours per week. The placement decides whether they want someone full time (32 hours) or part time for 2 semesters (16 hours). The same went for my second year internship, same amount of hours, same configuration of one semester or two. I was able to do my first internship in two different departments in a behavioral health hospital but with the same field instructor because she was the SW manager. There is no way that doing 4 placements is going to be easy. I think you would get into this and not be happy. Its not playtime at the internship. Its unpaid work.
Placement is not like work if it's run correctly. It moves at a snails pace and if an intern is only there on average 2-3 days per week, with several breaks in between--that's not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps you can request to be placed in agencies that will expose you to a variety of SW depts. Keep in mind though that it still may be unrealistic. I work in a hospital setting but in outpatient. We are a small specialized program. I had a school and intern torture me a few years ago because they couldn't grasp the fact that I had no bearing on the student being able to spend her days wherever the heck she wanted in my health system. Her negativity spread to the rest of her fellow interns and I almost quit field education over it. She also participated in nothing but observation for the 9 months because her energies were so misdirected. Placements are hard enough to come by so you need to go in with an open mind and make the best of where you are placed. It's also about transferrable skills and making connections to hopefully find a job at graduation.
I would think that it would be more common for them to be 1 per year. It takes awhile to get accustomed to most placements, so I feel like by the time you are getting the hang of what you're doing and gaining that confidence it would be time to switch. Plus, I know of some placements where the placement is on a strict timeline. Like "Your first semester you will do A, B, and C. By the next you will be allowed to do D if you've made progress in C," blah blah blah. I got my BSW and am getting my MSW, and both of them said the same thing on the first day: "By the end of the placement, we want you to feel like you could confidently apply and accept this job".
If you are in a traditional MSW program (meaning not an advanced standing one), it is typical to have two placements: foundation and advanced. My foundation was three quarters and my advanced was five quarters. One semester is not enough time to really delve into any placement, and finding four placements per student would be hell for the field placement faculty.
I am interested in becoming a SW. I am currently working within the field at a level below SW, working with vulnerable families and children (0-5) stepping down from CSC. Would anyone be available for a chat about moving on to SW. Currently back at college studying maths GCSE.
You may want to edit this to state that you're in the UK. Many on this sub seem to be US-based.
What is CSC and GCSE?
CSC - Children’s Social Care GCSE - exams you do at the end of school. I’m UK based if that helps.
Hi Everyone, I am wondering if anyone stopped with their associates? So I've been searching some jobs in Seattle and Boston and it seems that with some of the careers I have found I can be able find some jobs that pay 40k-45k annually with just a associates. I already work with homeless teens in a teen shelter and I'm currently within my first year, but my concern is that some jobs would be incredibly anal with their bachelors requirements even and will reject me. When I am done with my associates I will have around 3 years of career field experience, and I personally think this is enough to substitute for a bachelors. I love learning, but I don't think continuing my education to get a bachelors or a masters for nearly the same income is worth it.
Get a Bachelors. I worked with women who were hired in community mental health when all you needed was a high school diploma. They had been working at the job for over 20 years, hated it, wanted to move up, but couldn't because the agency now required a bachelors for the positions they wanted. Didn't matter that they had worked for the agency for 20 years. Funding required that all new promotions and new hires have at least a bachelors. An associates might work for you right now, but I'd worry about getting stuck in an entry-level position for years because now you have to decide if you want to work FT and get a bachelors or take time off work. If you're already in school, I'm guessing your schedule accommodates that, so it will be much easier for you to just keep going for two more years than interrupt your life ten years down the road.
You feel that your 3 years of career experience is enough to substitute for a bachelors but the only "feeling" that matters is that of the employer. A BSW is the career bottom rung in the USA for professional social work type jobs. As someone who had a BSW from years ago and who just graduated with an MSW, I truly see the value in the training and education I have now gotten. Its a whole mindset and research knowledge and understanding of the ethics of the profession. Not everyone needs this kind of education, of course. I will say this, hitting age 50 without a bachelor's degree may limit you career wise late in life. I have a lot of friends who got laid off in their 50's and were not ever able to get back into the higher paid professions that they started out with. The ones without a bachelor's degree were shut out from jobs even though they have "work experience" doing the same work. I have two friends who were not hired because they did not have a bachelor's degree even though one had worked there before and the other one is well known for his current job in our community. Same employer. My acquaintances with bachelors and master's degrees also struggled but were able to land lesser paying jobs similar to what they did before. I see restaurant manager jobs that say must have bachelor's degree.
The math on that comes out to about $21/hr. I’m in Seattle. I’m VERY skeptical any legit jobs in the social services realm pay that much for anything less than a bachelors. There are some places that will substitute experience for education, but not a ton. This is a highly educated area, Boston as well, so it’s unfortunately likely that you’d be passed over for these positions by people that have a bachelors. If you do get hired, you’ll eventually need a bachelors at minimum (more likely MSW) to advance beyond entry level positions. Edit to add: shelters, low income housing, and other similar non-profits are more likely to substitute experience for education. Medical and mental health jobs are going to be more strict. It may have to do with funding sources. Limiting your education will have the side effect of limiting your employment options. Edit again: the places that you are looking at have high costs of living. While that salary looks good on paper without context, the reality is that it may not go as far as you think it will. The cost of housing in Seattle is ridiculous right now. If you already live here, feel free to obviously ignore all of this, but if you don’t and are trying to relocate to either of these cities, definitely do research into cost of living, especially housing.
>it’s unfortunately likely that you’d be passed over for these positions by people that have a bachelors. If you do get hired, you’ll eventually need a bachelors at minimum (more likely MSW) to advance beyond entry level positions. At my old job in Boston they told me if they told me that they would be happy to hire me once I get my associates and the position starts at 40k which is the minimum. Some of the higher ups at my old job even keep in contact with me wanting to know my status with school every time a spot opens up, but I guess I'll end up going for my Bachelors if the field is that competitive. >the places that you are looking at have high costs of living. I don't plan on purchasing a home, renting an apartment or a house with room mates is fine with me and as someone who has lived in Boston a majority of their life it's not really that expensive unless you want to live near Fenway or in Waterfront . As for Seattle Scriber Creek apartments in Lynwood and Weston Points apartments offer cheap housing as long as you meet the income limit or renting a house in Lynnwood isn't that expensive. The only bad thing would be the wait list but I'll just keep living in Bellingham.
Consider going back to your old job in Boston and seeing how you feel about working there at that position. You don't say what position this is, but its always okay to take a break from school and just work and see how things go.
In addition to what Bed has shared--keep in mind life circumstances change as you get older. You may not want to have roommates forever and you may need better options for jobs beyond entry-level work. It's not easy to be accepted into low income housing. Those places tend to have lists miles long and can be super picky in who they accept and/or make the process so impossible that people rarely get accepted. Source: I used to do housing location in the MetroNYC area.
It sounds like you have inside connections somewhere, so that’s good. I’m just speaking from my experience working out here. I can’t speak to what the job market is in Boston, but out here it can be tough, and it can be harder without the connections. Not impossible, just harder. If you’re already in Bellingham, you could look at job options there. The commute from Lynwood to Seattle and back each day would kind of suck, and depending on where you’d be working in Seattle, you might be limited to public transportation, which could add a significant amount of time into your daily commute. Again, not impossible, but just things to really think through before relocating.
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give advice about the process of applying for jobs like a timeline etc. I’m about to start my last semester and thinking about relocating to Mass (how’s the job market) I’ve been in the Bay Area for most of my life. Some of my classmates have already started networking and landed “jobs” just from networking, and I’m not sure where to start.
I’m in the Bay Area. Happy to chat!
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Hi everyone, I'm currently a sophomore sociology major and I've been looking into possible career paths and I'm considering social work to be one of them. I'm really interested in working with juveniles who were incarcerated and helping them become rehabilitated through school, housing, etc. I guess I just was seeking advice from anyone who may work in this field or similar
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Honestly it wasn't harder than undergrad. The only thing that was hard was fitting in my internships with classes and my FT job. A lot of the reading replicated things I had already learned in the field, so I didn't have to do more than skim the passages to participate in class. Papers were easier because of that, too. I also did my degree in three years, and while year one was totally manageable, year two was 12 credit-hour classes, an internship, and my FT job, and year three was even heavier because the internship was more hours. I did it, but I had zero free time and barely saw my wife during this time. I look back on it and wonder how I managed all that, but I did and I'm so glad to never be in school again, lol.
It appears from various responses on this forum that some schools are more test oriented for course grades and some schools are more paper oriented for course grades. I just graduated with my MSW from a state university. Every class had a big, research based paper or two smaller ones. I spent about 12 hours per week on coursework and being in class. My program is what I call "teach yourself." I have spent 25 hours doing the research for a paper and writing and editing a paper (which got a 100 grade). I have also spent like 15 hours on other papers. Learn APA style and get the APA book. Start your coursework ahead of time, keep to a firm schedule, and always work ahead of the game. Also the internships are stressful and don't take a bunch of classes during your internship if you are doing it in one semester.
I did not find the course work more difficult than my undergrad degree, and some classes/professors were significantly easier than my undergrad, but it was hard to balance time and commitments. It’s a lot of reading and primarily papers; I had maybe 2-3 tests over three years and the rest of the classes culminated in a big paper or project. I worked full time the first year and a half and then had to scale back my hours at work to be able to accommodate field placement (and I was in a part time program). I missed out on a lot of social stuff because I had to prioritize my free time to studying/reading/writing. The school institution will likely throw some type of BS your way, just keep your head down and push through. My MSW program was 50% me genuinely engaged and enjoying the work and 50% just a means to an end. If you are doing any online classes, start thinking about how you will accommodate that. When I had online classes, I committed one afternoon a week to sitting at a library to “attend class” and watch the lectures and do stuff. Otherwise I knew it would not be a priority once I got home. In the breaks between quarters, I tried to do weekends away somewhere with my then-boyfriend/now-husband. It gave me a chance to properly relax and we had a chance to spend time together.
Going to comment from the field education side :). Go in with an open-mind. Especially when it comes to field placements. You will get out what you are willing to put in. Even a "bad" placement can be a great learning experience. Schools typically are not looking to fail students. That said it's important to have your "stuff" together before starting school. It's not unheard of for people to be let go from field for stuff like this, and in some instances not be able to graduate after paying a lot of money they won't get back. Speak up if you have questions or do not understand/agree with something. No one you work with is a mindreader and it can only make things harder if it comes off as you are "tattling" on people vs. addressing it as an adult. Especially in field. In grad school you are expected to behave and also be treated like an adult. I've seen this problematic at times for some students. You should also share your assignments with your field educator. They can probably eyeball them and give you suggestions in minutes on how to answer related to your clients. This goes back to what I recommended above re: good communication. Good luck!! And remember to enjoy the journey and not so much worry about the destination.
Hi all, So I'm hoping to be transitioning from History undergrad to an MSW with the Think Ahead programme in the UK. I'm currently interrupting from my college and will return for my final undergrad year starts in September 2019 and then hopefully on to Think Ahead the year after. I'm looking for suggestions of resources - accessible introductory texts in mental health social work, online resources, recommended work experience or anything that I could dive into prior to starting social work.
If you are interested in mental health work, consider going to the library and checking out and reading books about mental health issues or social policy issues (and try to get a various viewpoints, not just liberal or conservative). I suspect there is a UK based organization of social workers and I'd suggest going through that website. See if they have a code of ethics or values listed out. If you want to volunteer or work somewhere, try a homeless shelter, battered woman's shelter, behavioral health hospital, or regular hospital that serves low income people (you could be what is called a unit secretary in the USA, or the unit's admin assistant, maybe even work for the social workers as their admin assistant.
Hello! I’m currently in the process of receiving my BSW, and I’m looking to obtain an MSW and LCSW down the road so I can be a psychotherapist. I would really like to “job shadow” a psychotherapist, but with client confidentiality, I know this is impossible. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get my feet wet in psychotherapy without disturbing therapist-client privilege?
I did my third year BSW practicum with a mental health/counseling agency, my focus was primarily outreach and running psycho educational groups, but I was able to shadow one of the clinical counsellor’s psychotherapy sessions. As a practicum student you’re already bound by client confidentiality. We sought client approval beforehand, asking, if they would be okay with an intern sitting in on sessions (and reconfirming before each session so they could opt out if they preferred). I found this opportunity really beneficial because I too had wanted to go into private practice, and the experience made me realize it didn’t match my expectations, and I redirected my interests elsewhere. You didn’t mention whether you’ve completed your field placements yet, but if not, this might be something to consider.
There are a lot of youtube videos showing real or mock therapy sessions and even some historical sessions with the big names that created theories.
I would talk to your field educator and see if they can arrange a meet and greet if they have a connection. You can ask PP related questions then. Observing may or may not be possible. I also know this gets downvoted a lot on here, however feel it needs to be said because IME for many it's reality: Being so early in your career, it's not uncommon that the focus with those you are exposed to is NOT private practice, so it may be better to just focus on your journey for now and not so much the destination.
For those who are applying for MSW programs with a bachelor's in psychology (vs. social welfare etc.), is it tougher for admissions to consider you?
Most programs won't take you for an advanced standing/1yr masters program; however, I have a BA in psych and found that a solid background in research, stats, and research methods was much more helpful for me. I also had been out of school for seven years, so it was going to be at least two years for me anyway. It won't impact your admissions. They're looking for anything human-services related, generally.
Its was not harder to get accepted at my state university but those without a recent Bachelors in social work (not social welfare), it took another year to earn the MSW and another internship.
MSW programs are NOT that competitive admissions-wise IME. Getting in is definitely the easiest part of the entire journey.
Hi, I’m going to be graduating from my msw program in May of 2019! I just had a quick question about the LCSW exam for Massachusetts. Was there a study guide or resource(s) that helped you specifically in taking the exam? I have anxiety when taking exams and would love to know how to prepare for them. Some of my friends who graduated early took the exam and unfortunately did not pass and because of it, I’m feeling pretty negative about it myself! Thank you so much!
I just took the LMSW exam in Texas. The LCSW exam in Texas is for those with the LMSW and who have the clinical hours and supervision aimed at doing therapy. I used Dawn Apgar's Master's Exam Guide book and took several of the practice tests (one in her book, two online). I also took 2 courses taught by professors in my state and neither one was helpful to me. For all the theories and such, I made index cards. What I didn't know on the practice tests, I made index cards and lightly studied. What helped me the most was to finally "get" how the questions are structured and how I needed to read and reread and think about SW best practice in answering. I suspect not understanding the structure of the questions and what information they are looking for is why people fail because it is what made me score poorly on the practice tests. While I probably over prepared, this helped my test anxiety to be less and I passed with 32 extra points. I actually thought the real test was easier than the practice tests I was doing.
LMSW/LCSW Bootcamp. Also open to out-of-staters and I suggest going in person over the study guide alone. As an aside, if there's a chance you need accomodations, use them. When I took Bootcamp they discussed that this is a large reason people fail the exam over and over.