Career change from Social Work?
 

I have been thinking A LOT about getting out of this field for a TON of reasons lately (which could be a whole other thread in itself). The problem is I have NO IDEA what else I would be qualified for. I have worked in the social services field since 1998, primarily in mental health. Going back to school is NOT an option because I already owe 80K in loans. I also need to make at least the equivalent of what I am making now salary wise. I've been talking with friends and co-workers and they feel I am a good Social Worker and encourage me to look into doing Administrative work in this field, but even that doesn't appeal to me much due to all the bureacracy we are faced with "at the top". I like supervising, but even that can be frustrating at times. I don't think there are many Social Workers on these threads, but I was wondering in general if anyone has any advice or suggestions. Most of my "frustrations" have more to do with stuff like working with incompetent staff, lack of services available, dealing with burnt out Social Workers, that kind of thing, and not the clients themselves really. I know that no job is perfect but I think in my field, especially, with the state of our country today, things are definately going to continue to get worse. Help!!!

Hey winnie...

I'm not a social worker. I'm a marriage and family therapist working towards state licensure. I spent three years doing social work-related duties for County mental health while accruing licensure hours and can appreciate your frustrations!!! I finally had to leave my job because the caseloads were out of control and all we were doing was putting out fires!

As a social worker, you have A LOT of options...especially since you are an LCSW...your license goes a lot further than my MFT licensure, which is restricted to my state. :( You can even go into a university or community college as a counselor for disability services (especially with YOUR mental health background!), the student health center, or career services.

May I suggest that you look at the aspects of social work you DO like and see what jobs fits those parts...

If you'd like to PM me to talk further, I'd be happy to talk...

Hmmmm.....I agree. I think you should identify what you ENJOY about your job, and use that as your guidepost.

Thinking about the state of Arkansas (each state could be different), you could work at a college or university as a counselor in their counseling services, you could be an internship coordinator for their social work interns, maybe an academic advisor specializing in the social science majors, you could go work at a private psych hospital doing therapy there, you could find a private long term psych facility (for children or for CMI adults) and be a therapist, you could work in a med/surg hospital as one of their social workers, you could possibly teach undergrad or community college classes (maybe in sociology?....depends on what the schools want), you might be able to work in a public high school/junior high (depends on what the district requires...some are so desperate for good workers they waive the 2 year teaching requirement/teaching license), you could work for a daycare that specializes in children who can't handle regular daycare (due to illness or behavior problems), you could be an admissions coordinator (blech! some people like it, I didn't) in a psych hospital, you can be a research assistant (may not pay much though), you could do prison evaluations.....well, that's it for right now!!

I have a master's in counseling psychology, which qualifies me to be a therapist. After working 8 years in the psych field (and volunteering for AST for 6 years), I jumped ship and I'm now a Greek advisor. I had plenty of background classes in my major....it was a matter of having the knowledge about Greeks and not necessarily the "Higher Ed/Student Affairs" degree. So a career change can be done without going back to school, but you have to sit down and figure out what skills and talents you have, then find a job description that you can match.

Good Luck to you!
PsychTau

Re: Career change from Social Work?
 

Have you ever considered being a Social Worker for a heath system/hospital (we called them Case Managers)? I'm thinking more along the lines of an acute care facility (either for profit or not-for-profit). You would be dealing with mostly patients (ie. uninsured, terminal, etc.) and medical staff.

Just a thought...

Hi all. I don't know if it is the stress of the holidays or what, but things are getting much worse. I find myself getting REALLY upset several times per week and it is to the point where I just don't want to do this anymore. I feel like I wasted 3 years in grad school and a whole lotta money as well. But again, I still don't know what else I could be qualified to do. I've gone on interviews with other populations in my field and continue to send out resumes but I just don't feel like this is what I want for the rest of my life. I don't see the profession getting any better, in fact, I think it is getting worse and WORSE. People (and not clients either, ie. other Social Workers) are down right mean in the field too and I find myself feeling sick to my stomach on Sundays thinking about having to go to work the next day. My friends and family have even begun to notice a change in me too because I just don't feel like doing anything anymore except laying low when I am not at work. I like my clients and the people I work with but other then that, I am really hating what I do. Sorry for the rant, if anyone has any advice, please help!!!!!

Hi winney....

G-d! You sound just like I did this time last year! i had that same stomachache on Sunday nights and multiple breakdown sessions weekly...now that I left I feel much better....

What brought you to the field of social work? What do you like about social work (in general...not related to any specific job)? How can you incorporate your ilkes into a new position?

Have you considered getting out of the government-run agencies, which are filled with BS and bureaucracy and go into a corporate-run field? That's what I did and it helped immensely! Do private-funded hospitals, like Kaiser or St. Joseph's have openings for LCSWs in your area? The nice thing about these type of establishments is that they take care of their own. If you do a good job, you get noticed and appreciated for it...

I wish you the best of luck...it can be tough this field....there are options out there for you!! Hopefully you'll find it soon! I'd hate to see another good SW'er drop out due to a bad system!

I think that is the major problem I am having right now at work. Because I work with mostly clients who are mandated to services by the courts, we have these wretched people always nagging us about what we are NOT doing for our clients. It is hard because we have clients that have basically burnt all their bridges and are now not eligible for a lot of services and these court-established agencies are always taking it out on US when the clients can't get services. If a client is unwilling to go to rehab, it is our fault. If a client has tried to hurt others because they are antisocial, it is our fault. If a client can't get into supervised housing because they've terrorized clients in another supervised housing setting it is seen as our fault. I am getting tired of dealing with people who are not my actual supervisor or client telling me that I am not doing my job right. I am also sick of just putting out fires or being seen by clients as a "police officer" always calling 911. I didn't go to SW school for that. I am sure it would be a lot better in a hospital or private agency. It just sucks right now because in NYC, like every major city, I am sure, the market is flooded with Social Workers. Because of that, it is difficult to switch populations because they want you to have experience with that particular population and they also have an endless supply of applications to choose from. For example, I thought about working with the elderly and I have actually gone on interviews for this population and I have noticed the same pattern: "All your experience lies in mental health, you don't have experience with the elderly". So I feel pretty stuck right now. After the holidays I am going to get together with my old field instructors and see if they have any connections for me. In the meantime, it still sucks though. I have a meeting this morning with those horrible people I was describing above. Ugh. I wish it was just Thursday already.

Hey Winnie,

Check out the NYC Dept of Education website and see if there are any openings for School Social Workers. I'm in the process of getting a Master's in School Counseling, and the school where I'm doing my practicum has a School Social Worker there. I also know someone who just got a position as a School Social Worker, and she worked as a Social Worker someplace else before that.

Do you know any relatives and/or friends who work in the school system? If so, speak to them.

If you do become a School Social Worker, at least you'll have all the school holidays/vacations to look forward to.

;)

OMG! This reminds me SO much of county mental health! Can I tell you how many times I got blamed for the clt's actions. "Well you must not be a good enough MFT if you can't get him/her to do blank." I even had a woman scream at me in the clinic lobby stating I wasn't helping her and that I've done nothing for her in all the months that she was coming!" (In reality, I had scheduled many appointments with her and she'd constantly no show!)

It's almost like these clts EXPECT the service rather than recognize that these services are a gift. Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, it only fosters the dependence the clts have on us, so it's as much as losing battle for the clt as it is for us!

Sounds like you've got a good plan to talk to your professors...also, try going onto www.socialservice.com to see what else is out there!

Have you considered going into Student Affairs? As a few people have mentioned, Health Education, Counseling Services, and Disability Services offices at universities often have LCSWs on staff.

Not only would you have a school calendar, you'd also have access to classes if you wanted to go back to school without incurring more debt.

In NYS, there is a different process and license to become a school SWer. Also I think you have to have a lot of experience in a school first. I love this idea though. I actually have gone on interviews for not school SWer but similar positions for SWers in schools and the response has always been "but all your experience lies in mental health" and "you don't have school experience". I think Munchkin is on to something and I am going to start looking into it more after the holidays. I just need to get through the next few weeks first. Also, we are very short-staffed here and need another SWer which leads to higher stress levels in the office for the entire team. I'll keep you all posted though.

My friend who just became a School Social Worker did not have any school experience either (I'll ask her to double-check).

Good Luck in whatever you decide. :)

Winnie - Have you thought about "job shadowing" or volunteering some time to get some experience in the areas you are interested in? Volenteering has led me to at least two jobs before. If you could spend one night a week working with the elderly in a home, then you will get to know the people who work in that facility...which might lead to a recommendation for a job should one open...just a thought. Research before you start and pick a place that you really want to work based on salary and benefits. Just a thought!

Winnie, as much as you like dogs, you might think about becoming a groomer! You mentioned becoming a vet tech in another thread, so it might be up your alley. There's a VERY exclusive school in NYC. (NYC School of Dog Grooming, I think.)

You know, as a groomer, I make more money than I would have teaching. (I make more money than my cousins who have their masters.)

If you love dogs, and I know you do, you might enjoy it. It is refreshing to only have to deal with dogs all day. They are so much better than people! ;)

Thanks Tippie!!!! I got some info about a Vet Tech program and there is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much math involved, and that is just not my thing. I will look into this though, thanks :)

I am a social worker and there are tons of jobs you can do!
 

Hi! I totally know where you are coming from...I am a social worker too. The first few years out of undergrad I worked for the courts, first as an advocate for domestic violence victims and then as a juvenile officer. It about burnt me out! So with my mom's encouragement, I went back to school to get my MSW. I had always thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but going to school for my MSW made me realize how awesome a job it is and how many different fields it is transferable to.

I plan on going into public policy or public administration. Other fields to look into are children and family studies, education, religious sector, non-profit management, fundraising and development, public affairs, student affairs (at a college or university), consulting, lobbying, community development, government (local, state, federal), health care management, etc.

I had an awesome professor in grad school who made us peruse the classifieds and look for non-social work advertised jobs. He then made us write a cover letter and resume for that position utilizing our experiences in social work. You would be suprised how well it went and how it expanded our minds.

Don't give up hope! You don't have to go back to school to change careers! I absolutely love being a social worker and would want nothing else, but I understand your frustration. Just think about your job functions and how they relate to other jobs you are interested in and 'sell yourself' as the talented professional you are! Social workers do awesome work in various sectors. I have done a lot of program evaluation work this past year as a freelance consultant and love it (plus the pay is awesome). Maybe consider that too, since you have awesome experience!

Update
 

I just wanted to update everyone that things have gotten MUCH better at work these days. Our outpatient director has gotten very involved with our program, and my supervisor has been able to coordinate things amongst the team a lot better over the past month. Our RN, who really has never been into the job resigned, and today was actually her last day. We hired an awesome LPN about a month ago who has worked for the same type of program for a long time, but at a different agency. The outpatient director, as well as my supervisor, have advocated for our program constantly over the past month with the court-program that want us to do all of these impossible tasks. I've actually gotten to have some of the caseworkers of this program who used to give me a really hard time on an almost daily basis, almost come around to my side in a sense. I did this by having a heart to heart with a couple of them I have a fairly good relationship with, and with the help of our outpatient director and my supervisor, of course, who has been having regular contact with their program director. So I think things are slowly beginning to work out, and I am leaning less and less towards leaving. I have spoke with a lot of people who do what I do but for different agencies, and since our program is brand new (a year old) they say this happens with all the teams when they are new (transitioning through staff, getting a ton of difficult clients all at once, being overwhelmed with a ton of paperwork at once, etc.). Also, I found out today that I got a P/T positon working with TBI patients. I am really excited because it is a Service Coordinator position and I can take on as many or as few cases as I want and schedule my time with the clients when I want to. It pays really well to, and I really can use the $$$$$ now that my student loans, as well as car loan, are here, and not going anywhere LOL. I am sure I am going to have days that I absolutely hate what I do, but for now, I think I will continue to "stick it out".

Y'know if you ever want to switch coasts and come to Cali, there are a TON of social work jobs out here. Every week that I look through the Sac Bee, they all want social workers or ones with social work backgrounds.

Maybe you hated your job at one point because of where you were. I've been told that not all print firms run like the one that I am being laid off from. Granted it has scared me from ever wanting to enter the print or design realm ever again, but at least I know they aren't all the same.

I like California but don't know if I could just pick up and leave like that. All my family and friends are on the East Coast. Plus I have heard that it is harder if you are a transplant to California in my field, to find something. I guess I am not a big risk taker either though.........

Re: Update
 

Glad to hear that you're doing better and that things are moving in a positive direction!!!

Every job has it's negatives and positives...as long as the positives continue to outweigh the negatives, then you're doing good!!!

Yeah. I also have been looking into the hospital SW thing, as people have always suggested all along. I got called for a couple of interviews, but believe it or not, the salary is not even much higher. In one instance, it was LOWER then what I am making now. I never really wanted to do that anyways, I don't like being cramped up on a unit all day. Besides, and I know this is only one person's experience, but my friend is a doctor and she said that doctors and nurses, as well as families can be brutal to the SW staff, as well as the added bureacracy in the hospital system of discharging patients before they're ready because of insurance and reimbursement issues. My supervisor right now is pretty close to amazing and has been giving me lotsa free reign to do what I want, come and go as I please, etc. which I don't think happens in a lot of settings. We should turn this into the Social Workers vent/support thread :) .