Career change from Social Work?

[dancingqueenzta]

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!

[winneythepooh7]

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".

[chideltjen]

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.

[winneythepooh7]

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.........

[AChiOAlumna]

Originally posted by winneythepooh7
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".

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!!!

[winneythepooh7]

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 .