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Original poster

Can’t decide whether to do nursing, social work or OT

74 replies

K37529 · 08/10/2022 20:04

I’m planning on applying to do a degree in September and I’m torn between nursing, social work and occupational therapy. Anyone in these jobs could you give me the pros and cons of the roles? How heavy’s the coursework? I have 3 young children my youngest will be 2 when I would start and one thing im worried about is having time to getting my uni work done, could I realistically do it? Any advice much appreciated!

OP posts:

flowertoday · 08/10/2022 20:11

I am a social worker , and wish I had done ot. There is a great variety of roles for ots , and I think avoids many of the nursing / social worker pitfalls . Eg terrible hours / shifts, lack of respect and popularity ( especially for social workers). Also very practical and also creative- love my ot colleagues

flowertoday · 08/10/2022 20:13

Also meant to say I had three under 5 when I went back to uni to train. It was tough, but possible and worth it . I was very disciplined with study / tried to be organised and gey ahead with essays etc

cptartapp · 08/10/2022 20:16

As a nurse I echo the above response.
I wish I'd gone into OT too for much the same reasons.

Strawberrypudding · 08/10/2022 20:17

I wouldn't recommend nursing to anyone anymore. It's dire. Just watch the news and read the papers.

Don't have any experience of the others but I would definitely find OT more appealing than Social Work.

Have you thought about training to be a Play Specialist?

Original poster

K37529 · 08/10/2022 20:17

thanks @flowertoday, are social workers shifts long? I actually thought it would be a 9-5. I was thinking if I chose social work I would look to elderly social work not children.

OP posts:

flipflop76 · 08/10/2022 20:17

I trained as an OT 5 years ago when I was 40. I really enjoy it and you can work in so many different settings - schools, hospitals, charities, mental health settings, community settings, the list goes on. I'm currently in adult social care in a community role and it's so flexible.

MrsPnut · 08/10/2022 20:19

I trained as a social worker, I’d pick OT out of the three.
My friends who did OT are now working in commissioning whilst I retrained as an accountant.

Shrimpseyelashes · 08/10/2022 20:20

I’m a physio- I work closely with OT’s, nurses and social workers.
I would say in terms of stress levels once qualified a job in therapies (OT/PT) is far less
stressful than nursing or SW so that would influence me for sure. It obvs depends on where you work and I’ve had my fair share of
stress (left my last NHS role along with brilliant OT colleague due to unmanageable
workload) but nothing compared to what my SW and nursing colleagues are managing at the moment.

OT is a brilliant job with lots variety in terms of specialities.

CornishTiger · 08/10/2022 20:20

Social work jobs is definitely not 9-5 😂 if only. The degree was full on too. Uni and placement equated to full time. Then study in evenings and weekend. I had a baby and pre schooler too. It was hard.

summerlovingvibes · 08/10/2022 20:20

I'm in nursing, and whilst I love my job (respiratory specialist, private company, no nights / weekends etc), I would never in a million years go back to nursing in a hospital. GP surgery yes, hospital no. I'd rather retrain if I couldn't do community stuff now.

But the good thing with nursing is it gives massive scope for all sorts of different careers.

I have a very close friend who is a social worker - she would advise never to do it, even with elderly SW.

So although I don't know enough about OT, I would probably go do that!!

CornishTiger · 08/10/2022 20:21

I’d pick OT tbh.

NecklessMumster · 08/10/2022 20:23

You are right, social work in adult care community teams is weekdays 9 - 5, bar occasional emergency maybe. But so are the OT s and I think they have a bit of a clearer mandate , sw is less clear cut on outcomes which can be stressful.

Shrimpseyelashes · 08/10/2022 20:23

Have you done any shadowing of people in those roles OP? Would def recommend.

Biscuitandacuppa · 08/10/2022 20:24

I was an OT for over twenty years in the NHS. Of the three OT is probably the most flexible. I now work in education which is far far better than the NHS. OT will give you the most flexibility in terms of career options outside of the NHS.

If you are a creative problem solver then OT will be the right choice for you.

flowertoday · 08/10/2022 20:25

Would echo what others have said about social work - it really isn't a 9-5 role. Children's social work is absolutely the worst offender in this regard sadly

Anunusualfamily · 08/10/2022 20:27

Another nurse here recommending occupational therapy for all the same reasons as PP

NecklessMumster · 08/10/2022 20:27

I work 9 - 5 in adult care sw without any probs, it's v different to children's sw

user1498193554 · 08/10/2022 20:28

I wouldn’t choose nursing , I’m 27 years in the NHS now working as an advanced nurse practitioner in primary care. I would not encourage anyone into nursing nowadays so I echo the above posters, OT is a good consideration.

ALittleBitAhAh · 08/10/2022 20:29

I'm an OT and I love it! I didn't enjoy working on hospital wards but moved into community older adult mental health and am much happier. I chose it over mental health nursing as I wanted to work in both physical and mental health. I didn't consider social work as they are the profession that takes the most shit IMO. (Not saying nurses and OT's never do!)

ALittleBitAhAh · 08/10/2022 20:34

Oh and it terms of training......I graduated 6 years ago so of course things may have changed. It got more self directed as the years went on - so year 1, in most days. Year 3 - in 1-2 days. Placements were full time and you could be sent anywhere withing the training district (some students had to relocate). They did TRY to take circumstances into consideration, but never promised anything. I was in awe of a peer who had 4 kids (one toddler), dogs, horses and commuted in from about 2 hours away. That's commitment! She managed it though and there were lots of mums on my course who also did amazingly :)

Original poster

K37529 · 08/10/2022 20:35

@Shrimpseyelashes I work in a nursing home so work alongside nurses. OTs come in sometimes and it seemed like a much easier job that’s what made me think of that.

OP posts:

Deedippy · 08/10/2022 20:36

Social worker here for over 20 years and without a doubt would say NOT Social work. I've actually been looking at retraining and have considered OT

Bournetilly · 08/10/2022 20:38

I wouldn’t recommend nursing!
I have friends who are OTs and they love their jobs.
Social work seems very stressful.

If I could go back in time I’d probably choose OT myself.

Shrimpseyelashes · 08/10/2022 20:40

@K37529 ah that’s def good experience. Academically I would say OT is certainly not easier than other roles in healthcare- more in terms of stress levels.

Original poster

K37529 · 08/10/2022 20:43

@ALittleBitAhAh could you tell me was the degree difficult? This will be my second degree but I got my first 7 years ago so haven’t studied in a long time

OP posts:

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