Page 3 | Can’t decide whether to do nursing, social work or OT

K37529 · 2022-10-08T19:04:40+00:00

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!

NormalNans · 08/10/2022 21:49

If you have a related first degree you can to an MSc in 2 years in OT.

SunflowerOrange · 08/10/2022 21:50

I'd love to move from teaching (adults) to OT. I'm earning peanuts at the moments so a salaried band 5 or 6 looks tonnes at the moment!

It's hard to find other careers at 40...

moanyhole · 08/10/2022 21:50

I have worked as a nurse for 30 years now,, hospital nursing in any of the departments and nursing homes are by far the hardest. I work in Intellectual Disability now and love it. It's still shift work but by a mile better, I rarely feel stressed, high staffing levels and loads of time to give quality care. So there are ways to have a nice nursing position. I would never work in a hospital or nursing home again. Having said that I still do shift work so I'd probably go with OT if I had my time back again

Ganymedemoon · 08/10/2022 21:59

I've been nursing for 23 years. I would not recommend it right now, which is a shame as it's a career with so many varied opportunities and a lot of potential, but right now it's just horrendous.

I cannot say I would recommend with SW or OT as neither of those jobs have the same appeal to me, I imagine SW is as horrendous as nursing right now though

Purpleheadgirl · 08/10/2022 22:11

I think you are going about this the wrong way in that it sounds like you want the degree, and worried about pros and cons of actually studying each....but not so much about how you are going to do the job in 2 or 3 years time.

All are degrees, all with same level of academic input and all with at least 1000 hours of placement that you will effectively have to complete with no idea where, and at the moment, when they will be. Depending upon where you train they may mean you living away or travelling a way away. You have to actually want to do any of those jobs as none is easy to train, or in work. I am an OT and work with s/w and nurses and all are stressful and enjoyable in different ways, would also say different sort of people can handle those stresses and demands in different ways and so are more suited to one or the other. All will need some work experience in order to apply so arrange some with OT and s/w specifically to get a better idea. All can work in mental or physical settings, and kids, adults or elderly but are absolutely worlds apart. None are an easy degree!

Quaggainexcelsius · 08/10/2022 22:14

I work with all three in my role in an NHS hospital.

Nurses- shifts which may or may not work for you. Time and a half on a Saturday, almost double time on a weekend or nights. Downsides is your job can be repetitive but most of the patients relate to you and you arguably make the biggest difference to their care. Another thing is having to work with doctors sometimes, and it can be hard to hear them make decisions which negatively effect you when they earn so much more and leave at 5 every day.
OT- popular, enthusiastic, fit. Everyone loves them but they're very in demand. I have realised that good OT's progress very quickly with some going to band 6 a year after qualifying. I guess this is for retention. Huge workload and lots of work being sent your way despite the fact that you're one person and there's 14 nurses.
social work- the ones in my place appear to have a good work life balance. Most work two days in the hospital, three days at home. A lot of their workload is emails, phone calls and meetings. If the shit hits the fan, it's usually them in the firing line. Not very respected by other clinical staff or by the general public. Overall they make a massive difference, it's just not as obvious as with nurses and doctors. A lot of social workers tend to be mums, so I think there's good flexibility.

Mossstitch · 08/10/2022 22:19

Did OT in my 40s with three kids and not having been in education since I was 16, lots of the students were mature. (have to say most of my assignments were done between 10pm-2.00am). It's served me well for the past near 20 years and there is a huge shortage, they can't fill the posts in my trust, so you would never be out of work. I'm now semi retired but continually being asked to do bank hours as so short staffed, I still enjoy it just my body complains. It is now 7 day working in hospitals but more civilised hours than nursing and no nights. Having worked with all three professionals I would say OT or nursing as there is a wide variety of jobs, if you don't like one specialism it is easy to change. One of my adult children has done nursing since, he hated ward work but has found a niche out patient role which suits him well. I cannot recommend social work, they all look pretty miserable and just seem to spend their time filling in paperwork to do with safeguarding or chasing care packages.

Original poster

K37529 · 08/10/2022 22:50

@Purpleheadgirl thanks for your reply. I know what your saying but I’m not looking to do a degree because I think it will be easier as I am sure no degree is easy, i am interested in these 3 jobs because Ive been a care worker for a long time and although I love my job there is very little room to advance. But with 3 small children at home I’m worried about doing a degree where the work load will be too much. I have a social sciences degree already so I think academically I would manage although I got this some time ago! It never occurred to me that placements might not be where I live so that is definitely something I need to think about so thank you!

OP posts:

Gr33ngr33ngr4ss · 08/10/2022 22:56

I think, if I didn't work for myself from home, it would be a logistical headache for childcare. But we're getting to the right side of childcare needs

Unis seem to be a bit last minute and chaotic sorting placements and skills training. You just can't plan.

Hairyfairy01 · 08/10/2022 23:00

K37529 · 08/10/2022 22:50

@Purpleheadgirl thanks for your reply. I know what your saying but I’m not looking to do a degree because I think it will be easier as I am sure no degree is easy, i am interested in these 3 jobs because Ive been a care worker for a long time and although I love my job there is very little room to advance. But with 3 small children at home I’m worried about doing a degree where the work load will be too much. I have a social sciences degree already so I think academically I would manage although I got this some time ago! It never occurred to me that placements might not be where I live so that is definitely something I need to think about so thank you!

Maybe this would be something you would have to check with the uni's you want to apply to. If you have kids my Uni place you within an hour of home. Not sure if all uni's do this. Main thing you need to think about is recent qualifications. Often they require a certain level within the last 5 years . Again worth checking with the uni's you want to apply to.

Original poster

K37529 · 08/10/2022 23:14

@Hairyfairy01 thanks I’ll check that out with the uni here. I finished a HNC in 2018 so hopefully they would accept that although would be cutting it fine for the 5 year mark

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SmotYci · 08/10/2022 23:39

I was a nurse, and wish I'd trained as an OT or SLT. Nursing is dire, and would discourage anyone from training as a nurse.

SnarkyBag · 09/10/2022 02:49

K37529 · 08/10/2022 23:14

@Hairyfairy01 thanks I’ll check that out with the uni here. I finished a HNC in 2018 so hopefully they would accept that although would be cutting it fine for the 5 year mark

It was over 15 years between my last qualification and starting my OT degree so not necessarily an issue for all uni’s

Wowzel · 09/10/2022 03:18

Your career prospects are often better in nursing if you want to move up the bands

Carlycat · 09/10/2022 03:31

Definitely not nursing. It's a thankless profession. Social working is so tied up in red tape it's virtually impossible to do your job. I'd definitely go for OT if you want any semblance of job satisfaction and value your mental health

Carlycat · 09/10/2022 03:34

Carlycat · 09/10/2022 03:31

Definitely not nursing. It's a thankless profession. Social working is so tied up in red tape it's virtually impossible to do your job. I'd definitely go for OT if you want any semblance of job satisfaction and value your mental health

Retired icu nurse btw. It absolutely annihilated my mental health

Realityloom · 09/10/2022 04:16

Can you work as a health care assistant in a hospital so you can see the 1st hand nursing culture?

There is a reason for the strikes and its not the money! Its long hours, would you want to nurse at 60?.

Choose OT or physio hands down. I work with all these sectors and neither look stressed like the nurses.

Quaggainexcelsius · 09/10/2022 04:18

Also I'm waiting to start my social work masters and due to placements, I've deferred twice. They can't offer me a placement within 30 miles and won't let me commute further than 30 miles so they say i have to relocate. Easier said than done with kids, house and partner.

Meili04 · 09/10/2022 04:18

LD nursing is nicer and tends to be slower paced. It's a very different role to adult nursing.

MrsMorrisey · 09/10/2022 04:28

I'm a nurse but wish I'd trained be an OT instead.
Study with kids is hard but you can do it if you're really diligent with the workload.
Placements are a pain though cos you don't really get a choice and you don't get paid.
Good luck with your choice.

Crazykefir · 09/10/2022 05:55

SnarkyBag, comparing it to male dominated roles plumbing eletrican etc. Your looking at £90 an hour in the south.

Mummysharkdoodoodoodoodoodoo · 09/10/2022 06:15

Definitely occupational therapy for quality of life

Dinneronmybfpillow · 09/10/2022 09:34

Yep. I've been qualified for over ten years, currently a band 6 RMN. I wouldn't recommend nursing to anyone right now. It's thankless and tbh I'm dreading going back after maternity but I'm the main wage earner so reducing hours/retraining isn't an option.

Hlglu56 · 09/10/2022 09:50

Nursing is very stressful but I think there’s lots of opportunities for career progression. You can specialise in different areas, become an ANP etc and if you do agency or bank work you can pick up good money. My mum friends that are nurses all do agency because they can’t cope with the hours and stress of ward nursing or can’t find childcare to cover the long shifts.

My SIL is a social worker and definitely does not do 9-5. A lot of visits are out of school hours so she has to do a lot on the late afternoons/ evenings and also does a lot of travelling around. She is very busy all the time but loves it. Her family do not though! I think both nursing and social work are vocations, you have to really want to do it because they are very demanding and as others said thankless a lot of the time.

Have no experience with OT.