Where do social workers go when they move on?

[WhoWants2Know]

I work in a job that has a lot of interaction with social workers. Recently I'm seeing that a lot of brilliant, experienced social workers who have been around for years have disappeared. I've heard a few say it's just impossible to carry on with budget cuts.

Where do they go? After all the training and experience they've built in the field, are there jobs where they can transfer their skills? Do they have to start over or take a lower paying job in the charity sector just to get away?

The one guy I know left and works as a jazz musician. Never been happier.

There's one on tik told / FB - Does clips with her nan

Ones I know: supervising foster carers in the private sector, specialist cse social worker with nspcc, policy and research avenues with universities and BASW, civil service. Safeguarding roles in various organisations e.g. professional sports clubs, religious organisations. I don't think they are being paid less, certainly not in all cases.

A great many of the brilliant ones are probably older than you think and are retiring and or emigrating. Very many are those who left during the pandemic and vow never to return due to the levels of work and the pressure from above. I have about 3 active social workers in my family and 2 senior / management level ones have recently retired/ took early retirement during the pandemic.

The ones I know who have left in the last 5 years have gone into commissioning, NHS jobs e.g discharge to assess, civilian police roles, education, counselling, massage therapies.

many have retired or been promoted out of frontline social work

3 others have died of heart attack, alcoholism and suicide all partially attributable to work stress

the vast majority are hanging on in there though.

The one I'm friends with was burnt out after 20 years. She bought a small holding in a beautiful, quiet part of the country and lives simply and frugally with her chickens and rescue dogs. Works very part-time as an online tutor.

I am currently a social worker in a local authority. I am in my last couple of weeks of my notice period after 10 years in my current job. I have given this job my everything, at the expense of my health and time with my own family. I can no longer cope with seeing struggling families and children and not having any solutions to give them due to cuts to budgets/services and the level of work that means I can't give them as much time as I would like. I am moving to work in a hospice where I hope that I can begin to make a difference to people's lives as was the plan when I started this career.

Ex social workers I know include one on the checkout in asda, one is an sahm to an 8 year old, one took early retirement and one works for an oil company in admin role.

That's quite a wide range of different options. I did know one social worker who died by suicide and another who was headhunted into a commissioning role. But it's reassuring to hear that it's not always a case of burning out and downgrading.