Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

To ask any Social Workers out there ...

17 replies

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 28/05/2018 21:04

Do you like your job?

Can you tell me which area you work in, what the conditions & pay are like? I know what the salaries are roughly, but do you think you are well paid for the service you deliver?

Has anyone left Social Work and if so, why?

(Apologies - I'm always on here asking about different careers because I'm not 100% sure which path to take .)

OP posts:

NecklessMumster · 28/05/2018 21:07

South west, adult care,conditions and pay ok but I've been in it over 20 years and getting a bit burnt out, don't know what else to do. Interesting tho.

niceupthedance · 28/05/2018 21:10

I do like my job I work with teenagers for a local authority. Pay is shite but my team and manager are great and I can work flexibly so it takes some pressure off. I don't do court work, I think that would put me off the job.

Original poster

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 28/05/2018 21:18

Thanks Neckless & Nice that's a positive start !

OP posts:

WhataMistakeaToMakea · 28/05/2018 21:35

Manager in children's/child protection. It's high turnover and not great pay- you do a lot of extra hours with no overtime (you get time owing but sometimes hard to take it as it's so busy). Only getting busier with less resources. People are rude to you so you need a thick skin. Quite a few newly qualified recently have come to get the experience and left as you really do have to be a certain type of personality....
However I would never do anything else. It's so rewarding and every day is different. It's amazing when things turn around for the better in a family. I love the buzz of being high pressure (just wish the pay reflected this!) and the team spirit is amazing. Plus you have some really crazy things happen/situations you find yourself Ii which you just couldn't even imagine if you didn't do the job!

SealSong · 28/05/2018 21:48

Social worker in CAMHS. The job is killing me, I am looking for an exit strategy. No money is worth the amount of stress and workload. It's not the children/families/nature of the work that cause the stress, it's working in the NHS and the ridiculous pressures that brings coupled with the management culture. Given what I know now and my previous experiences (in children's social care) would I train to be a social worker if I had my time over? No. I would look for something less pressured.

SocialWorker2018 · 28/05/2018 22:04

NC to answer....

I am a supervising social worker at an IFA and I love it. I graduated as a mature student 6 years ago and have been in this post for 5 years - the agency has had its ups and downs but overall they are great to work for. My colleagues are great and we are well supported.

Judging by my friends’ experiences working in various local authorities, I don’t think I could handle the stress of a statutory job. They loved the work they did but were overwhelmed by the stress and caseloads.

I work 4 days a week, never do work outside of my contracted hours. £26k for a 4 day week, in the west country. Low caseload etc. I feel that I’m in a very fortunate position work wise.

ASauvignonADay · 28/05/2018 22:08

This is probably a stupid question but what is an IFA?

I'm really interested in social work - hoping the Step Up programme will run again as don't want to go back to uni.

KirstenRaymonde · 28/05/2018 22:09

Have you looked at doing Frontline, if you already have a degree?

ASauvignonADay · 28/05/2018 22:16

I have, but it wasn't running in my area or anywhere nearby annoyingly! I've just bought so not wanting to move.

Original poster

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 29/05/2018 06:35

What's frontline and step up, please?

It's good to hear about the job satisfaction. I did expect to hear more horror stories about the stress & work load.

SealSong

OP posts:

Original poster

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 29/05/2018 06:39

Ahh..just googled, should have done that before I typed!

OP posts:

newdaylight · 29/05/2018 06:49

I am a social worker having previously worked in child protection and now with children who are in care.

I've not really been in any comparable roles before to say what the money should be. I used to work in charities and the money wasn't great so I'm a bit more comfortable now but when you consider the pressure of the role and the levels of responsibilities it's probably not great.

I loved the work in child protection the most. It's addictive, rewarding, exhilarating at times and you can really see the differences you've contributed sometimes. The workload is unreal and you need to be able to handle stress and be prepared for the fact that you won't be able to get all the essential work done and you might be made to feel like shit for that. However, if you can do the most important stuff so you know you've done everything you can to help make children safe then that's something. You also need to be posted for working an awful lot of unpaid hours, which in many cases brings the wage down to near minimum wage levels.

I left that role when I had my first dc. I don't m mind working long hours but I would need some kind of predictability to be a parent. As it was I would leave in the morning and would have no idea if I would return home at 6.30 or 10 that evening.

newdaylight · 29/05/2018 06:50

Sorry posted too soon. I'm a nutshell my current job is more manageable but I would.love to go back to child protection in the future

user1493413286 · 29/05/2018 06:53

Social worker in child protection in south west, pay is not great but enough to live on but not enough for the stress and responsibility of what we do in my opinion.
I do like my job tho, sometimes it makes me very sad and I do think about it a lot outside of work but overall I like it and can’t imagibe doing anything different

Lorddenning1 · 29/05/2018 07:00

I'm in the northwest and have a law degree, I don't fancy going back to Uni, is there anyway to be without going back to Uni?

VladmirsPoutine · 29/05/2018 07:15

How well do you cope with stress? Not a social worker but friends with someone that works in CP.

SodTheGreenfly · 29/05/2018 07:29

Can't imagine it can be hard. We were reported via A&E after dd took a small overdose. Got a call from a social worker to ask if we needed support. His English was so poor I couldn't understand him well and he couldn't explain what support he could offer. He was also a bit of a pig and called me by my surname, no title. Clearly no management or very short ztaffing but I saw little evidence of overworking.

The SWs attached to our CAMHS team seem to roll in at about 9.20 and roll out at about 4.45 in what is supposed to be a 9-5 service. The waits here for assessment are 30 weeks pluz 23 for intervention. Could be shorter if CAMHS worked their hours and did a bit of overtime occasionally but that would go against the grain.

Based on our experience, I'd go for it. It can't be hard to shine and the greasy pole attracts a grafter. If you aren't a grafter coasting seems very acceptable from this side of the fence.

Flip