Social worker or teacher?

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I’m thinking of going to uni, I’m in a job that pays little and goes nowhere although it suits my family right now. I don’t want to be there forever though and there’s no room for progression.
I want to stay in a similar field (partly beciase I don’t want to start from square one)
I don’t even know if full time uni is possible as I’m a single parent and wouldn’t be able to live off student loans alone and don’t know how universal credit would work. I probably wouldn’t start until next academic year now so I’ve time to decide and do some volunteering in the mean time.
Would I be unreasonable to try and study for these jobs, not sure I’m capable? Would these jobs even be possible for a single parent? Youngest would probably be 11 by the time I qualified though?

A bit random, but the other job I’d considered is accountant. But I’d literally be starting from scratch. All I have is a pass in GCSE maths

Yes they're possible. Both pretty stressful though and I would personally avoid teaching at the moment...there are so many threads on MN where loads are leaving the profession due to how long the hours are and stressful.

Social work is another highly stressful area...if I were you, I would post another thread asking for social workers and teachers to give you advice on how difficult the job is and for some general advice too.

How much family/childcare support do you have?

I’m a teacher and in work 7.30-6 with more work in the evenings and at home. I’ve never seen a sports day/assembly or show any of my kids have done on one of my working days (luckily I have been part time but that’s another issue when it comes to pensions...!). I’m also lucky in that my dad lives round the corner and DH can work from home as when it comes to sickness (there has been lots), Inset days, snow days, medical appointments etc etc -I would never have coped without him.

I’m sure there was a post last week about someone wanting to either teach or be a social worker. Both are incredibly non-family friendly from a working hours point of view-what has made you pick just those choices? Do a search and read the replies that poster got.

The hospital SWs dont have it particularly stressful, unpleasant, looking at discharge packages and sacral sores, but its 9-5 gig.

What other qualifications do you hold? Or is it just a pass in maths? And is that a C grade? As you may have to do a few qualifications before being accepted on to a university course, and as college has already started, you could be looking at next year starting for a two years course before applying to university in 3 years time.

You need advice on qualifications - English and science gcses for example? Then an Access course or level 3 nvq would get you to uni entry level. Some degree courses offer a Foundation year for those who need to gain relevant study skills and knowledge but there may be no guarantee of progression onto the degree itself. It might be worth looking into the gcses for this year to see how you get on and open up volunteering opportunities.

Also primary or secondary teaching? Child or adult social work? What’s your experience right now?

I actually jumped ship from teaching into social work- but for health reasons did not complete my degree. Teaching is long hours not 9-3, with 13 weeks holidays, you are doing so much in your ‘free’ time. Social work is stressful, it may not be as much ‘admin/paperwork to do’ (there is still loads!), but from the 2 years experience I had, and the two family members and two friends who are all child protection social workers and team managers, it’s mentally draining. There is a reason that there is such a high turnover of staff.

I would go into SW, no contest. If you already have a degree you can do the two year masters, if not then it's a 3 year course. Yes child protection is a soul destroying element, but there is a lot more to SW than that. Adult social care, children with disabilities, adults with SEN, elderly care, hospital/school SW is all fairly pleasant and 9-5, with options for part time available. Turnover and burn out risk in CP is high, the others not so much. The starting salary is good and there is always a demand. You can do agency work (which is well paid) initially to get a feel for the different areas. You can also do private work later on down the line with experience.

Forgot to say your SW degree is also recognized in Aus/NZ so always potential for relocation if you want.

OP I've just reread your post and I would recommend that you do an Access course part time as your first step.

The hospital SWs dont have it particularly stressful, unpleasant, looking at discharge packages and sacral sores, but its 9-5 gig.

A SW friend in this role has just had a breakdown. She's trying to do her best for the patients but given how underfunded social care is, it is a constant battle. She knows that she's sending patients home where they don't have the support they really need, and she's having to reassure desperate relatives that it will all be OK, when she knows it isn't.

Talk to people that are doing these jobs already OP. Social care is in such a terrible state that it's never going to be a pleasant role. You need a lot of resilience to be able to walk away knowing you've done your best, but that's still woefully inadequate for what the client needs.

I’m a social worker.

I did a few years in child protection. Loved the job, hated working for the local authority - where I was, there was a really toxic culture of micromanagement and undervaluing workers. The bureaucracy was the highest stressor.

I’ve moved on now and am in a job which is flexible and decently paid, with a good team and manager. I love it.

I used to want to be a teacher but moved away from it after seeing the culture and the pressures teachers are under, from which I can’t see there’d be any escape. I take my hat off to teachers who stick it out in those circumstances. It wouldn’t be for me.

Hi, you can work and train to be an accountant at the same time. Some of the big companies in Glasgow sponsor you while you work with them. And they pay a decent apprentice rate (£18k) which is better than starting from scratch and getting student loans

I’m a social worker and have been for 10 years. I work in the family court/child protection arena. It’s tough. Really tough but like another PP said, it’s not all about child protection.

I would try to speak to as many people as you can in those jobs to get info really.

Also, I was a single parent living with a baby through to 4 years old from the point at which I started the Access course and then finished my degree. It can be done. I wanted to become a SW and it drove me forwards but I will tell you, it was tough going!

I do like being a SW and glad I did it, but it was more of a calling rather than me seeing it as a good stable job. It’s mentally and emotionally draining no matter how resilient you are.

Oh also to add, I have had close friends working in hospital teams, massive resource issues, overstretched etc and at least 2 people I know in those roles left totally burnt out. So to say it’s easier in a certain post isn’t always the case!

I did an access course to enable me to start a degree in social work. All social work courses are very difficult to get onto and highly competitive - you’ll need an access course if you don’t have A levels, and some relevant experience (care work for example).

I am a single parent too and started the degree course when my DC were 4 and 10. Financially I was fine, but I was receiving tax credits which meant I could get those as well as all my student money. UC is a different story, they count your student finance as income and take your UC away pound for pound, so it would be a lot trickier.

I did the first year of the degree course, but by that time I was certain I didn’t want to be a social worker. I’d done some shadowing days, and as far as I could see the SWs were facing an impossible task. Services are being cut to the bone and their workload is ridiculous as more and more services are getting lumped together to save money, they were constantly firefighting the most urgent cases with no time to see a lot of the service users on their books, so things are bound to get missed. To add to the fun of that, social workers have a statutory duty not to miss things which end up putting people in danger, and if for example a child you hadn’t had time to see recently ended up having something horrible happen, you are personally responsible and could end up in prison. Not the agency you work for, you.

To add to that, as the second year was coming closer, the placements officer was having meetings with each student. I was already commuting an hour to uni every day, but the thing was that placements could be anywhere within a 50 mile radius of the uni. So I could have had to go the best part of 100 miles to my placement, which would have been impossible as my childcare was only 8-6, and I had no other options. I spoke to the placements officer about this and explained my situation, and she said that she couldn’t treat me as a special case and make sure that I had a placement within an hour’s drive of where I live. She was a fucking bitch too so I reckon she’d have given me a placement two hours away just to be difficult.

All in all, I thought fuck this and changed to sociology for the second year. Don’t regret it at all. The people I’m friends with on FB who did complete the course and have become SWs largely seem pretty miserable from what I can gather, and they’re young with no children of their own to worry about.

Children with disability teams is fairly straightforward. I did a stint there and it was visiting the families to check their DLA and any other entitlements are up to date, attending DLA tribunals, LA education tribunals, supporting families on to charities etc. Two trusts amalgamated which made the caseload huge, otherwise it wasn't taxing work. I got lots of tea and biscuits. In saying that this was a number of years ago before funding austerity so posts like that are few and far between. A SW friend of mine is semi retired and works as a 'visitor' for a children's charity, going into homes of families who have applied for grants. She ticks some boxes to say child exists and that they have the disability, she says she wished she knew about it 30 years ago.

Hi I'm a SW and would agree it is really stressful especially if you work in Children services. Risk of losing your Registration is higher in SW than any other profession I think. It can be rewarding salary wise and option to go locum when you have over 2 years experience at least post qualification. It is probably the most stressful job in the world and is fast paced. A lot of studying is expected of you as once qualified you need to do another lot 1yr ASYE when in a job. Progression is pretty much quicker than most if you are smart, a go getter and diligent. Hope this helps!

they were constantly firefighting the most urgent cases with no time to see a lot of the service users on their books, so things are bound to get missed. To add to the fun of that, social workers have a statutory duty not to miss things which end up putting people in danger, and if for example a child you hadn’t had time to see recently ended up having something horrible happen, you are personally responsible and could end up in prison

That sounds horrific.

As a teacher, one of the few jobs I think I’d like to do but would actually be as bad as mine, is social work. Hats off to you all.

I have maths and english GCSE and a level 3 in early years

I don’t know much about level 3s-is that enough to get you into university to do a degree or do you need A levels/Access course?

If you want to do teaching (I do NOT recommend you do), I would do a subject based degree (history etc) and then a PGCE rather than a 3/4 year teacher training BA as it gives you more options.

I'm a teacher and love it. I find it rewarding and family friendly. Not since my first couple of years have I had work the crazy hours some people talk about, I do 8-4 or thereabouts, sometimes with extra marking/planning at home but sometimes I sneak out at 3! I do think it hugely depends on your school though.

Afaik you would need to do an access year, a 3 year degree in your subject, a PGCE year, then the NQT year. After that the money is reasonable but it's a slog to get there. I had to put in an insane amount of hours as a student/NQT, easily 60 hours a week. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally. It would be a very tough task with children to look after too. Only you can decide if it's worth it.

OP you need to work out if you can afford to go in the first place. As a poster said, UC differ from the old system wrt student finance. Sadly you may find that it won't work for you.

Both are high stress for average pay. I'd be looking at something I could do privately like physio or podiatry. Accountancy is a good option to.

To be a teacher In England you need:

GSCE grade C / 4 in English and maths – and a science subject for primary trainees
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Honestly I think having only 2 GCSEs and a Level 3 prior to a degree would be a barrier when trying to secure a job.

I have maths and english GCSE and a level 3 in early years

I think your next question should be, “Gas chamber or electric chair?”