..to ask if there are any Social Workers here?

[MrsHastingslikethebattle]

After years of low paid care work, I am debating whether to do my Masters in Social Work.
I have tried to get in my local council and civil service but no luck.

I would have to partly fund it as the bursary only covers so much, that's if I get nominated for one.

I am debating whether to do disability or adoption and fostering.

Mark's out of 10..

A) how much do you like your job?
B) Stress level, 1 being the least and 10 being the most
C) the amount of out of hour working.

I know its going to be tough job but I definitely dont want it to be like a teacher with an astromical amount of paperwork where I'm doing a lot in my own time.

Anyone here who can give me a balance real life account of the job, I would be most grateful:-)

Hi!
I am a social worker, qualified in 2009. Have only ever worked with adults so my comments obviously come from that perspective. To answer your questions:

1. in terms of "marks out of ten" for how much i like my job, I'd rate it at 7 or 8. This has grown over time as I've got more confident in the role and more able to "compartmentalise" my thinking ie not obsess about the job after hours. I also benefit from seniority in the team now (deputy manager) and from working for a council that have a really good flexi policy;
2. stress levels vary according to the type and number of cases I'm dealing with at any one time. For me it would be more accurate to say I feel the weight of the responsibility of the role and the public's expectations very strongly and that can be a tough load to carry at times. Have also seen some tough stuff over the years and no matter how much you tell yourself it's just a job, some of it stays with you;
3. not gonna lie, there's paperwork galore! Funding applications, various types of assessment and care plan, it all takes time. Realistically you will end up taking work home on occasion but I believe this is a more common occurrence in children services than adults. Hope that my answer helps

Not a social worker but my mums been one for over 30 years. Recently moved to work in a hospital to get cate set up for when the elderly go back home.

Thanks for the replies.

@Madge2012 do you work with mental health or learning disability?

I work in what's called a "generic" team, meaning we work with anyone aged 18 plus. So we see a bit of everything including mental health, learning disabilities, older people, dementia, physical disabilities and some cases transitioning from childcare to adults services. Like your username by the way!

Have you thought about the Step up to social work programme if money is an issue?

@Madge2012 thanks! Safeguarding children is not the area I want to go in. I did consider adoption and fostering but I think it may be learning disabilities and mental health I'll look into.
If I do get in the role as a social worker and I dont like it, I know there a many roles in which a qualified social worker can get into. I'm assuming it will be a lot easier with experience as a social worker.

@Newpuppymummy yes but you need a 2:1 degree or 2:2 with a level 7 certificate. So it's me doing the certificate, financing it and not getting into the step up to social work scheme. Its quite hard to get into I have heard.

The social work masters is usually generic, you learn a little bit about all types of social work theory, adults and children.

It's the placements that generally determine what direction you go in after qualifying, and although you can express a preference you pretty much have to take what you are given.

If you don't want to do paperwork then social work isn't much better than teaching for that I'm afraid.

Your stress levels will depend on what type of work you are doing and how good your manager and local authority are.

@hatgirl I am willing to do the paper work, its just the out of hours paper work.
A friend of mine is quitting teaching because of it.

[quote MrsHastingslikethebattle]@hatgirl I am willing to do the paper work, its just the out of hours paper work.
A friend of mine is quitting teaching because of it.[/quote]
Out of hours paperwork is definitely a feature of social work, particularly in children's services.

I'm not trying to put you off, there's a huge shortage of social workers so, the more the merrier, but I think it's really important people coming into the profession understand the realities.

Ex social worker. Child Protection and Child Looked After.

A) how much do you like your job? (loved it a lot, 7/8)
B) Stress level, 1 being the least and 10 being the most (Stress level 10 due to panic of making potential wrong decisions, having to be in court pulled apart)
C) the amount of out of hour working. (8/9, often worked 8-5 then paperwork till 9/10)

I'm an incredibly organised person but worked in an area that struggled to recruit and keep SWs due to geographical needs and also difficult to engage population.

Also, re the paperwork....there will be a tonne of it. Sorry OP.

Amazing job if you can hack it though and the privilege of being part of so many children's lives is not to be taken lightly.

I am also interested in doing this. The problem I have with the Step Up criteria is the 6 months voluntary work - with my current job there is no way I can achieve this as I do 50+ hours.

My partner is an AMHP in. Mental health team. He loves it. I'm a mental health nurse and I'd also recommend this as a great career.

[quote MrsHastingslikethebattle]@hatgirl I am willing to do the paper work, its just the out of hours paper work.
A friend of mine is quitting teaching because of it.[/quote]
There's plenty of out of hours paperwork in social work too. Plus the visits that go on into early evenings, which then need writing up, court paperwork, emergencies.... it's definitely not 9-5.

A) 7/10
B) very up and down between 3-7 but not consistently high
Although I have been doing it a while now, was more stressful when I was new and less experienced
C) almost none, childcare responsibilities mean it’s not possible and there’s not the expectation at my work

I don’t think you have to decide now what type of social work you have to do. I thought I’d want to work with kids but during the course was more drawn to adults stuff and have been doing that ever since (17 years now).

I personally would recommend it but I would not work in children’s services.

@hatgirl

The social work masters is usually generic, you learn a little bit about all types of social work theory, adults and children.

It's the placements that generally determine what direction you go in after qualifying, and although you can express a preference you pretty much have to take what you are given.

If you don't want to do paperwork then social work isn't much better than teaching for that I'm afraid.

Your stress levels will depend on what type of work you are doing and how good your manager and local authority are.

You will be able to choose if you want to focus on adults or children and I believe in second year will have modules you can choose. But it’s a while since I did it

I'm a Learning Disability Nurse, would recommend as a career 👍

@CheesyChipsOnWembleyWay I think it’s very dependent on the type of team you’re in.
Mine is 9-5 (unless at management level but even then some managers are v boundaried)

Have you thought about TEFL? Although its not as well paid as social work and you often need to go abroad to get experience.
Or occupational therapy? If you can get an occupational therapy assistant or occupational therapy assessment officer job you can get paid to train.

Currently:
10/10 love what I do.
2/10 stress
Very little work outside of hours usually, although this week I've done 7 hours.

I'm not new to Social work so my stress levels are pretty low - this gets easier over time. Child protection, Children in need and child in care teams are generally fast paced and you hold a lot of responsibility.

The flip side of knowing to are making a difference is knowing you might be getting it wrong - that's the major stress.

I've done adult work (hospital discharge) which was a much slower pace but still lots of paper work (in core hours).

Best thing about Social work is that there are so many areas you could work.

I'm a Social Worker by background although am now working in strategic management in Adult Social Care.

I started working with a team which supported drug and alcohol users which was fascinating. I loved it (9/10) but there were a lot of late evenings etc. I didn't find it very stressful but I was a lot younger!

Then when I had children I moved to a team that worked with Older People. This was less paperwork out of hours but quite stressful as I was making decisions which had a big impact on people's lives. But still really enjoyable.

I've never worked with children so can't comment on that. But I found being a social worker really fulfilling and, although I also enjoy my current role, I do miss face to face frontline Social work.

What I would suggest is to think about what area you might want to work in, and then work for a team as an assistant- in our authority we have unqualified posts in most social work teams. It will allow you to see if you really want to do it before committing to a course, plus you might then get your course funded by the LA.

Child social worker here! I work in adoption and used to do disabilities. For both you will need some knowledge and experience of child protection. In children's there is no getting away from it as you will deal with it in all teams. All social work posts in my experience involve some level of stress at times and additional hours of work. There is often a lot of travel too. The amount ebbs and flows. That is the joy of the job- no 2 days are the same!

@EmmaGrundyForPM

I'm a Social Worker by background although am now working in strategic management in Adult Social Care.

I started working with a team which supported drug and alcohol users which was fascinating. I loved it (9/10) but there were a lot of late evenings etc. I didn't find it very stressful but I was a lot younger!

Then when I had children I moved to a team that worked with Older People. This was less paperwork out of hours but quite stressful as I was making decisions which had a big impact on people's lives. But still really enjoyable.

I've never worked with children so can't comment on that. But I found being a social worker really fulfilling and, although I also enjoy my current role, I do miss face to face frontline Social work.

What I would suggest is to think about what area you might want to work in, and then work for a team as an assistant- in our authority we have unqualified posts in most social work teams. It will allow you to see if you really want to do it before committing to a course, plus you might then get your course funded by the LA.

I have daily email alerts from my local councils on jobs. I've never seen anything such as social worker assistant etc. What are the job titles? I honestly would be happy with a job in my local council but many require experience I dont have. I cant get the experience cos everywhere asks for experience.

@starpatch

Have you thought about TEFL? Although its not as well paid as social work and you often need to go abroad to get experience. Or occupational therapy? If you can get an occupational therapy assistant or occupational therapy assessment officer job you can get paid to train.

TEFL? occupational therapy yes and I need a grade C in a science subject which I dont have. My local council offers english and maths courses but no science one.

@herculesoffline

I'm a Learning Disability Nurse, would recommend as a career 👍

I have been looking into nursing but the entry requirements are unclear. You need so many UCAS points and the website link in which they have sent me is really confusing. I think I may need to do an access course first.