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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be pissed off at how social work students are treated compared to nursing students?

72 replies

disgruntledsw · 21/09/2021 12:19

I've just started an MA social work course this week and I'm already shocked at how poor the package is compared to nursing. I compared both before starting the course and decided that I preferred social work even though it wouldn't be financially the best choice as a student. I have to contribute £3500 to my course fees per year and get around 6k to live on as a bursary. I have been told this morning that I am prohibited from working during the course as I need to focus on my studies and my first bursary payment won't come in until the beginning of November, wtf? On top of this I need business insurance to be able to drive to placements that I have to fund myself. Aibu that student social workers are being fucked over? If I would have chosen to do nursing I would have got student finance and a £5000 training grant on top and full tuition fees paid. This country is desperately short of social workers yet are making it almost financially impossible to train.

OP posts:
disgruntledsw · 21/09/2021 15:07

' you can still take out a student loan even if this is your second degree'

To be pissed off at how social work students are treated compared to nursing students?
OP posts:
clareykb · 21/09/2021 15:16

I'm just going in to the second year of my postgraduate social work course worked part time through the first one and was totally fine. They advise you not to but it's up to you. I'd say about 50 percent of my cohort did

spicedappledonuts · 21/09/2021 15:31

I did my SW MA a long time ago but I worked and so did everyone else.
Despite having no fees and small bursary.

Are you sure you can't work?

FateHasRedesignedMost · 21/09/2021 16:07

Yes If I was an undergrad I would get both student finance and a bursary so I would be ok, but as I've gone back to it as a post grad I can't access student finance and have to contribute to fees which is what is making it so tight

Why are you doing a post grad then if it’s so tight?
You had the option of an undergrad or diploma with funding but went for an accelerated route?

People usually save up if they want to do a Masters.

Booknooks · 21/09/2021 16:10

Why not do nursing then if the package is so great? I'll give you a clue, it's not. Very few people do the nursing masters, very very few, if you did the undergraduate in social Work you could have funding for a second degree from student finance and the bursary.

disgruntledsw · 21/09/2021 16:17

I did save up, I saved 7 thousand pounds to cover the top up fee for the two years Confused

OP posts:
Mossstitch · 21/09/2021 16:40

I personally wouldn't ask, I'd just work if you feel able to manage it. Don't see how they would know. I did NHS course with full time placements, three kids, worked on Sundays and still managed to get a first. Mind you most assignments were done between 10.00pm and 2.00am, just got by on very little sleep😴😂

JoborPlay · 21/09/2021 17:06

As long as your paid work doesn't interfere with your grades or your availability for placement, they can't stop you. I worked full time through my training, 35 hours per week. Using flexi and annual leave to attend uni and unpaid leave for my placements.

WoozySnoozy · 21/09/2021 17:16

@disgruntledsw

I'm just annoyed that if I had chosen to do nursing I would be living on 14k a year instead of 6, ok 9k of that would be a loan but that's fine, i didn't mind a loan I'm just not entitled to it.
There's no point comparing it. It's not the same course. You didn't chose to do it you chose something else. They decided when they did the schemes that that was the suitable rules to apply for each course.
herculesoffline · 21/09/2021 17:22

Why don't you do nursing then?

AwaAnBileYerHeid · 21/09/2021 17:28

What is the difference in salary for NQ nurses and social workers? My sister in law is studying social work and I know that she doesn't do that many placements, compared to the nursing degree which is 50% placement, including nightshifts, 12 hour shifts etc. There are pros and cons for both.

Confusedandshaken · 21/09/2021 17:31

Try doing an MSc in psychotherapy. No bursary, full uni fees, a requirement to be in weekly personal therapy for the duration of the course (thats easily £2500 a year) plus transport to and from placements and in some cases the student might have to pay for private supervision of their placement cases.

TippledPink · 21/09/2021 17:35

I worked two jobs whilst doing my social work degree- one nights and one weekends and evenings. Most social work students are mature students, they couldn't ban you from working.

CloseYourEyesAndSee · 21/09/2021 17:35

YANBU that the government don't support social work students enough. You can get a £10k career is development loan, that's what most of us did. If you happen to be a single parent you can also continue to claim certain benefits.
However social work is much better paid than nursing in the main so YABU to compare the two careers.

CloseYourEyesAndSee · 21/09/2021 17:37

Oh and tell your tutors to bog off on the part time work issue unless it's actually affecting your work. I worked part time as well as looking after my 3/4 year old at the time and passed with merit. It's not their business.

JoborPlay · 21/09/2021 17:38

@AwaAnBileYerHeid

What is the difference in salary for NQ nurses and social workers? My sister in law is studying social work and I know that she doesn't do that many placements, compared to the nursing degree which is 50% placement, including nightshifts, 12 hour shifts etc. There are pros and cons for both.
About the same depending on you trust/ local authority.

Nursing placements are shorter (4 - 8 weeks usually), social work placements are 30 days, 70 days and 100 days for the degree and 70&100 for the masters. So work out roughly the same number of days/ hours, just spread differently. There is a requirement for night shifts for student nurses, but there's significantly more night shift jobs in nursing than social work!

PickUpAPepper · 21/09/2021 17:39

I'm confused, in your op you said If I would have chosen to do nursing I would have got student finance and a £5000 training grant on top and full tuition fees paid.
You don't get tuition fees paid now on any degree course. It's a loan, so everyone ends up with a huge debt. There is a £5k a year bursary too, but that's for living costs. All students are being screwed over, these levels of debt are ludicrous.

ThinWomansBrain · 21/09/2021 17:43

If you're doing a post grad degree, shouldn't you have the nous to research and work out whether you can affoird to do it before you start the course?

disgruntledsw · 21/09/2021 18:07

Thin, yes I did research first and saved the top up fees however being told that I can't work has thrown a curveball. I think I'm just going to work anyway, one Saturday morning 7 til 2 shift a week will still earn me a bit of spending money and won't affect my studies. I'll just keep quiet.

OP posts:
AwaAnBileYerHeid · 21/09/2021 18:40

@JoborPlay

About the same depending on you trust/ local authority.

Nursing placements are shorter (4 - 8 weeks usually), social work placements are 30 days, 70 days and 100 days for the degree and 70&100 for the masters. So work out roughly the same number of days/ hours, just spread differently. There is a requirement for night shifts for student nurses, but there's significantly more night shift jobs in nursing than social work!

Certainly in Scotland, social workers are, after a few years qualified, paid quite a bit more than nurses. For instance, in my local authority, social work posts are advertised on a standardised salary of £34,264 - £39,762. Where you start within this depends on depends on experience. A similarly qualified nurse is on a standardised starting salary of between £25,100 - £31,649.

Also, only having to do 30 days for the first year and 70 days for the second year would be a dream for student nurses! 30 + 70 + 100 = 200 days. Assuming these are standard length days, 7.5, this would equate to 1500 hours over the course of the degree. Student nurses require 2300 placement hours to qualify however many unis make students go over and above this - at my uni, we did an extra 2 weeks, so 105 hours. It's intended to be a buffer should you miss placement days for any reason - I didn't miss any yet still had to do the extra hours as they are set as standard.

It isn't a competition but pay and conditions certainly aren't comparable between the two. I think both professions should be paid a lot more for the level of responsibility they hold and the hard work that they do on a daily basis! Both very undervalued professions.

AwaAnBileYerHeid · 21/09/2021 18:48

*when I say conditions, I mean conditions as a student. I can't comment for conditions on the job as a qualified SW. I did 1 year of social work when I was 19 and dropped out for personal reasons. Went back 10+ years later to do nursing, so I've experienced both student placement conditions.

CrazyCatLover · 21/09/2021 18:57

Student nurses work 50% of course each year on placement? Allied health professionals spend much less time on placements.

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