AIBU to want to be a social worker?

[user0512]

Hi All,

So, sometimes I contemplate on completing a child social work degree (I already have a degree - but I contemplate doing a conversion so I can practice as a social worker). But I wanted to know what it's really like?

What are the pros and cons? What kinds of cases are you currently working with (of course without mentioning any names etc)

Thanks

I really would think very carefully. I have been in social work for 15 years and it’s so very tough especially in this climate. I can only vouch for for children’s services though.

you can’t convert your degree but would need to do 2 year Masters (in Uk)

It’s very hard to have work life balance. There’s not enough time in any day. When you start out you think you will spend lots of time with children and families but majority is paperwork. The children I work with are lovely and make the job worthwhile.

YABU!

I worked in children's services for the best part of 26 years. It nearly killed me, literally.
If i were to do it again I'd work in children's but vary it more, spend time in adults, adoption, health etc. The emotional toll was massive as you see and hear things that you cant forget and the ugly bits of society are laid bare.

Plus theres a fair number of idiots and being managed by one is shite.

And by the end i was a well paid, burnt out admin worker.

If you know any social workers have a chat with them and work out if you have the temperament for it

I have recently completed my social work degree and had such an awful experiance in my last placement its put me off forever. Such a shame when you know what is needed to fix a situation but the budget says no and then the child ends up in residential care a few months later costing in excess of 6000 a week which could have probably been avoided if it the issue was dealt with sooner. So in the end costing a ton more and even more trauma for the child involved. Sad state of affairs

Things now aren’t what they were like years ago. Feel damaged by the years I did and feel ashamed I could not continue as so many people need better help than is available. There is never enough time for preventative work which is why so many crises occur. And meeting the truly awful men who abuse doesn’t help.

It is a really fascinating job, but its not for fainting blossoms! You really have to have that elusive mixture of being tough as old boots, along with being kind and compassionate, but also a bit arsy. Its very very hard work, and its awful when you see suffering families that you can't "make better".

I'm currently doing a masters (which is what you'd do as you have a degree) and it's amazing, but hard work- and I'm still convinced that 50% of my cohort really don't have a grasp on the reality of it.

Make sure you really understand what it is and will be before you start and it's achievable- those with a rose tinted view or limited life experience are the ones who are going to be gone within two years.

I'm currently a social worker, for how long I'm not sure.
I have worked in frontline (child protection, court and children in care) and in roles like adoption and fostering too.

It's really really hard. There's never enough time/support/resources.

If you're in frontline roles you will be fire fighting. You'll be working well over your paid hours, you'll be working weekends and evenings doing all the paperwork you don't have time to do in your hours.

There are good bits and there will be rewarding days too but you really do have to be very resilient to get through it.

In terms of cases, it really depends on your role but in safeguarding you'll have neglect, abuse, children with non-accidental injuries, parents with mental health and addiction issues.

You'll be pretty unpopular with most of these families because a social worker turning up at your door is rarely welcomed. I have never been physically attacked but colleagues have. I have been verbally abused very regularly. Tensions are high, parents are frightened, stressed, worried.

You'll often have a really good understanding of what can be done to help these families, but they probably won't get it.

If you work with a children's disabilities team for example, there's less conflict and hostility but you and the families will be endlessly frustrated.

Child in care social work is very busy also, big caseloads and there are always placements in crisis and breaking down. Huge amounts of travel.
You could live in Essex and have a child placed in wales for example.

Fostering and adoption are different roles. Not without their challenges and pressures. You'd be assessing prospective carers/adopters and supervising/supporting them whist safeguarding the children in their care.
Still high case loads unless you go to independent agencies.

So I've painted a fairly bleak picture as have others but that's not the whole story.
I believe passionately in the role and I am proud to be a social worker. It is rewarding and you will help people and support them to make positive change.

All the hard bits of social work are manageable with:
Good management and support.

Lower caseloads.

Resources available to you.

Good annual leave and the time to take it.

Feeling safe and protected yourself as it's very hard to do your best for the children if you aren't ok yourself.

At the moment mostly that stuff isn't where it should be and social workers are trying to patch and fill those gaps which is relentless and soul destroying.
It's devastating to know that children aren't getting what they need to be safe, well and thriving.

Children and families social work is rewarding, but a tough gig

My aunt specialised in supporting children with disabilities. She loved it, but had very firm boundaries to avoid burn out

Working with vulnerable adults may be less stressful,, I think

In some ways it is but there's even less money in adult social care and your roles is basically putting care packages together.
Safeguarding adults is really challenging.

It's a generic social work degree. If you want some experience in the general area there are loads of roles available that don't require a qualification, but you do need experience. Try that or maybe volunteering.

If you have a young family I wouldn't recommend it just because the practical aspect doesn't work. You'll always have work to do and there are never enough hours in a day to do it. But if your passion outweighs the negatives for you, it is the best job in the world.

As a mum of a young adult with learning disabilities and severe mental health problems please train as a social worker. You are so needed. As far as I’m concerned you are all angels. We had some great social workers when DD was a child and I was sorry to lose the help. Its an under funded and over stretched service . In the end our last social worker could no longer justify being involved in our lives as we were doing everything we should for dd.

So now she is19 with more health issues, as have I . I feel burnt out and need some rest bite. I have self referred to adult services and keeping my fingers crossed we get a social worker again.

It’s really tough going. I’m 9 years in and honestly I wish I’d trained in something else.

I know I’m good at my job but sometimes that isn’t enough. You need to have time, resources, energy, space to think reflectively, access to team members and lots more.

I have good days where I’m proud to be a social worker but the sleepless nights, crap pay, anxiety etc aren’t enough.

Can I suggest you also visit the mature studies and retraining section here, under 'education'. Lots of people studying social work on there.

Oh dear. From the responses I've gathered that it's an underpaid, stretched and a department under immense pressure.

When people say it's not for the faint hearted, what would you say is the worst you've dealt with? Alcoholic parents? Parental mental health? The general 'toxic trio'? Or could it be worse than that on a regular basis?

It depends on your bias.

Are you looking for gruesome tales or something?

I don’t think that’s an appropriate question to answer fully on an open forum but all of those and much more

No. I'm looking to understand what I'd be studying for two years to deal with? Like is it county lines are they common? or domestic abuse? mental health? Im trying to work out if it's something I can handle as I feel like my degree was dead end and it's not lead to a career so if I was to study something I want to understand it before ending up in the same situation again.

I've watched documentaries but they show the worst cases and I'm just confused if it's really like that all the time?

My degree was in childhood and youth studies. I have considered doing a psychology masters too, but again. Where do I go from there as I know people who studied psychology but have struggled to find jobs. I feel like social work is a profession that there is a demand for. However, I'm a bit anxious about if it would be right for me due to how it's portrayed

My daughter is doing her MA to qualify as a social worker and so far she has been really enthusiastic and enjoying her placements.
If you are passionate about qualifying I would say go for it !
Good luck 💐

Thank you!

I just feel a bit deflated career wise. I feel like I studied for three years and haven't found a career out of it. I feel like social work would be a career but everything I always see and hear is either 'it's too stressful, it's not for the faint hearted and it messes you up mentally with what you see' or it's 'you're overworked and underpaid' and it's not recommended.

I do wonder what working in early help would be like? I believe the cases would be more low level therefore the above wouldn't apply as much?

What's challenging to one social worker might not be to someone else. You need to know your own strengths, vulnerabilities and resilience, including your boundaries. You should be trained in reflection to enable you to do this. It also depends what team you're in, as people have said.

For social workers in duty team, they need particular skills relating to risk, safeguarding, quickly assessing situations etc which is challenging but they don't typically carry a caseload some prefer that work. Others might find being constantly on duty too stressful and prefer the sometimes hard slog of longer term work. You have to find your own way really. I think these days there might be social work academies which give you a taste of lots of different areas of social work once qualified. Perhaps research these.

I've been a social worker for 12 years. 6.5 in child protection and then 4.5 in children in care (12 months maternity in there somewhere).

It's a tough job, really difficult to say the worst thing as can effect everyone differently. Physical abuse of children (broken bones ect) and sexual abuse is up there as the worst, but I also think neglect is hard as very difficult to prove the harm to children.

Since having a child my outlook has changed too, I don't think I could do child protection now, my tolerance is far lower now I'm a parent and obviously have that emotional connection to a little person.

It's something that really only you can decide, loads of different areas you could go in to though so depends what you think!

Oh and teenagers on your caseload going missing for days on end and you don't know what they are up to or with is pretty scary, had a few sleepless nights with them.