To really want to be a social worker

[neverwasandneverwillbe]

I'm in my late 20s with DD age 3 and DS age 1.

Have worked in admin for my whole career and really want something more fulfilling.

Whilst my children are so little I only want part time work so I can spend time with them, but once they are both at school I am seriously considering going to uni to retrain in social work.

I feel like it's something I would be good at and get a great sense of job satisfaction from.

However the other side of me thinks am I crazy!? To go into a field that is so underfunded where I would likely be overworked, with huge responsibilities and dealing with emotionally exhausting situations.

Maybe I have rose tinted glasses? Would be interested to hear any experiences or perspectives.

What kind of social worker?

Child protection social work was what I was looking at

I am not a social worker but I do work with them, almost all of them are overworked with huge caseloads and face challenges every single day. As you say, they are often emotionally exhausted. But, so long as you have an inkling of the realities of the role, then I think I would be inclined to investigate it further.

I’d do some work shadowing or work experience. You might be able to train on job - our local council does apprenticeships in conjunction with the local Uni.

It's a great job. It is underfunded and there is a shortage at the moment which makes things really hard but it's still a really great career.

I’ve just left the profession, having done all sorts in Children's Services including CP which is where I started. It is rewarding, fascinating, challenging and yes emotionally exhausting. I left because I want to focus my emotional energy on my kids who are coming into teenage years. I worked in CP before I had children and strongly did not want to work in that area once I had my own so went into other areas, of which there are many. But everyone is different. IME a lot depends on what your manager is like, the level of support and quality of supervision. Problem is it’s hard to know what that will be like when you take a job. Social work needs people who are passionate and caring and want to make a difference to people’s lives. But your family need you too so think carefully about what support you have in place.

I work regularly with social care as a headteacher. I really couldn't do it. Their caseloads are such that (in our council at least) they go from one meeting to another and discuss what hasn't happened since the last meeting, because they've been in so many other meetings. Their role is often about checking up rather than helping and you can see many are frustrated because they might actually be able to help families if it wasn't for all the paperwork and meetings. That is not to say they don't make a difference, but the difference is often "executive" (ie checking up, insisting that whatever must happen next) rather than helpful.

There may be better run social care teams than ours before I get slated!

Take a look at the broader range of children's services around eg play therapy, leading support groups, home school link/pastoral in schools, mental health etc as alternatives where you might feel more fulfilled actually working with people, building relationships.

Having a sense of purpose, and engaging in service is so powerful and fulfilling.

Social work is extremely important and good people are always needed.

There are a lot of other service-focused careers too so it might be worth exploring a range of them before you decide?

I manage a child protection team. Please don’t. Not at your age with your responsibilities at home. It just isn’t possible to have work life balance.

I genuinely feel guilty hiring people knowing what they are walking into. And I think my LA is pretty decent.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts

I think I might look into childrens mental health work as an alternative, as I do want something where I really feel I can make a difference and I'm just not sure that's possible in social care at the moment

Hate to put a downer on children's mental health, but it's the parents who control the child's environment. So, its the adults who need to change.
Maybe look into doing a course in psychology, and possibly education. Helping children learn can be very rewarding, if the children are engaged. I think when your children get to teen years, they will need a lot more emotional support, it's something to consider. But do develop a career for you.

It’s an interesting job but I swear you will see things that will Stop you sleeping at night. I’ve had terrible nightmares over the years, awful , from what I have seen and heard from children. It’s harder when you have your own kids, I have watched mine play and cried my eyes out at the injustice in life.