Social work vs teaching

[Hound456]

I'm in my second year of a Primary Education BA. I also work in a school as a TA.
I've started a module that is more social and support work based. I love it and find myself much more invested than the other modules on core subjects.
I was just wondering if there are any social / supportworkers on here that could give me their opinion of their role both positive and negative.
Also anyone who switched careers to social work,was it a good move ?

Do you mean family support or SW?

Also would it be CP SW you would go for?

Family support work and social work are very different jobs so I think you need to be clear on which you're actually keen on first. Could you do some work experience voluntarily to get a better feel for both roles? I initially considered teaching but I found the idea of repeating the same curriculum and the inner red tape and politics quite tedious, did some teaching placements and found it just wasn't for me. Social work I work in a role alongside, I think it's a very challenging job and you need to be prepared to make difficult decisions in grey areas and for people to view you with suspicion and fear because social workers hold a lot of power and the consequences for people they work along side can be huge. There is also a lot of red tape and you are legally bound in terms if what you can/nt do which can be frustrating at times. That being said it's a decent wage and job security is alright. However burnout rates are very high especially since covid and most teams are under serious pressure across the board. You'd need to be prepared for witnessing very distressing things and working with people that despite best efforts you cannot reach or help and how that emotionally impacts you. I work in a support role, I love my job, its different every day and while I work alongside SS it's voluntary so people choose to work with me. It's busy, emotionally demanding and doesn't always finish when my pay finishes and there is an expectation on you to go above and beyond on the daily because you genuinely care about the people more than it is to do with time or money. I have very poor job security and the turnover is high in the charity sector because people are all in competition for longer job contracts (a year to year contract is very common and dependent on funding) however I've never been without a job. You can come across difficult situations, I've been assaulted in work and held at knifepoint and then continued to work with the people who did that- you need to be prepared to stick with really challenging behaviours in the hope the person will turn things around in their own time scale which can be really hard to do since everyone has a natural limit. Honestly I think do some voluntary work, sign yourself up for some bank shifts aligned with the type of social work you're most interested in and that should give you a good gauge if it's for you or not. You can always take on a pastoral care role within your school in a teaching capacity, or become a teacher in a SEN or alternate setting such as with young people who couldn't sustain mainstream school/ in prisons/ charities. Again you could be doing that voluntarily while studying to give you a feel for it.

@Ponoka7 I'm looking at either support work or social work both children/family orientated.
@Cw112 thank you for the information I can imagine there are vast differences. If I decided it was a path to go down I would look into volunteering.
Peoples experiences, such as yours,are also really helpful.

I'm looking at going into Early help/ family support. SW Is about 70% admin and 30% actually helping folk! Plus the hours are terrible and everyone I've spoken to, has told me it takes a massive strain on your life. It totally put me if SW. Early help is one step before SW, less qualifications but also less stress and more "supporting". I definitely think volunteering is the way to go and get a feel.

@MissMaple82 what qualifications would you need for early help?

As someone who was a teacher and now does early help, I love it and you don't need any qualifications other than GCSEs. Look on your local authority job adverts. You will need to explain how you meet, or would meet the job spec. If you're not sure, think of how you would approach situations. It's full on, case loads are high and often cases which should really be in social care sit with us but it's also very flexible and you tend to manage your own diary. Despite the workload, i've never felt that it's been unmanageable or impacted my home life. I start work at 9 and finish at 5. There's also lots of internal progression if desired into management or social work

Thank you @Putdownthecake I will perhaps look more into this

Definitely do. It's about your people skills and ability to recognise safeguarding issues more than anything. Local authorities are also good to work for imo. One of my colleague used to make wedding dresses! If you have any other questions feel free to dm me