To think that social work is...

[lepricon]

A calling? I am a newly qualified social worker. I have had soooo many people trying to scare me off it.

My first placement (third sector) I loved every minute. Thought it was a fluke and wait till I do statutory.

Did my second placement (statutory) absolutely fucking LOVED it! Feel so fulfilled, thrived from the stress. Thought it was a fluke and wait till I'm qualified.

Qualified for a year (statutory) and still loving it.

Have spoken to sooo many social workers that have left after qualifying as they hated it and it was so stressful.

Don't get me wrong, it's stressful but I'd be so bored if it wasn't and the work I get to do, the clients I get to build relationships with as well as professionals, I honestly love it.

AIBU to think that social work is either something you can do or something you can't? Love or hate? There doesn't seem to be an in between.

Totally @Felixss I can’t think of anything worse. And actually despite all the heartbreaking situations we come across we manage to support each other with much dark humour and compassion. Every single social worker can tell 100 stories that the general public simply would not believe. It’s a wonderful job if you’re interested in what it is to be human.

I’ve met good and bad (well, awful) Social Workers over the last 12 years …the same as any careers: you always get good and bad (nursing, care workers, police officers). It’s a fact of life.

One of the oddest posts I have read. Good for you, you enjoy your job and it is working out for you at the moment. I am pleased for you. No need to question if you are more special than other people and that's why you feel positive (after 1 year) .

To be able to do the job most effectively you have to be able to function at peak performance in times of crisis. I definitely do havr empathy but in an emergency I'm focusing on the clinical side.

Anyway OP I’m really puzzled by a lot of the responses to this thread. The job is very hard and the pressure is immense but I for one am very pleased to hear that you love it so much. We need good people to come into the profession and it’s wonderful to hear your positive story. Don’t let some of these responses get you down. That’s not to say you don’t have difficult times ahead because you will do, we all do but overall I think it’s worth it. Social work also gives you amazing transferable life and job skills that are very useful indeed.

Oh yes when you leave work and do the mundane stuff like picking up a loaf of bread and everyone is oblivious to the stuff you have just seen.

My goodness OP, you aren’t coming across the best.
Almost like you have saviour complex.
Reality is you make frig all difference in the long term for the vast majority of people and you are surrounded by misery all day.

Agree. I'm not sure social worker is the type of role you gleefully love. It can be rewarding and sometimes have good outcomes but... it's not a happy smiley job

Not rtft, but the whole "vocation" thing is just an excuse for poor pay and working conditions. It is not a calling, you are a skilled professional, and should see yourself as such.

I actually think it is a calling…

I’m an ex-sw, I enjoyed it until I didn’t which happened very quickly, within a few years. In the end I had a breakdown, became very unwell and needed almost a year off.

I still work in care setting but ones with less pressure, lower workloads and less risk to my life.

I’d say you’re slightly naive but we all started out that way, you may stay and thrive or you may need to leave. Who knows?

I know at least 5 SW. dsis is one. Some see as a job and others see it as a vocation. 3 who have been qualified 10+ years have moved out of children's services and work in adult/ disability services or in Gp surgery.

It's great op that you are excited about your career. Some people thrive on adrenaline fuelled jobs, others can't cope. My dsis studied sw as a mature student, having had lots of big life events thrown at her. She has thrived. I think personality and luge experiences massively impact on your ability to manage and sustain a sw job. Good luck for the future. We need many more people like you.

I think it’s great that you love it and are so enthusiastic, I hope you continue that way.

it’s your language in the last paragraph that has riled people as it suggests that anyone who has struggled or who hasn’t enjoyed it is “less”. And your replies are so rude. A lot of SW is about empathy, communication and compassion, none of which are coming across in your posts.

I’m 13 years in and still very much love my job albeit it is often stressful and difficult. I don’t think I consider it a calling for me - it’s a job and I like it and am good at it.

I agree, it's not a calling it's a job and takes all sorts.
20 years into nursing here and still loving it. Yes, I've had shit times, but the actual job, I love!
I have teacher friends that still love their jobs, despite all the bullshit that goes with being in the public sector.
It's almost like it's become a culture of we need to hate every second of our career as some sort of self punishment for choosing public sector.
Try not to listen to the negative nay sayers that tell you, you are supposed to hate your job as it can drag you down. If you enjoy your day to day job, that's brilliant! Just keep on doing your best and if it ever comes to hating it, you can make the necessary changes

I remember being a newly qualified nurse and being surrounded by the more experienced nurses, laughing at my enthusiasm and basically trying to drag me down/pull me down a peg. It is toxic and thank goodness I had the resilience to rise above it.
Looking back, I understand their frustrations and it wasn't even as a bad back then as it is now! But I promised myself I'd never do that when I was an experienced nurse mentoring new nurses and I don't.
I'm not all 'toxic positivity' I recognise things can be shit and can empathise with the shitness and try to work around it best I can, but no good comes from telling a newly qualified staff member 'just you wait' 🙄
Keep up with the hard work, remain positive, try to focus on the difference you make to your clients on a daily basis, get on with your team and you'll go far

@overfeckinstimulated

I don’t think that happened on this thread though. Most practitioners are wise enough not to piss on the newly qualifieds parade and I never subscribed to the just you wait camp (never did with parenting either actually)… but people were responding to the arrogant nature of the OP. There are plenty NQs who are passionate, brilliant but also humble. The humility takes you a long way in careers like social work.

I’m 15 years in, and love working with newly qualified SW’s, they often have fresh ideas.

I’m a bad social worker though, as I’m unable to provide any of my clients with a good service as my case load is so high I literally just fire fight. I can’t do any in-depth work with them, I just crisis manage and jump from one trauma to another. It’s horrific and definitely not something I thrive off. I go to bed every night terrified of what I will come into work too the next day.

I’ve been a children’s SW for 25 + years. I do think it’s a vocation. It’s a huge part of my identity. Social Work values are very much at the core of who I am and strive to be.
Despite the huge demands and stress levels ( which certainly aren’t always healthy) I just could never see myself doing any other job. Striving to keep families together and improving outcomes for some of the most vulnerable in our society is something I will never lose a passion for.
I don’t regret my career choice, despite the daily pressures and struggles.
All I would say OP is to keep some softness. You don’t need to pepper everything with swearing and defensiveness. It doesn’t reflect well on our profession.
Always remember to come from a place of compassion- whether you are speaking with your families, or colleagues.
It’s fantastic you have had such a positive start to your career! We need AYSE’s with your passion and enthusiasm.
Good luck. It’s a rocky road ahead for sure - particularly in the current climate.

I been a qualified social worker for 4 years and I am glad you are enjoying your role but do not undermine other people experience. Our job is extremely stressful, and we hold so much responsibility, yet our pay is low, and we are not valued by society.
If I could go back, I likely would have gone down a less stressful career route but here I am…

I work in the care system.

I think it is a calling (as well as being a job), similar to being a nurse.

The amount of stress very much depends on what your role is as a social worker, ie do you work with vulnerable adults or children?

That’s what I thought. Some replies were harsh or negative but your responses @lepricon are …. not coming across very well. 🤦🏽‍♀️.

I'm a community mental health nurse and work alongside social workers all the time.

I'm pleased you enjoy the job and it does appear you are bright and enthusiastic.

However I'm at the other end of the spectrum (age 56, been in nursing since 1986 so probably before you were born!) and while I like the (majority of) clients, the pressure is enormous. Constant cuts, under resourced, short staffing, constant reconfiguration of services (supposedly in the name of 'progress' but in reality to save money) means we're not able to provide what clients want or need. As an example, clients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are notoriously difficult to engage. It's the nature of the beast. They often lack insight, and while I do totally get medication has side effects, are often unwilling to take it as they don't see the benefits, only the side effects. They often due to lack of insight and/ or a chaotic lifestyle often don't attend appointments and are often discharged from the service due to 'lack of engagement.' The amount of time I spend arguing that these are the very clients we need to be assertively trying to see as they're often very, very vulnerable and as I often say in meetings 'X is a Daily Mail headline waiting to happen.' It seems to me the people who do get a service are the ones who are able to advocate for themselves and when services are rationed, imo its the ones who can't advocate for themselves who should be getting support.

Currently I'm burnt out and am taking a 6 month career break from the place while I decide my options.

Forgot to add, as a nurse I'm often expected t9 do tasks that are more Social Work focused eg Care Act Assessments, Housing Panels etc, often with little knowledge of what I'm supposed to be doing! In the past few years, my happiest period was during the first lockdown, when normal services were often put on hold and I was asked to visit clients at home to administer depot injections. I loved that, as I felt I was back in my nursing roots. I've said to my manager if I return, I'd love to do a similar role.

I'm sorry if my replies last night upset anyone. But I was attacked by quite a number of posters from just my initial post. There's a certain way to say something that isn't so nasty. Someone even told me to 'shut the fuck up' and 'pull my head out of my arse'. Along with other posters openly bitter and hoping I will fail and telling me I will. Also saying that I shouldn't be a social worker and that I'm a bad apple in the sector because I swore! Who cares if I swore? Just because I'm a social worker doesn't mean I can't swear. Of course I would never swear in front of anyone I work with as that is unprofessional but we are on an anonymised forum, so what?

I see this a lot on Mumsnet. Posters are absolutely vile and say disgusting things in whichever manner they feel like and as soon as the OP retaliates, the posters don't like this and use it as further fuel to continue attacking. It is very toxic.

I agree with this.

I was enthusiastic too when I started out ten years ago. I still love my job too, and want to keep doing it, but can clearly see a time when I mightn’t be able to. That doesn’t make me a worse social worker because I’m struggling.