Social Work???

[crazyhayz]

Anyone a social worker on here?? Anyone done the 3 year degree?? Its what i am heading towards studying and I just wanted an insight into what the degree is like and whether you found it very hard work having children / house to run etc.. im a lone parent so i know i'll find it an extra struggle. But really i just wanted experiences of being a social worker and what sector should I aim for?? I dont think I could do child protection or fostering and adoption, but am interested in youth substance misuse and teenage parents/teenage mums for example...what sort of sector would this be?? x

Hi Crazyhayz. Im just about to start my social work degree so not much advice I can give you but keep this thread bumped as there are a few social workers around here.

I am a social worker and did the degree with 3 children 11, 6 and 5 when I started and had a baby in the second year and did not take a break. I loved every min of the degree infact far more than being a social worker!! I would not decide on which area of practice at the moment, as lots of the areas of not really what people think. One of the most important things is the team rather than the area. My final placement was older people and I hated every min of it really because of the team not the work. I am in a child protection team in an inner city area now and feel far more supported although the work is prob more challenging in some areas. If you are interested in teenage parents that falls into child protection, as does substance misuse as many of my mums are pregnant and addicted to substances. Or LAC teams maybe? Good luck and enjoy the degree, I still miss uni now.

From what I know of social work it is divided into child protection, mental health and criminal justice.

Most of what you've described sounds like CP tbh.

What some social workers I know have done is go and work for charities/voluntary orgs instead of for local authorities. So you could work for an org that specialises in the areas you're interested in.