Social work vs Criminology

[katedan]

I am posting this in a couple of places to hopefully get some replies. I am currently in the process of applying to Uni. I had planned to study social work but the course is M-F 9-5 including placements. The uni is an hour each way so I would be out of the house 10 hours a day and obviously with the exception of a bursary of £3700 a year this is unpaid. I have three primary school age children who woud need after school care (I think DH would be able to drop them off). I know I would get some study days but we do not know them in advance so I would have already forked out for childcare. I worked in law Enforcement for 14 years prior to kids and would not mind getting back into it (currently no jobs as public sector) So I thouht a degree in criminology would help me when jobs become available. This course is less contact hours and in something I have in some way done. However I am worried that it will not help me get employment unlike the social work course which i think might lead to work. I know the amount of hours you are in college is not a reason to chose a degree course however I need to put my children first but am desperate to get back into the workplace and want to maximise my chances of getting a job especailly as I will be 40 when/if I graduate which will seriously affect my employabilty aswell. Sorry this is long but if anyone has any advice I really need it asap as my UCAS forms are due in end of Nov. Thank you

Well, the whole reason behind my degree was the fact it could be done part time (single mum to four children). So I think it is v sensible to factor that in, as Uni is stressful and if you are at Uni 5 days a week - when on earth are you going to get any study done? And I will be over 50 when I get my degree and I fully intend to practice.

Are you sure you can't do your course part time (less debt at the end of it) and work part time say in Tesco etc?

I can't do social work part time around here because of the placements. I don't want to do the degree part time as I want to get back into work as soon as possible. What degree are you doing mature?

I've got a criminology degree and have found it totally useless when looking for jobs. I ended up doing admin jobs for ten years before retraining as a midwife. I would say to do social work but only if you fancy working in social work.

Thanks Viva, can I ask what the trouble with finding work was? Was it that no employer recognised your degree as it was in criminology? What sort of jobs did you apply for? police etc or just graduate jobs? Did you have any work experience in the field and if you did was tat also a problem with finding work?

well i wanted to join police but failedd medical. thhere juust werent any relevent jobs about. just general graduate trainee schemes where i got feeling it was seen as a micky mouse subject

Would you be doing the MA or BA in Social work ? The MA is 2 yrs fulltime and you go straight into placements 9-5 for 3 days a week and 2 days at uni. The BA is 3 years ... and the first year is 2 days a week at uni with 3 days 'off'... the 2nd and 3rd year is the same as the MA.

IMO the SW degree is the way to go if you can manage it ...and leave a lot of doors open.

From what i know of people doing/ done ug sw it is only the placements which are mf95. Also you can request placements closer to home to cut travel time and they are usually quite accommodating about this. The academic bit will include study time so it wont be all full days either but contact the uni and ask them cos all bit different.

Social work is a vocational degree which will qualify you as a social worker at the end. There are a fair few jobs in social work.

Criminology will not qualify you but it is a useful job if you wish to enter the probation service or associate third sector agencies. However to become a probation officer you need a further qualification. Also non-qualified jobs in these areas don't pay as well as social work jobs.

I would advise the sw course tbh.

I did the degree ft with 4 children. When I worked the figures out I couldn't afford to do it pt. You get financial support with childcare etc or at least you did when I trained.

I agree with people who have said social work is a vocation. It can be very challenging on lots of levels. Being 40 won't be an issue in terms of employment infact it will be viewed as an advantage. It can be very difficult as a younger person in social work especially working with families.

I work for an inner city local authority and there has been a dramatic reduction in the amount of jobs around over the last couple of years but having said that I would still say go for the sw degree but you really need to want be a social worker as I said previously - some areas of practice are very tough and getting tougher as the amount of referrals are increasing.