Looking to go into social work - any advice social workers?

[humptydee]

I’m considering a career change, I’ve been a civil servant for over 10 years and increasingly feel unfulfilled. I’m pretty set on going into social work and looking to apply for the frontline programme this year. Social workers could you share with me your experiences on the frontline - the good, bad and ugly? What would you have wanted to know before joining the profession?

Thanks

Long hours, very demanding. Not recommended imho and that’s said as a parent of two SEN kids with a SW who is unable to fulfill her role due to volume of work.

Children’s or adults?
I've been a children’s social worker for fifteen years. What I love about it is the variety, I’ve had lots of different roles, different teams where I’ve learnt so much. Every family is different - even when themes are depressingly similar. I love home visits, not knowing what to expect, no matter how prepared you are. It’s not a boring job and it matters deeply to everyone involved.
I would say, you need to be able to write well, the reports are enormously lengthy and repetitive, and a good assessment style is a necessary skill.

You need to know the pace of the work in some teams is intense, it’s unbelievably full on, you will only be given bad news or problems and the demands come at you thick and fast. Personally the complexities and needs of the families aren’t stresssful, but the expectations of your employer can be ridiculous.

As much as I love front line child protection work, there is burn out and having my own children has made it far more difficult to manage. For this reasons I’ve moved departments. In terms of career progression I’m a bit stuck as have no intention of being a manager as to me it looks like all teams meetings and supervision.

If you find an area you love, you’ll make it work. If the work makes you feel sick thinking about it or you dread the day ahead it’ll not be so easy. I’ve seen lots of colleagues in tears over the years, I’ve certainly sobbed at least once at my desk.

Thank you for sharing. I’m looking to go into children and families, but recognise this area can be quiet tough long term. If you don’t mind me asking, what department did you move on to? And whilst working in child protection did you find that you didn’t have enough time to really work with families in a meaningful way? I’m hearing a lot about unmanageable caseloads

That’s quite unfortunate. I’m sorry you’re not receiving the support you need from your social work. The workload for social workers does sound unmanageable and I would hate to be a social worker that’s not able to support families in the way they need.

I’m in kinship care.
You can work meaningfully but it’s a skill learnt from initially wanting to do and know everything and fix things to knowing only they can make changes, with your support.
I find it hard asking primary age children for their wishes and feelings- they think you are their friend and the reality is you report back things that sometimes their parents tell them off about. I much prefer chats with teens who get what you’re asking and why or my true vocation is with babies and toddlers and observing the interaction with parents/carers.

I think everyone’s experience is so different, depending on your local authority, resources in your area, team, manager. I think a lot does come down to having a good manager in all honesty.

Yes it is hard, really hard. Your caseload might look manageable but it’s hard when there are multiple unexpected crisis. However when you get a good outcome for a family, it’s really worth it. Every day is different, you meet some lovely people, there is a lot of creative problem solving.

When I started I was told if you did a couple of years in child protection then you could go into any team you wanted with a good grounding. I do think people burn out in child protection if they aren’t strict with boundaries and supported by their manager.

I think it’s a job for people who genuinely like and are interested in other people.