Anybody able to offer advice on becoming a social worker? (apart from don't do it I mean LOL)

[PeachyBidsYouNadoligLlawen]

Considering doing the top up to become a sw.

My employment background- lst jiob was a co-ordinator for homestart, I have a decent degree in world religions I gained last year, and some experience of disability (OK, 2 asd kids).

When I did my access I narrowly edcided on teaching over SW but geographically techer training is wkward (lots of diostance for the Uni, can't really move for lots of reasons).

So am thinking about SW as I think it is something I could be really good at, and DH / my oldest friends agree.

Any advice offered accepted and info too please.

Thanks

As you have a 1st degree you could do the postgraduate 2 year course, peachy. You would probably need some recent (within last year or so) work experience. The course varies a lot from place to place but basically will consist of placement blocks and college blocks where you study social work theory. It is not always the most flexible option- there are set hours to be completed on placement, for example, so you will need to make sure you have good childcare in place. Recent thread here covered some of these issues. I'm not sure if you can still do part-time? Some local authorities will give you a job and send you on a part-time or full-time course to get qualified, I think.

Do you have an honours degree? I think you need that for a Masters. I'm just sorting out where I can do the third (honours) year of my degree course. I think Universities think 'how can we make this virtually impossible for any working parent to do' when they plan their courses!

I'm doing a bit of a placement/volunteer stint with a trainee social worker and she says that the placement element combined with the essay work load has been really hard and that the course was being rewritten by her Uni so that next years students don't have such a double whammy.

I know that the OU run courses too but I 'think' you need to be employed whilst taking them. Have you looked at your local council website? Should give you some good contacts and maybe some more advice.

It's a 2:1 Honours which they regard as a god degree on admissions panels- they do for teaching anyway.

Hours aren't too much of a concern to me as PGCE would have been equally as challenging I think, also warned that was a 'nightmare' course; plus DH will be a student and able to do lots of cover etc (and I have a good CM for the younger 2 in place already)

Work experience will be V V easy to come by, I think- I have enough contacts in the field.

Thanks, I am going to speak to my Uni careers people in the new year with a view to applying for 2010 entry I think. It's something that I feel fits me quite well. It definitely warrants further investigation I feel.

It does seem (how daft am I to forget?) I hold a OU foundation course in understanding health and social care which if I can find a relevant employer leads to their SW course acceptance

How daft am I that I forgot I had it?!. I got 88% too, so a solid enough start I think?

Definitely going to speak to my Uni careers dept now

I would see if any local authorities near to you are running trainee SW schemes. Those that do pay a good wage, release you for college and sort out your placements in return for your soul working for them on graduation. more and more authorities are "growing their own" nowadays as vacancies are unfilled everywhere.

although I reckon you could craft an excellent personal statement from your work/life experience if you wanted to apply direct to unis. when I trained 8 years ago their were bursaries for postgrad applicants.

placements are a bugger as you are often working full-time and travelling a long way too.

here's an example

better paid in swansea!

I just looked and the LA back home runs the scheme for people with 2:! degrees to get extra funding; it may be the case that I am best placed to get one of the many relevant pt jobs until dh graduates when we are hoping to move back there anyhoe

hmmmmm so much to consider LOL

Swansea??? that's oly an hur away by car- less by train

this could be a possibility

I did mine with OU through my local authority, I think that is the only way you can with the OU, being sponsored. You have plenty quals so think best advice to trundle along to uni and see what they say. Sorry am not very helpful am I?

Otherwise - don't do it!

Mind you, they'll be plenty of jobs out there - especially in child protection [slightly depressed LOL]

Don't do PGCE unless you have a burning desire to teach, I did one and they are a nightmare. Dreadful course.

I did have a massive desire to teach but so many obstacles have arisen- just silly things like the only uni in wales offering my course now being 2 hours drive away- that i have started to look elsewhere. I could pursue teaching and never manage it, or I could look at something I feel also very enthusiastic about and actually move forwards iyswim.

I love social work, despite it being a bit thankless at times. Depends what you go into of course. What area are you thinking of?

cp i think, ld would be too difficult to detach from, whereas cp relates to my homestart work anyway as we 'held' a lot of their less immediate cases

Good for you.

I think we have very similar backgrounds (Home-Start/Sure Start) and multiple bits of qualifications. I have just received some details from Somerset College about their proposed third year BA Hons for Sept '09 so, hopefully, I will find a social work course in Sept '10 too.

You really have to think ahead!

somerset college/ ar ytou back 'home' then/ (I as in bridgwater until uni)

I like CP work. Is hard at times but very rewarding on the good days. Plenty of work around too sadly.

Do you know any social workers? Could you get in touch with a few from your local authority and have a good chinwag? I would definitely advise you do this before committing to such a gruelling (although rewarding) course / career choice.

I have done some teaching and youth justice work, and seriously considered re-training as a social worker at one point. I spoke to several friends / acquaintances in the field in great depth about it - one was a residential social worker in a children's home, one worked with at risk children, one with the police and one with older children about to leave care. They all gave really good, different insights into the realities of the job. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't for me. Not trying to put you off! just think it's really important to be 100% sure you want to do this before you embark on the study - and probably a good idea to investigate the different specialist areas (looked after children, old people, youth justice etc) and have an idea of which may interest you.

Good luck.

I dn't know many here, however I was part funded by Sure start and part by SS back home, and regularly attended case meetings / held cases for them. One reason I know I can do it is becuase I have aready been in a situation where a child needed removing and been able to attend a meeting with the arents where it was discussed- if I hadn't done it, I would doubt I was able, iyswim?

I think the part time year in the field will he,lp as well: after a year I should know the 'realitites' and if I fit in. I hope so anyway!

I wouldn't train my my local lot; they are nice enough but I know them through my ids being registered disabled, i'd want to work with ones I don't have deaing with iyswim?

Hi,Can anybody offer me a bit of advice and guidance. Im a fully qualified teacher who has a PGCE in Education but Im seriously thinking about having a career change into social work. Does anybody know if I will need to get a second degree? (my first was an arts degree)..anybody know what my possible options are. I would prefer to continue working rather than becoming a full time student again. Thanks, Erica

Coffee, i think you would now need to do the 2 year MA Social Work

I'm a practice tutor and take a couple of social work students every year, but can never really prepare them for whats gonna hit em when they qualify. I now work for Education, but prior to that worked in Statutory Social Work for nearly 7 years (3 years in Child Protection and 4 years in Leaving Care) Its an amazingly rewarding job, but if i'm honest, and this is only my opinion, then you need to think about getting used to a life of arriving home after 9 pm, typing up reports at weekends and dealing with things you never wish existed

All that said, if you are willing to put in the time, the hours and heart and emotions then go for it......

D xx