6 months out of College and not sure what I want to do

[karajd]

I moved 1900 miles away from home thinking if I moved away I could figure out what I was going to do with my BS in Social Work. I tried looking for jobs in my feild and each time I do I get overwhelmed and depressed because I know that I don't want to have a career in this field. Although, I love working with people and helping people I do not want to be a Social Worker anymore. Right now I am a hostess for $8 an hour and hate it, but I need money. I want to go to Grad school someday but I don't want to go without knowing what kind of degree I want. I know that we are all on this message board for a lot of the same reasons. If there is anyone out there who also has a degree in Social Work or something similar I would love to know what you are doing now. I am SOOO lost.

[yankeeyosh]

Paging winney....paging winney...

[jman05]

Happens to a lot of people. Gotta keep on keeping on. Its not a good major in the first place.

[winneythepooh7]

I have my MSW and I am a Social Worker. I have been working in the field since 1998. Please feel free to ask me any questions. My experience has been that Social Work is not a field you are going to get a super great job in with only a BA. You will need a MSW and in many cases, a Social Work license, to progress. Social Work is not a field that pays a lot of money, however, you can make a good living in this field. There are many avenues to explore in the field. Just because you are a "Social Worker" does not mean you are going to be comfortable working with all populations of people. See my past rants--I was miserable at my last job; I now love what I do. What I have noticed is that depending where you live often determines the type of job you will get. Many states lump BSW's and MSW's in the same category, which does not give many people the motivation to go on and get their professional degree, a necessity in this field. I have also worked in many programs where people with a degree in underwater basket weaving and no knowledge of human services were doing my job (or NOT doing my job, I should say). It is one thing to work with people who have BSW's, however, it is completely different to work with people who have no clue as I call it. It can make for a bad working environment, a big reason that there is a lot of turnover in our field--people that are hired are not qualified. Period. Also, due to budget cuts, jobs are being cut, and many people are being assigned the work of 2, even 3 people (hence one of the reasons for my leaving my last job). The state/government is getting involved and "meddling" in areas they should not. (hence one more reason I left my last job, the state passed a law wanting Social Workers to "police" clients). The field of Social Work has also become extremely flooded over the past few years in my opinion. This makes it harder for people to find good jobs. Also, experience is a necessity to progress in this field. Many agencies will hire someone without a MSW to do the traditional job of a Social Worker because it is cheaper, however, does more harm than good in the long-run. I probably only hit the tip of the iceburg with your questions, but again, feel free to ask me any other questions. I have been doing this for awhile now, with many populations. I want to emphasize that you CAN make a good living in this field if you are persistent, network, and are open to putting yourself out there and trying new things. It sucks being in that area where you have a Bachelor's but you are not yet qualified for a Master's position. I've been there. Most of my experience is working with people affected by mental illness. I dealt with every type of problem imaginable doing this. From children being taken from their parents to AIDS to substance abuse. If you can deal with the bureacracy, this is a good avenue to take to get experience. Right now I am a Supervisor for an agency that provides services to people affected by brain injury (ie. from strokes, car accidents, beatings, etc.). I am still learning every day and the people I work with are wonderful which are two things that keep me motivated at work. I can also give you a ton of information on the grad school thing if you are interested :D. If you have decided that Social Work is just not your thing, there are other fields that you can go into that you would be working with people. Nursing, teaching, we even have journalists on here who would say that this is a good job that deals with people. You don't have to go the "Clinical" path either. I did this and was completely miserable. I am very clinical with my clients, but I just don't want to work in a clinical environment, if that makes any kind of sense?

[winneythepooh7]

Happens to a lot of people. Gotta keep on keeping on. Its not a good major in the first place.

Why would you say that? That it's not "a good major in the first place"? Do you have the background and knowledge to make such a statement?

[yaddayadda99]

Saying it's not a good major is kind of harsh. It was her choice and what's done is done. I actually took 3 semesters of social work in college (as electives) and enjoyed them very much.

Have you thought of doing non-profit work? It is something that could utilize aspects of your degree while doing something worthwhile. My mom is an exec director for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and loves her job. All of her employees, coincidentally, are all women in their 20's. Pay is normal for entry level- $24k-$28k, but you have the potential to go much higher. My mom makes in the 60s.

[winneythepooh7]

Saying it's not a good major is kind of harsh. It was her choice and what's done is done. I actually took 3 semesters of social work in college (as electives) and enjoyed them very much.

Have you thought of doing non-profit work? It is something that could utilize aspects of your degree while doing something worthwhile. My mom is an exec director for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and loves her job. All of her employees, coincidentally, are all women in their 20's. Pay is normal for entry level- $24k-$28k, but you have the potential to go much higher. My mom makes in the 60s.

Agreed. The cool thing about Social Work is that there are so many avenues you can go into. It is hard to do that with other specialized degrees.

[Southern_gurl]

karajd,
I got my BA in Social Work [Dec. 04]. I had two interships and a job that was in the social services area. I realize I am not a social worker. I respect te profession so much though. So, to say I can relate to how you feel is an understatement. But, winniethepooh had a good point if you trully like the profession there are options [especially if you have a Master's--which my professors neglected to inform me of]. Good luck on your quest 2 find vocational happiness.

[shimmer728]

Its not a good major in the first place.

How would you know?

[winneythepooh7]

karajd,
I got my BA in Social Work [Dec. 04]. I had two interships and a job that was in the social services area. I realize I am not a social worker. I respect te profession so much though. So, to say I can relate to how you feel is an understatement. But, winniethepooh had a good point if you trully like the profession there are options [especially if you have a Master's--which my professors neglected to inform me of]. Good luck on your quest 2 find vocational happiness.

Also, the jobs for people "in the field" that are not necessarily "Social Worker" positions, tend to be the most crappiest. They are stepping stones, to say the least. The good thing about getting an MSW is if you want to work in this field, it helps you write your own ticket down the line. Yeah, it took me a year to get my job now, however, they also designed this position especially for me, as well. This is the first time such a position has existed in this agency. It took several job offers, and a couple re-writes of my job description for me to accept. I also happen to work in a brand new agency to my area. I find that helps. Being around lots of people who are burnt out all day, who are much older, and have a pessimistic attitude in general, rubs off easily. I found this in a lot of my previous jobs. Most of my agency are people from upstate rural New York and they are a lot nicer than a lot of people in my field with the "NYC attitude" going on ;). Also, if you have those letters behind your name, people tend to respect you more. When I just had my BA, Social Workers and doctors were like "Oh you are just the Case Manager". When they know you have your Master's, they tend to respect you and LISTEN to you more. This isn't to say there aren't crappy Social Workers out there, and this isn't to say there aren't amazing Case Managers either, just the general way things are looked at in my field.

[karajd]

Honestly I did not think anyone would respond, so thank you for your kind words and even unkind words, each person it entitled to thier opinion and I will take the most positive of words to heart. I'm really thinking about moving back to the Midwest where I moved 1900 miles to get away from. It's funny that I miss it so much. I wish I could not work and still have money some how. It's impossible for me to make it to a job I hate. Like today I have to be at work to Host at 4pm, i need money bad, but am seriously thinking of excuses to call in. I really don't care about this crap job. But I need money. What an awful cycle. Thanks for listening. :)

[winneythepooh7]

What kinds of jobs would you be interested in doing in Social Work? Have you done anything in the field yet?