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.....State/federal level...not so much, but have to be around a long time to be considered "in" or have highly skilled set of skills to work with specific population. ....
For ANY govt job, you have to take a competitive civil service exam that costs money. There is a waiting period of 4 years before someone is chosen. At least in New York City. In other places I'm sure it's similar. Why would anyone pay to take a job exam and then wait 4 years? That's not reliable, anything can happen in 4 years and a waste of money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommy2be1053
....which entails going out to the field with the patients to their intakes for day programming, see different housing, etc etc and set up their aftercare upon discharge. Oh, the state cars? just because your county has the state cars to be utlizied by the employees, it does NOT mean you'll be guaranteed one as i don't know how many social workers your agency employs but often they fight over the car(s), just like we do. Transportation/state cars is one of my biggest headaches quirks that comes with my job, so it's stressful already WITHOUT the patient/supervisor, caseload or coworkers.
The satisfaction you get from helping a few kids/families does not equal the drama with the coworkers/bosses, all the driving required. All that stress really takes a toll on you. And you can't even brag that you make decent money. You can work as a temp or a receptionist and make more.And there is less drama and no overtime there. Social work, you are basically an overworked animal who is driving nonstop. You spend more time driving, parking, repairing your vehicle/gassing, planning around parking rules and working out schedules based on locations. It feels like being a taxi driver or bus driver. I used to have nightmares about cars and driving. And the company doesn't compensate you for ANY of that. That's stealing from your pocket.Period. Maybe if there's a job "inhouse" where you don't travel at all, that might be better. I doubt that exists in this field. I wasted 9 months of my life at that job and now I have to worry whether I will get a reference or not, as it was the last job I had. I worked my a*s off. I never worked so hard in my life in 9 months. But all of that is wasted because I have to have a friend pose as an employer and call that monster (boss) from Hell to check "what kind" of reference I will get. Just ridiculous.
Try it out and really really see if you have a hankering for this field after some time, because it WILL help you to pinpoint exactly the path you want to focus in. Social work field is such a broad broad big field. Good luck!!![/quote]
Yeah once I get my bachelor's degree, internship, my 50k a year job, a wife, a house, then I'm done! Sorry but that's the way I am rolling. I talked to a class mate who is working in the social worker field and she said that the people she works with are all very nice and I believe her.
Not every social service departments are bad. And by the time I graduate the world might be better or worse, but I believe it will be better.
I'd like to talk to you about 4 years after you graduate from college to see where you stand with your job. You sound a lot like I did. I was all stoked about finding a job in Dallas within a week of finishing up my AmeriCorp position, finding an apartment and being on my own. I finished my internship, moved back to San Antonio and was unemployed for 4 months before finding a job as a telemarketer. It took me almost a year to find a ho-hum non-profit job. This wasn't too long ago either, 2007.
But, confidence and all that jazz is a good thing. I don't think any of the advice more experienced social workers are going to give you is going to help. Just let us know, in a few years, if you need more advice on how to file unemployment when your boss, who has been in the system for 20 years, fires you because you "didn't sign a paper right" like mine did.
For ANY govt job, you have to take a competitive civil service exam that costs money. There is a waiting period of 4 years before someone is chosen. At least in New York City. In other places I'm sure it's similar. Why would anyone pay to take a job exam and then wait 4 years? That's not reliable, anything can happen in 4 years and a waste of money.
The satisfaction you get from helping a few kids/families does not equal the drama with the coworkers/bosses, all the driving required. All that stress really takes a toll on you. And you can't even brag that you make decent money. You can work as a temp or a receptionist and make more.And there is less drama and no overtime there. Social work, you are basically an overworked animal who is driving nonstop. You spend more time driving, parking, repairing your vehicle/gassing, planning around parking rules and working out schedules based on locations. It feels like being a taxi driver or bus driver. I used to have nightmares about cars and driving. And the company doesn't compensate you for ANY of that. That's stealing from your pocket.Period. Maybe if there's a job "inhouse" where you don't travel at all, that might be better. I doubt that exists in this field. I wasted 9 months of my life at that job and now I have to worry whether I will get a reference or not, as it was the last job I had. I worked my a*s off. I never worked so hard in my life in 9 months. But all of that is wasted because I have to have a friend pose as an employer and call that monster (boss) from Hell to check "what kind" of reference I will get. Just ridiculous.
Try it out and really really see if you have a hankering for this field after some time, because it WILL help you to pinpoint exactly the path you want to focus in. Social work field is such a broad broad big field. Good luck!!!
[/quote]
I've been in this field for 12 years, so believe me I DO know where you're coming from...the satisfaction I got from my patients is long gone due to internal politics, budget, and so many restrictions. Which is why, I am out of this by being on my maternity leave right now and do not foreseen myself returning to work until my children is at school age.
Do you suggest being a drug and alcohol counsellor would be better than a case worker/social worker?
Thanks.
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Mystique13
