Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm a guy, and my mom was pushing it partly for that reason. I can see where an MSW might be an alright option. She pushed me to do some science prereqs and go pharmacist, but as a tech, I've seen what pharmacists do, and I am called out for overlooking so many things, that I'd hate to be the pharmacist and kill somebody because I was being rushed.
You're going to be way more rushed as a social worker. Most social workers have very high caseloads. People CAN die if you don't make the right decisions and make them quickly. You also IMO cannot do this succesfully online since your undergrad is not social work either. You're already going to be at a disadvantage in the masters class since most of your students will have undergrads in social work or psychology.
I know you want to work for the government, but I'm telling you this is not a time for hiring in government, and if this tax cut passes the senate there will be drastic reductions in the public sector workforce in the coming years.
I don't think social work is going to be a good fit for someone who misses key details and finds pharmacy tech stressful. Social work will be 100x more stressful.
Pharmacists who work in retail make $110K-$140K fresh out of school.
Not anymore, that ship has sailed. Jobs are competitive now, too many pharmacists. My bff was a pharmacist, made huge bucks first 10 years then watched salaries go down as H1B's and others came into the field, then got laid off in a wave of lay-offs in Florida due to store closings (apparently they don't need 3 CVS's in one mile lol) and tried for a couple of months to find something new before deciding to just be a stay at home mom (luckily her husband makes enough).
Unless the VA pays double what the state governments pay, you won't be making $75K as a social worker.
My ex girlfriend, who has her MSW, makes about $40K - and she is the regional administrator in charge of the supervisors who oversee the case workers.
If you want to be making $75K by mid-career, I'd encourage you to consider becoming a pharmacist, since you already have knowledge and connections in that field. I believe pharmacists start at about $60K out of school.
Good luck!
Anything federal pays double what state does for pretty much every career.
I find it odd that it sounds like op has no social work experience but thinks he would like the field. From past posts that I recall, his basis was that he took sociology/pyschology in college? Sociology is not social work...
I find it odd that it sounds like op has no social work experience but thinks he would like the field. From past posts that I recall, his basis was that he took sociology/pyschology in college? Sociology is not social work...
That's fine but shouldn't you shadow some social workers for 50-100 hours before spending time/money on a masters for a field you have no experience in?
5 different people for 5 different office settings and different fields
See the morning/day roles, see the evening/take home work, see the weekend work, etc
Don't be like those college grads who come out of school knowing nothing about the industry on how to get a job yet spending years supposedly learning about the subject matter
The second of the two four-hour written tests I had to take to get my license consisted of ten case studies and a series of questions about each one. Answers were graded based on how correct or incorrect they were; if you gave a bad answer (misdiagnosis or therapeutic actions that could damage a patient), you were penalized for it - the worse the answer, the bigger the penalty.
Serious damage can result from doing the wrong thing in therapy. Fail to adequately diagnose suicide risk, for example, can result in death for the client, and working in areas outside the bounds of your competence (experience and training) can result in the client becoming worse rather than better. You need to know when something is outside your capabilities and refer him/her out. That's why mental health professionals are required to carry millions of dollars of liability insurance.
You'll also be bound by your profession's code of ethics; serious violations can result in censure or loss of license. Here is the NASW Code of Ethics:
If you're looking for a stress-free easy career without any possibility of making a major mistake and damaging a client or contributing to a death, mental health professions aren't for you. Any career that involves working with the mental or physical well-being of clients is going to come with a good amount of stress and risk. Plus, you're working with people's pain every day -- that can lead to serious burnout so self care is very important.
When you say "an MSW might be an alright option" you don't sound convinced or enthusiastic about the prospect. Not to put you off, but you need to be really sure this is what's right for you before you invest money and time in getting a degree.
I can see myself being miserable in any job that pays what I want. My goal is to save enough momey so I can retire early and not have to work anymore, OR do a job with a good retirement built in. Whether or not I continue to work after I can retire will depend on if I father any children or not.
That's fine but shouldn't you shadow some social workers for 50-100 hours before spending time/money on a masters for a field you have no experience in?
5 different people for 5 different office settings and different fields
See the morning/day roles, see the evening/take home work, see the weekend work, etc
Don't be like those college grads who come out of school knowing nothing about the industry on how to get a job yet spending years supposedly learning about the subject matter
Ok, I already know 3 social workers very well, and I see others come into the pharmacy from time to time, so I could probably get 2 more that way. It took watching a pharmacist for 5 years to say "hell no, pharmacy is not for me"
Money is not the be all & end all. Find a career you can be happy in, doing social work for money only is not a good idea.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
