If you are thinking about becoming a social worker, then this article will definitely help you to determine whether or not this is the career for you. This article will answer all of your questions about this job.
You help people grow every day, it's an uplifting job that make you feel good at the end of the day. You might be tired and desperate sometimes, but you must have that strength inside of you, the strength that gives you hope and makes you believe in the best for each other.
You spend almost everyday talking about negative stuff, helping people struggling with their problems, people will certainly hate you, but you got to do it with love and hope. If you are a resilient person, this might be a great job for you.
They write a lot of reports, all the time, that's part of the job, but I would also say that they care, they love, they help. I can't say something specific because every day it's different, except for the report, one day you might be playing and the other you are arguing. It might get you tired but it's definitely not a bored job.
There are so many places where they could work, women center, drug therapy, help for employment, youth club and that's only community environment, you can also work in prison, halfway house, youth protection department. You can also be a street worker you have so many choices that it can't be a boring job.
Here in Quebec you can go to a CEGEP and do a 3-year program in youth and adult correctional services or social work or you can go to the university in a field related to social work such as psychology, psycho education, criminology, sexology. There are plenty paths you can choose to become a social worker.
Generally, they don't make a lot, except if you work in governmental places like youth protection department or prison, hospital sometimes, but these jobs specifically required at least a bachelor's degree, so the salary goes with it. But for a person doing the 3-year program in youth and adult correctional services or in social work, they might start with a $22-25 salary when they get out of school.
In school, they do have some self-defense courses, because they might get attacked doing their jobs, so they must be able to defend themselves. In every places, there is specific training to learn all the procedures as well.
You will work with people with anger and violence problems so you must be aware that people might get physically engaged in a fight with a colleague or other clients, but also with you. That is why they have self-defense courses to make sure they could at least defend themselves.
There is no way they can be replaced by a robot. Even if the government tried to replace psychologist with a phone app, users don't feel the same thing as being in front of someone who listens and care about you. Social working is about empathy, and empathy is an emotion which robots can't have.
It's different for anyone. Some people might feel disillusioned at some point by being faced to all this misery and negativity every day, so they change jobs in their 40s-50s, some become teachers in the same field, but it's different for everyone. You can also work all your life with suffering kids and still be able to love your job, as I said it's different for everyone.
So, if after listening to this information, you still think you can overcome all these challenges, you might be dedicated to this job.
Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: research journal
Date: no longer relevant
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: tangential
Sources: no sources cited
Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: government
Date: no longer relevant
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: cites sources