I want to become a social worker but I'm told its a very depressing line of work. Is that true?

Question

I want to become a social worker but I'm told its a very depressing line of work. Is that true?

Answer 1

That depends, ENTIRELY, on you!  I've been in the social work field for ten years; I've worked with teenage retarded s*x offenders, girls who were wards of the court, homeless families that had just escaped domestic violence situations and now mother who have aged out of the foster care system.  In all of this time, the only times the job has been depressing have been when I was taking it that way and being a pessimist.  You have to learn to: not take your clients' behavior personally, separate your identity from your job, get you fulfillment from seeing any small sign of progress instead of always looking for resounding succsess and know that your job is to plant the seeds of change and hope that they are falling on fertile ground (knowing you will probably not be ther to see the seed grow).  If you can do that, you'll love it, no matter what population you work with.  Some advice for school: if you're a social work major, you will have to do several internships, try to take these in different agencies or in different parts of the same agency so that you can deal with different types of clients in different situations.  Do some volunteer work in a shelter or some other social service agency to see what all is open for you.  Find a mentor early on, through your school if possible, and pick every nook and cranny of that person's brain (make sure it's someone who's successful in the field and doesn't appear to be cynical or burnt out).  If you can, work straight through school to get your masters, then take the LiSW exam, you'll have many more options and much better pay.  Don't forget to play at least as hard as you work, learn a non-self destructive way (not drinking or shopping or over eating, etc) to unwind and keep your mind sharp.  You'll get vacation time, it's yours and it's there for a reason, use it or lose your mind.  Learn how to leave on time, or at least close to on time, social work has had enough martyrs and zombies (burnt out people who keep showing up and going through the motions just for the check or because they have nowhere else to go).  Remember to make sure you have a life outside of your job and friends outside of your co workers.

Answer 2

i've worked in a lot of social work fields, nursing homes, MS patients, HIV patients, teenagers.. i've never been depressed by my line of work. I have always found it a great field to work in. I have found some of the people frustrating and a LOT of the government programs frustraiting, but thats all.

Answer 3

Only if you dislike being punch in the mouth every now and then.

Answer 4

I could see that it could get rather depressing....... but it might depend on what department you choose and whither or not you have the right mental stamina for it

Answer 5

That all just depends on the person and their level of self-awareness.  When you know your self, then you know when you need a couple of days off, you know what alleviates some of that stress and takes your mind off the work.  The most important thing is that you have to leave work at work and make home, your family and friends, your sanctuary.  Sometimes it takes a bit to learn, but as long as you have a strong support system and good self-confidence (which can be built) then you will be just fine.  It's just the people who don't know how to separate or have chosen the wrong field of social work that are often more depressed or even cynical (which is never good).