Only for social workers or related field?

Question

how is the nature of your job? do u like it? what are the pron and cons? helping others, has it made a difference in someones life? what is the job about?

Answer 1

The job has many areas to it, there is the children's side which is protecting children fro harm and where possible trying to keep families together by offering support. Then there is the adult side which is generally about assessing adults needs to see what services they are eligible for and off course protection of vulnerable adults. There are so many aspects that you would need to be clear about the specific area. Pros are helping others in need of assistance even though sometimes they may not welcome the help. The cons are budgets and paper work.

Answer 2

social work is a challenging profession, and if it is something you are considering, you need to get some sort of experience before training.  Maybe you need to ask yourself what you think social work is?  Before I started working in children's services, I volunteered with young people who are not in education, and also worked with a disability group which gave me some idea of a couple of aspects of the job. Even so, the job was completely different to my expectations and I have been working in children's services for three years now.

Whichever field you choose in social work, you will need to be able to assess a situation and make a balanced report that shows you are able to assess risks.  The complex part is always balancing risks with people's wishes and choices, as sometimes you will need to act 'in their best interests' which they may not want. (ie child protection, protecting a vulnerable adult) Some aspects are more stressful than others, so it is not always that intense.  There are lots of areas that might interest you, for example a youth offending service or maybe not even as a social worker but a support worker. (This would be a brilliant way to get experience and see what social workers do, as well as developing your own skills) The pros of social work would relate to the satisfaction of knowing that you have completed a good bit of work, relating to an individual or family and helping them change aspects of their lives that are damaging their well-being.  The cons are definitely the resistance that you sometimes come up against, and having to work within a strict legal framework which can put you in a position where you are accountable for you practice, but also have to work against the family's wishes. (removing a child or taking the family to case conference) Neil Thompson has done some great books that are easy introductions to social work (have a look on amazon) that might be a good place to start.  Good luck!!!