Andrea Kim ⋅ San Antonio, TX U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 4 years served

Hi, Mr. Moore. Thank you for your response. I realize now that the volunteer experience is just as important as the education. I will try to get as much experience as I can working with children or other things now to see if I can do this as my career. I am aware that it might take a lot out of me emotionally, but I think I would be really valuable in this line of work, and I am very passionate about giving children the best chance they can get. I wanted to make sure I am taking the right steps now to set me up for success.

Thank you to all who replied!

P.S. I did finally get a response from the MSW program at UTSA. And it seems they rely more on GPA than background experience. But I will still try to gain experience even if it won't mean as much on the program application as it will to my own career development over all.

James Moore ⋅ Ozawkie, KS ⋅ 10 years experience

Andrea,

One of the best ways to gain experience is to volunteer with a social service organization in your community. Often times you can volunteer just a few hours per week, and that agency may be more than willing to work around your busy schedule. You could speak with your school's practicum coordinator and see if they can recommend any agencies to you and they may be willing to make an introduction for you and assist in other ways.

I think it is good you know that you want to work in the school system. As a former social worker with an MSW, it would be wise on your behalf to make contact with veteran social workers out in the field, and ask them question about their job and the duties they perform and learn firsthand the good and the bad that comes in working in a particular position as a social worker. What you will learn in school about becoming a social worker is far different than what you learn after graduation.

Professors are interested in didactics and teaching you the fundamentals of social work practice, covering areas involving professional ethics, theories and best practices, etc. Be aware that you will have to think about all the stresses and demands that will be placed on you. Social work at the MSW level is not for the timid at heart. Burnout and turnover due to attrition from long hours and piles of paperwork, meetings, ever changing policies, rules and regulations from management can place a great burden on new social workers entering the field.

I am not trying to present a negative picture just offering a simple cautionary tale about how to mentally and emotionally prepare for what will be to come. If you make the extra effort and search for volunteer opportunities, it will provide valuable information in making the best choices down the road, once you enter and complete your MSW.

Good luck,

James Moore, MSW

Andrea Kim ⋅ San Antonio, TX U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 4 years served

Hi. Thank you for your replies. I researched more on the subject since I posted the question. I would like to be a school social worker. I'm going to look into meeting with someone at the UTSA career center. Right now I'm one year away from finishing my BA in psychology at UTSA. I love school but we are having budget issues and can't afford childcare and such. So to work around that, here's a mini plan I've set up for myself:

Attend night and weekend classes at UTSA as much course load as possible until GI bill runs out (I have enough to finish MSW program and still have enough benefits leftover for another degree or two)

Start working in school system when Bailey starts kindergarten (fall 2016, will most likely be finishing up MSW)

Continue to work in school system indefinitely or seek full time employment else where some time after Hyunsoo retires (End of 2020)

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Andrea,
It's great that you are interested in furthering your education, and I can understand how working towards a degree while also caring for a young child can present challenges. Our job is work together to help develop a plan, set goals, overcome obstacles and reach your goals.

I had a few questions and suggestions:

Do you know the types of social work in which you are interested?

One idea is to develop a typed plan for how you can meet people and find mentors, coaches and sponsors that have successful careers in the areas that interest you. Let us know if you have specific areas of interests, and we can help you develop a typed "networking plan".

Did you attend an undergraduate college? Have you requested help from its career-planning center, alumni network and alumni clubs?

Do you have a Linked In profile (I suggest creating a Linked In profile, and adding the link for your LI profile to your acp-advisornet profile)