Evaluation of Career Development in Social Work
When a person is choosing a career in social worker, it is vital to achieve not only the necessary academic degree but also an essential set of skills that will help to work in this sphere. Specifically, besides the difference in the responsibilities, a specialist in this field has to be empathetic, communicative, patient, resourceful, resilient, stress-resistant, and love helping people. Today, the fields that require social workers tend to increase in quantity producing new positions and demands for the personnel, new specialists have a lot of chances to find a well-paid job (George, Coleman, and Barnoff 6). For example, social workers can operate in the field of general healthcare, mental health and substance abuse, school system, hospices, as well as private organizations, NGOs, consultations, and administration (Greif 515).
The demands and salary range depend on several characteristics, specifically the educational level of the novice social workers, their working experience, job requirements, and the state where they will be working in. In the majority of cases, the employers require the degree in Master of Social Work (MSW), where such specialists are reimbursed accordingly. Quite rarely the companies search for specialists with Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and the jobs are usually half-time or lowly paid (Reisch and Jarman-Rohde 202). Some of the jobs require the future employees to pass a test in order to assess their efficacy. In some cases, additional specific certification is required, such as Activities Director Certified (ADC) or Modular Education Program for Activities Professionals (MEPAP), but only when the specialists are seeking a job in the area of physical activity.
The reimbursement of the social workers depends on the field they are working in. For example, social worker operating in healthcare facility will receive around $51.930 per year, while social worker employed in school gets $42.120; finally, a specialists working with the people abusing the substance may get $41.380 (Learn how to become). The comparison produces the following statistics, the highest pay is received by the social workers operating in the area of psychology, which is around $69.280 and the lowest salary was indicated in the sphere of rehabilitation counselors, which is $33.880 (Learn how to become). Simultaneously, high salary can be achieved by those who have MSW. According to the reports, initial level of salary with BSW is near $25.000, while in several years it is possible to get $41.000 (PayScale). The salary range is nearly the same, yet the main issue here is the education level and qualification.
Advantages and Drawbacks in the Career of Social Worker
In the field of social work, the job opportunities may vary. The organizations may demand the experience in the area of social work as an additional specialization, but in the meantime, the specialist will have to deal with senior citizens only, which constitutes the work of gerontologist. At the same time, the social worker may be in administrative position, like for example executive director, and thus, to be involved into the actual social work only nominally. At the same time, there are a lot of jobs for the social workers in the non-profit sectors, where the specialist may deal with very wide range of problems, from the troubled youth to the case management. It is one of the main advantages of the profession, which also create certain drawbacks.
As an advantage, the students enrolled in this field will have a lot of possibilities to be employed. There is a constant need for the highly qualified social workers in a lot of fields, including the public organizations, NGOs, private companies, and healthcare facilities. As the range of responsibilities may vary, the social workers have to be prepared to every case they might encounter with. It is one of the biggest challenges in the profession, as the social workers are not always totally prepared for the future profession in terms of new experience and the necessity to obtain new profession during actual work. For example, a young specialist may choose any of the field, but the knowledge provided by the educational facility will not prepare for the realities of the work in any of the areas.
Modern social workers perceive knowledge as socially constructed reality. In this profession, the specialists are demanded to comply with the highest standards of ethics and control their emotional reaction. In the majority of cases, social workers will be dealing with the human problems, sufferings, bereavement, grief, disruptive behavior, and extreme manifestations of conduct. Therefore, ideal psychological stability and mental resilience are primary skills of the social worker, which cannot be devalued. However, not all young specialists have such abilities and experiences to execute these practices. The positions occupied by social workers may vary greatly, yet the main goal of every social worker remains unchanged, which is to serve to the society meeting its growing needs in taking care about the most vulnerable citizens, including elderly citizens, low-income families, terminally ill patients, and disadvantaged children. It is possible to compare the social work to the constant provision of charitable services.
According to several studies, the social workers are in the category of risk of professions that have high depression levels and poor psychological health, which stem from the exposure to constant stressors. According to the research, “involvement in ethical decision making, and the increase of supervisory emotional support” (Shier and Graham 62). They have to be constantly supervised and supported by the respective specialists in order to function effectively on the daily basis. It is possible to compare social workers with the specialists of the emergency services, who also encounter with the high level of stress. At the same time, the social workers do not have the same support provided by the special psychological unit, as it is provided to the first respondents. They have to cope with their daily problems on their own.
Practitioner’s well-being may be improved by recognition of the need for an individual's work, and by the help of the management to conduct important decisions (Travis 189). According to the studies, team work in the company of social workers is essential. For instance, Freund and Drach-Zahavy revealed that private hierarchal organizations and fluid structures affected the social workers in a positive way by creating effective team work and implementing the effective strategies to support them (Freund and Drach-Zahavy 334). Likewise, interpersonal relationships among the social workers are only one aspect of specificity of this profession. The social workers must have well-managed communicational skills that will affect their ability to work with people. Not only empathy and understanding of other people’s needs are essential, but also the ability to sympathize with the problems experienced by the clients.
This is a complicated and multifaceted profession that demands a lot of emotional and professional investment, where the appreciation of this investment will rarely be expressed by the clients. Therefore, people who choose this profession in order to be appreciated, will eventually be disappointed. While the companies may reimburse the specialists with high pay, the clients will not always be satisfied. For example, in the public agencies working with the disadvantaged families, inadequate parenting skills, mistreatment of the children as well as abuse, the social workers will have to evaluate the families and their parenting skills and if it is necessary to send children to custody. It is a tough task to become almost as an intruder and evaluate someone’s children and decisions in parenting. It is quite evident that the clients will not appreciate the work of specialists in this sector. While working with the elderly, the social workers are also not always appreciated by the clients, which leads to the conflicts at work, high levels of stress, and early burnout.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the profession of social worker is particularly complicated in terms of responsibilities and experiences, it is still very interesting and prestigious. It will not generate millions of dollars, but will help the specialists to become a demanded professional, whose assistance is needed. This is the main reason why people choose this profession, which is to help people, assist them in the most difficult periods, serve justice, improve the well-being of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens and create save space for children who were neglected and abused. It is a multifaceted profession that requires immense investments and time, but it is appreciated by the good done during the daily tasks. It is essential not to forget that the social workers have to develop personally and professionally to sustain stress, support people, resist pressure, serve justice, and take care about personal mental health. Working in such facilities as the psychiatric wards and troubled children can be particularly challenging due to the specificity of work and the lack of practical experience provided in the universities. Social workers have the ability to make crucial decisions, which requires responsibility and accountability as well as high ethical standards. The requirements to the new social workers have increased due to the development of this profession, but it is still important to remain true to personal vision of the social work and the responsibilities imposed on the specialists here.
Works Cited
Freund, Adam and Drack-Zahavy, Alex. “Organizational (role structuring) and personal (organizational commitment and job involvement) factors: Do they predict interprofessional team effectiveness?” Journal of Intraprofessional Care, 27.3 (2007): 319-334.
Greif, Geoffrey L. “How International Is the Social Work Knowledge Base?” Social Work 49.3 (2004): 514-524.
“How to Become a Social Worker: Careers as a Social Worker”. Learn How to Become, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 15 January 2016. Web. 25 January 2016.
Purnima, George, Coleman, Brienne and Barnoff, Lisa. “Beyond ‘Providing Services’: Voices of Service Users on Structural Social Work Practice in Community-Based Social Service Agencies.” Canadian Social Work Review 24.1 (2007): 5-14.
Reisch, Michael, and Lily Jarman-Rohde. “The Future of Social Work in the United States: Implications for Field Education.” Journal of Social Work Education 36.2 (2000): 201-217.
Shier, Micheal L., and John R. Graham. "Organizations and Social Worker Well-Being: The Intra-Organizational Context of Practice and Its Impact on a Practitioner's Subjective Well-Being." Journal of Health and Human Services Administration 36.1 (2013): 61-77.
“Social Worker (BSW) Salary (United States)”. PayScale. 12 January 2016. Web. 25 January 2016.
Travis, Dvid J. and Mor-Barak, Michael E. “Flight or fight? Factors influencing child welfare workers' propensity to seek positive change or disengage from their job”. Journal of Social Service Research, 36.3 (2010): 188-205.
