The Most Common Social Worker Jobs
*Collaborative post
Social work is a noble profession. It’s one that can truly make a difference to the world, but it is also incredibly difficult. It can be emotionally and physically draining, and social workers often have to go for counselling themselves for the experiences that they are often exposed to.
However, if you are a kind, caring individual and have loads of empathy and compassion for others – then social work could be a great career opportunity for you.
Before you start your social work career, you should see what kind of work you want to do.
Are you especially interested in children and their welfare? Do you want to work with people with addictions or mental health issues? Do you have the desire to help abused women? Or are you concerned about those that are sick or have ailments?
These are all questions you should ask yourself before you decide what direction to take in your social work profession.
Substance abuse
Having a profession as a social worker in substance abuse is one of the more challenging, but also rewarding avenues that you can choose.
People in this profession can work in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, prisons, hospitals and private care facilities. As a substance abuse worker you have to have compassion and a whole heap of patience.
Recovery is a long and arduous journey, and you will have to be prepared for relapses, bad tempers and mood swings. But in the end – recovery is highly rewarding to see.
Medical/public health
Social work in the medical and public health industry is the fastest growing, and there are great forecasts for expansion in this sector.
A social worker that specialises in public and medical health can work in any facilities that deals with medical patients. Places like emergency rooms, hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes and assisted living.
They are the go-between with patients and their medical carers, and they are in charge of overseeing that they are being treated properly and assisting with documents and decision-making.
Child welfare
Child welfare is a huge area of social welfare and requires high levels of compassion and a deep love of children. You can work with investigative units and child welfare companies that assess children’s home situations and remove them from dangerous environments.
You have to be unbiased, level-headed and intuitive enough to know when a child is physically, mentally or sexually abused even though it may not always be obvious.
Mental health
Mental health is another popular choice for social workers, but it’s one that you have to be highly trained for. People pursuing this profession normally need to have a master’s for clinical practice.
You can work in a number of different facilities, and you will be in charge of assessing and diagnosing mental health issues, creating treatment plans and assist those that live daily with the effects of having a mental illness.
These are just some of the social worker jobs that are available, and there are many other avenues that you can go down to find the niche that you would like to get into.