2 answers
kenzie
Student
Covina, California
3
Questions
Asked
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Is it true social workers dont really care about the children?
i've heard a lot of people say that social workers don't care and they just do it for money is it true? #social
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2 answers
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1738
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Kenie,
Social Work in general doesn't pay nearly as well as other jobs, so, I doubt people get into it for the money.
There are many jobs that look attractive from the outside, but, once you get inside, you see a different picture. Every job has a down-side. Take law enforcement. When my group graduated from the academy, we were all excited to get to go out and do "police stuff." But the department we worked for didn't want that. They wanted us to do nothing unless something happened, then they wanted us to handle whatever it was. So, even though we had the authority to do things, we learned to use self-restraint.
When I left law enforcement, I worked at a state workforce center, helping people find jobs. A type of social work. We had impossible case loads, and completing all kinds of forms and keeping statistics became more important than the people we were supposed to be serving. I think that bureaucratic side of things stands in the way of doing our jobs, and, when stressed over all of that, we probably came off as "not-caring." Truth is, we spoke up time and time again on behalf of the customers, but, we couldn't change things.
These administrative responsibilities have a purpose. The agencies need to be able to prove that they are being "successful" or other agencies will successfully compete for contracts against them. However, the inability to be able to do as much as we want for our customers was upsetting, to say the least. I imagine there are similar requirements in agencies that work with children.
If you go into social work, you will want to ask questions during your job interviews to get a feel of how much burn-out there is, how high the employee turnover rate is, etc. . .
good question!
Social Work in general doesn't pay nearly as well as other jobs, so, I doubt people get into it for the money.
There are many jobs that look attractive from the outside, but, once you get inside, you see a different picture. Every job has a down-side. Take law enforcement. When my group graduated from the academy, we were all excited to get to go out and do "police stuff." But the department we worked for didn't want that. They wanted us to do nothing unless something happened, then they wanted us to handle whatever it was. So, even though we had the authority to do things, we learned to use self-restraint.
When I left law enforcement, I worked at a state workforce center, helping people find jobs. A type of social work. We had impossible case loads, and completing all kinds of forms and keeping statistics became more important than the people we were supposed to be serving. I think that bureaucratic side of things stands in the way of doing our jobs, and, when stressed over all of that, we probably came off as "not-caring." Truth is, we spoke up time and time again on behalf of the customers, but, we couldn't change things.
These administrative responsibilities have a purpose. The agencies need to be able to prove that they are being "successful" or other agencies will successfully compete for contracts against them. However, the inability to be able to do as much as we want for our customers was upsetting, to say the least. I imagine there are similar requirements in agencies that work with children.
If you go into social work, you will want to ask questions during your job interviews to get a feel of how much burn-out there is, how high the employee turnover rate is, etc. . .
good question!
edmond abrahamian
Data Scientist
8
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
edmond’s Answer
"social workers don't care and they just do it for money" - well that sounds to me like a very general statement! if you really wanted the real answer to that, you'd have to look at some statistics. For example you'd have to survey a representative sample of social workers at random and then look at their responses. But I don't think you can believe a blanket statement like that based on hearsay!
Choosing a career in any field -and ensuring that you're going to be happy- means that you have to have a passion for the field that you are interested in. So I would suggest that you ask yourself that question for any type of career consideration. Good luck!
Choosing a career in any field -and ensuring that you're going to be happy- means that you have to have a passion for the field that you are interested in. So I would suggest that you ask yourself that question for any type of career consideration. Good luck!