3 answers
Angela Chan
Angela’s Answer
I think easiest way to think about social work careers may be in terms of:
- Population - i.e. youth, families, elderly, incarcerated women, adults, youth, etc.
- Setting - i.e. schools, community, hospitals, local, state government, etc.
- What type of work do you want to do? i.e. direct service, advocacy, policy, clinical (therapy), etc.
It's OK to not know but I would encourage you to get as much exposure as you can while you are in school. Participate in as many internships in different settings/organizations as you can, conduct informational interviews, take with other students and find out what you love about their work, experience, etc.
Pay is a tricky question based on where you are based and what the labor market is like. You can get a sense of pay range from various job postings and checking in with career center at your university or talking with professors and other students, many of them are working in the field already.
Hope this helps,
angela
Yandira’s Answer
Hi there
Congrats on making it to your 2nd year!
I would first ask what would be your ideal position, followed by what you would not be interested in doing. Do you like working with the elderly--the next big population who will be needing services--or Veterans and their families -- need alcohol and subtance abuse and trauma- or do you want to focus on children with special needs -- another high demand population.
Dont know if I answered your question but hope gave you something to think about. Good luck!!!!