Pros and Cons of Being a Social Worker

Social workers comprise a group of professionals whose aim is to ensure overall wellbeing and assist people and communities meet basic and complex needs. They usually focus on different populations and different types of people, specifically those that are vulnerable, oppressed, and poor. Some social workers, depending on their specialty, participate in legislative processes that are necessary for the formulation of crucial social policies. There are values and principles that underlie their day to day work. Social workers are well trained and properly educated to deal with social injustices or whatever barriers that may impact their clients' wellbeing. These range from civil rights, poverty, workers' pay, reduced mental health stigma, Medicaid and Medicare, discrimination, and lack of housing. Social workers also help persons living with disabilities, experience domestic violence, or have substance abuse problems. Different social workers serve the community in a unique way in line with what they were trained for and their skill set. 

Being a social worker can be demanding in terms of the tasks one has to execute daily. The profession can also take an emotional toll on an individual. However, for most people, it is a chance to bring change to the community. This, in a way, brings joy and satisfaction to these workers' lives. They get the chance to witness helplessness and despair turn into self-worth and hopefulness for the future (Holland & Scourfield, 2015). They may not be the richest people around, but social workers experience peace and joy through their clients' success stories. They derive pride in making other people better, ensuring people are transformed, and that they are the best versions of themselves. Even though there might be periods when these social workers experience low moments in their careers, in the end, their service still matters. Throughout their career, they are devoted to being the much-needed agents of change. They make society a better place. 

Pursuing a career as a social worker is more advantageous to an individual. Despite the challenges that they face each day, it is a job that offers them many rewards. First, being a social worker means that one has a variety of options for employment. Ordinarily, most people usually associate social work with positions such as child protection service workers. This is usually not correct. The truth is that social work entails a whole range of tasks aimed at easing the lives of individuals and making society a better place (Hughes et al., 2018). Social work may deal with civil rights, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, child abuse, disability pay, and reduced mental health stigma. This provides a variety of options for one to choose from depending on their preference. Social work is not similar to other professions and careers which force an individual to stay in one line of service in which they were trained. It allows for diversity and, as such, people are always free to drift from one area of focus to the other. It is among the most flexible careers. Social workers may be found helping patients at hospitals, attending to the elderly in their nursing homes, and even helping with job placement for the disabled in the community. We also have those who specialize in adoption. These are just some of the variety that social workers can choose from and pursue their careers. 

Moreover, this job enables them to impact the lives of others positively. They have the chance to deal with people on a personal level and try to break barriers and hindrances to their overall wellbeing. They encounter people who go through different challenges and social injustices in their daily lives. People who are victims of abuse or who are not being treated fairly. Through their intervention, they come up with ways that resolve this. They change these situations and make peoples' lives more meaningful. Social workers are always at the forefront of advocating for these reforms and changes in the way people are treated. They are agents of change. They meet people when they are at their lowest or darkest hour. Their job is to offer these individuals resources and enable them access to the help they might need. It is not a glamorous job, neither is it a good-paying job, but it makes the workers take pride in the fact that they managed to help an individual get back on their feet. It gives them satisfaction and fulfillment. 

The nature of social work makes each day different. This is because social work is so diverse, it is not common to do the same thing two days in a row. One day a social worker may be asked to investigate claims of abuse. The next day, they might be called to check-in on the progress of these families. They might be asked to speak with these families on the different care options they would opt for. They could then supervise a child's visit to their parents and develop a conclusive report on the encounter. They might help children find and fit into a home. They are never really sure of what will happen next. This kind of unpredictability makes each day different and brings forth new and exciting challenges that make the job interesting (Gaille, 2018). This also reduces boredom and laxity that might arise from doing one thing repeatedly. Unlike social work, other professions are known to be very predictable since the tasks are always repeated each day, and this might lead to boredom, stress, and even depression. This is what makes social work an exciting career prospect when evaluating professions. 

Social workers, most of the time, work in environments that are safe and comfortable. They carry out their work in a typical office set up. Most of them are called out to work in hospitals, government institutions, and even schools. These are secure places free from any forms of perils or threats. As such, they get to execute their task properly without any disturbances or interferences from outsiders. In instances where they are sent out to investigate matters that might seem dangerous or violent, they are often escorted by law enforcement officers. This is to prevent them from any forms of perils that they might be exposed to during their work. However, in a few cases, there might be no law enforcement accompanying them. Just like other jobs, social work also has its perils. 

Most social workers are compelled to enter the profession since their values and principles align with the core principles of the profession (Gaille, 2018). Most of them have this desire to be a part of a change they wish to see. Some of them are inspired by their own experiences while growing up. As such, they are compelled to advocate for the support and guidance they lacked in the past. They become part of these reforms. In essence, social work allows an individual to be an embodiment of justice, equality, respect, dignity, fairness, and the right to health and wellbeing (Cornejo, 2019). These core values make social workers passionate about the execution of their duties to ensure they impact someone's life positively. They ravel in the joy and peace of knowing that they were part of an individual's success story. If someone's principles and core values align with their profession, it becomes easier to execute professional functions effectively. Also, working in the field enables social workers to make a difference in the lives of individuals and bring a notable benefit to society. Evidently, one can see the kind of contribution and effort of social workers in the community. Their work has borne positive results and transformed the lives of many people. Social workers make the world a better place. They solve specific problems or help people solve these problems. Even though they put in extreme effort to achieve change, they derive fulfillment in knowing that their work is meaningful and helpful to others. 

Social work also offers better chances of growth. Just like in other fields, this profession offers better chances to excel. An individual could specialize in a given area and grow significantly in that area. Social workers can pursue a master's program when they settle in their professional life. This makes them achieve supervisory statuses and climb up the professional ladder. One also has a variety of working options, thus allowing movement to areas that present better prospects for career progression. Furthermore, social workers help other workers to develop and grow in their careers. When they support, empower, and educate others, they inherently do the same for themselves. Moreover, the challenges these social workers experienced in the course of their work inspires growth. These obstacles are what compel social workers to confront their shortcomings. This kind of constant reflective practice challenges them to be better people (Gaille, 2018). For instance, child welfare workers might have to continually evaluate their unconscious biases, beliefs, and values most time in the course of their career. The same applies to a social worker who works under the criminal justice system. 

Social workers, particularly under criminal justice, usually play a crucial role in transforming and diagnosing criminal populations. They execute several critical functions such as making recommendations about mental status, developing advocacy programs in the criminal justice system, and referring defendants to community resources. The types of populations they work with are victims of domestic or sexual abuse, children who are victims of neglect, inmates who have been released recently, and incarcerated persons. Youth correctional social work officers help rehabilitate young offenders. They work at correctional or detention facilities where youths are referred to by Children's Protective Services (Perry, 2006). Their main task is to instill discipline in these youths and come up with constructive activity programs that will have a positive impact on their character. They help incarcerated youths to deal with trauma so that they could fit into the community. Evidently, they execute a very critical role that helps make society a better place. Those who work in prisons effectively reduce the rate of recidivism in the near future. They do so by dealing with psycho-social issues like past trauma, educating the convicts, and providing social service recommendations that facilitate the reintegration of offenders into the community. They help to assess and establish the mental state of inmates, including the level of mental health functioning. They also conduct counseling sessions where they teach inmates life skills in groups and prepare them for their release. Social workers who work as probation and parole officers ensure they identify and supervise inmates eligible for early release due to their good behavior. They help identify those offenders who have reformed and are no longer a threat to the community. This helps to keep the community safer and free from unreformed convicts. Probation officers also monitor those offenders that have been placed on probation to ensure the activities they engage in are legal and not harmful to the community. All these social workers under criminal justice contribute in one way or the other in integrating offenders back to the community. They ensure those offenders are transformed mentally and are ready to be part of the community again. By so doing, they make everyone safer and, as such, people can go on with their daily routine without fear of harm. Just like other social works, their work is significant, especially during this time that convictions are increasing and the prison population is growing.

Social workers are also entitled to a full-time income, even though their wages vary depending on the specialty and type of employer (Gaille, 2018). It is not a lucrative profession, but the earning is substantive and enough to support a comfortable lifestyle. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 data, health care social workers are entitled to a full-time wage of $50,500 annually. Social workers in the child, school, and family domain averaged an annual salary of $44410. Those who dealt with mental health and substance abuse averaged $42,650 per year. Most of those who worked at the federal executive branch received an annual salary of more than $70,000. This shows how this field is properly paying and can enable an individual service their student loan and mortgages. In addition to this, the general job outlook for social workers is outstanding. This is one of the profession's major advantages. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is projected that the number of jobs for all social workers is bound to grow by approximately 25 percent between 2010 and 2020, a rate faster than other jobs. However, this rate of increase will be different depending on the specialty. Some will experience relatively greater rates of increase than others. 

Even though social work is largely advantageous and beneficial to an individual and the community, there are a few barriers that may hinder social workers from effectively accomplishing their tasks. Most workers under criminal justice usually have a significant caseload that, in a way, reduces their effectiveness (Cornejo, 2019). Chronic understaffing, administrative management, and issues like budget cuts may lead to an individual carrying up to 50 cases. This makes them hardly make any positive impact on each case due to lack of enough time. The nature of the work also means that their schedule is more unpredictable and irregular. Unlike other jobs with a typical five to eight hours schedule, the responsibilities that come with social work might demand commitment, especially when they are called to manage an emergency intervention. This might mean reduced family time, and, in some cases, it leads to divorce. Most social workers also encounter dangerous situations that, at times, could be life-threatening. There is always an underlying risk of violence against social workers. 

In conclusion, a career in social work requires a desire to sacrifice and serve. Most of the time, one is called upon to give a little of themselves to help others. Finding a work-life balance might prove to be a difficult task in this profession. It calls for one to manage their schedule wisely and, at the same time, create time for their family. However, the work is gratifying and fulfilling. At the very least, one derives pride in being the embodiment of change in society, in fostering a transformed community that is much safer and peaceful.

References

Cornejo, F. (2019). Social worker wellbeing and critical reflective practice . Learning Critical Reflection, 106-120. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351033305-10

Gaille, L. (2018, November 27). 15 pros and cons of being a social worker . Vittana.org. https://vittana.org/15-pros-and-cons-of-being-a-social-worker

Holland, S., & Scourfield, J. (2015). 1. What is social work? Social Work: A Very Short Introduction , 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780198708452.003.0001

Hughes, J. C., Kim, H., & Twill, S. E. (2018). Social work educational debt and salary survey: A snapshot from Ohio. Social Work, 63 (2), 105-114. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swy001

Perry, R. E. (2006). Do social workers make better child welfare workers than non–social workers? Research on Social Work Practice, 16 (4), 392-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731505279292