How Social Work Affects The Lives Of Becoming A Social Worker

Before I knew exactly what the social work profession consisted of, I knew I wanted a career that focused on helping others. I explored options including medical and nursing fields, but they did not fit what I was destined for. It was not until I began working in a mental health office for a Licensed Independent Social Worker and a Prescribing Psychologist, that I knew the social work field was for me. It was during that job three years ago when I learned the social work profession and its core values consist of helping others achieve the best life possible with what they have. It is seeing the possibilities that others do not see and assisting individuals in navigating through them with patience and perseverance. The social work

There are several goals that I hope to achieve by pursuing a graduate degree in Social Work. Pursuing a MSW will provide me with the knowledge, tools, and skills-set that will be fundamental to the achievement my career goals outlined below.

I began my social work studies over twenty-five years ago at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I never questioned my decision to pursue a career in social work; I loved my classes and worked hard to learn as much as possible. But the information I gained in undergraduate school simply opened the doors of my education. Most of my learning has come through constant questioning, personal research, and especially through work and life experience. Through these experiences I have encountered the challenges faced by individuals, families, and society and have been able to further access and develop the innate personality traits and abilities that originally led me to study social work as well as learn and practice the many skills necessary to be a successful mental health counselor.

After I gained some practical experience in social work, I wanted to excel my knowledge so decided to pursue my Master’s degree. Social work, today, now isn't just confined within societal factors and uplifting people. It goes way beyond this. It is rather a holistic approach, the one that comprises the multifold thematic areas like social entrepreneurship, community ownership and empowerment. There is a Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” and social work is about teaching a man to fish so s/he does not have to beg a single day in life for living. For me studying social work is to become someone who can teach people to earn for their living, help them get their every right, be a voice for those who are vulnerable and make people strong enough to stand against the injustice they face and for that I know I need to study more, learn

– I became interested in social work when my next door neighbor kids where not well taking proper care of. When they come to my house and the look in their eyes when they had to go back home and live with being yelled at and not getting feed or cleaned on the regular. I knew then that I had wanted to help kids and not only kids but older adults.

Social Work was always in my mind since I was fifteen years old. That was when my mother decided to start her home daycare and fostering for children. Not only seeing the amount of social workers come through my door and bringing these poor kids to a safer home, I also had my Godmother as an inspiration. My Godmother went through college with her first son to become a social worker. Since then,

My passion for social work originated in my senior year of undergraduate school. During my senior, year my single, adoptive mother had passed. A couple of months following her death, I found myself homeless. I had just turned 18 and I was a jobless high school student sleeping from couch to couch. During this time of my life there was one individual who supported me. The high school social worker was a strong support for me. I didn’t have any family support and thus fell on hard times. A college professor once told me that people who choose social work as a major do it because that had someone in their life who influenced them to become a social worker. If that person wasn’t in my life, my personal growth would have differed completely. It was at this point that I realized it only takes one caring individual to hugely impact someone 's life for the better. To be that person to someone else is my highest aspiration in life.

Social work is a career that finds and chooses you, rather than you selecting it. Social work has always been an immense portion of my life even when I had no recollection of what social work entailed. My life revolved around so many situations that had a social worker stepped in, my life would be totally different than it is today. Many individuals and agencies lack the compassion and empathy for oppressed people. Having been in many circumstances, has given me the experience and background that influenced me to go into social work, as well as the understanding of my role and responsibilities that I will assume as a professional social worker, and my reasons for selecting the program at ASU School of Social Work and thoughts on how the Mission Statement addresses my career goals.

For this paper, I have interviewed 3 individuals who have their MSW degrees. Items addressed in the interviews reviewed the following: theories/models used in their practice, what makes their work interesting/stimulating, constraints they encounter, their perception on the effectiveness of their practice, professional social work values they demonstrate with their practice, and how they stay current in their practice. First, I will start with an introduction of the MSW social workers I interviewed, and their areas of practice.

The interest of pursuing social work developed when I was earning my undergraduate degree. I wanted to help others with a rewarding job that would allow me to empower others. I learned more about what social workers do and the various career choices that are offered during my junior and senior year. Family has always encouraged me to gain a degree in a field that I would be passionate about and that would give me satisfaction. My friends have always thought that I would be an excellent social worker.

The Bachelor of Social Work degree is more than just a qualification in my eyes. It goes beyond receiving a title or a piece of paper at the end of my schooling. Social Work is a career where you do not only learn how to help others, you also learn how to help yourself. I am excited to learn new ways to enhance my self-awareness and mindfulness. I am confident that I will be more comfortable with articulating my own thoughts and emotions throughout this experience. I know how important it is to build relationships and make connections during school.

I have had many different experiences which have cultivate my interest in the social work profession. My experience is the very personal story of growing up in a “middle class” family and watching my parents struggle with limited resources. My brother was born with cerebral palsy and has on several occasions stopped breathing. His condition required numerous hospitalizations and surgeries. While this was hard enough six years later I was born, 3 months early the result of a drunk driver hitting my mother’s car and was most likely not going to survive. When I was two years old finally meeting milestones and a seemingly healthy baby my father got a call about his nephew. A boy that no one

My perspective about the social work profession and career interests have been evolving and gaining more depth since I entered the MSW program. I would like to contribute to the betterment of the lives of the disadvantaged or marginalized individuals, and I am confident that graduating from the UTSA MSW program will enable me to apply my knowledge to culturally competent practice. It was my career in teaching that directed me through the years of my professional experience toward social work. Currently, my areas of interest are in school social work and gerontology. I can also envision myself having an active role within a hospital or clinic working with people to address their needs.

I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.

Social working is an industry so vast and extensive, but be so invisible if you have never been exposed to it. Going into the social work field you have to have the value of selflessness and great charity. The fields can range from someone off a GED to someone going for their second doctorate. Wide range competitiveness, social workers’ first step is getting on a licensing standpoint, but in reality you need to make yourself an acceptable offering for the field of competition. Several amount of references who could can give an honest record of your aptitude. That is just the first step, entering the field. Social work is competitive, but also very populous, with a broad spectrum of practices from militaries to schools, and is prominent throughout the globe. These practices can then be broken down into even smaller categories. The medical field, there is more than enough social work in this area that can be forgotten. The emotional trauma patients suffer from all types of diseases, the casualties of war and workforce, or just burnt out workers, such as the nurses and doctors who have to care for the endless amount of patients. Each of these minor fields may take a different type of social worker. The fields are all growing, in fact the job outlook for social workers is faster than average at 12%. Use of evidence-based-practices is increasingly prominent in social work in the substance abuse disorders yet demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment continues to be low. Social