My Experience As A Social Work Student At New York University

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

I have yet to encounter a social worker who entered the profession for acclaim or prestige. It is a demanding career with long hours and ceaseless paperwork. Social workers are frequently overburdened in addition to being underpaid. Occasionally, they witness agonizing tragedy, fundamentally changing them. Having worked in social services for a number of years, I have had these experiences.

On many levels, I secretly desire to be this professional social worker that has experienced many different realms of social work practice. As I maneuver through my first couple days of field, many questions run through my mind as to what’s to be expected of a master’s level social work. Although, I’ve only had the pleasure of working children and families as a social worker; it has broaden my desire to want to know more.

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to pursue a career in social work. Helping others is something I have always been passionate about and I hope to be able to make a difference in the lives of those around me. Throughout my life, I have always been the person my friends would go to when something was wrong and they needed to talk. Growing up, I also experienced close family members struggle with addiction and mental health problems. I have seen how damaging these experiences can be on an individual. I have also witnessed the effects these experiences can have on family relationships. My personal occurrences have instilled in me a further desire to become a social worker.

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.

I have never felt so much drive and power to start my profession, but also fear and anxiety. When I graduate, I will have to start the repayment of my student loans. I know I am not the only student that has felt this way before or will have to pay for student loans, but in the world of the helping profession, it is demoralizing to know that the compensation does not match the labor. According to the National Association of Social Workers Center for Workforce Studies, the average pay is between $35,000 and $ 59,999. Social workers are constantly facing challenging agency environments, vulnerable and oppressed populations, mental illnesses, and traumatic events. This means that current Social Workers are looking outside the profession for work. The compensation of this profession has to be congruent to the amount of education and labor that the Social Worker has put

Going into the Masters of Social Work program, I thought I had an idea of what I was going to do and how to do it. Now that I am almost finished with my Spring semester, I was completely wrong. Reflecting back from when I first started this program, I have changed a lot in many aspects of myself. My professional self is has changed the most. Working with various different clients, backgrounds, situations, mental and physical health issues, socioeconomic status, sexual orientations, ages, and races have gave me great experiences that will carry on in my social work skill set. Doing my internship, and now current job, in child protective services and my current internship at Davis Child Shelter, were some of the best experiences a person can ask for wanting to be a professional social worker.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a national association of educational programs and individuals that confirms and improves the quality of social work education to become a professional job. CSWE puts in a countless amount of effort to strive for this mission by setting up a bachelor's and master’s degree programs in social work. On the other hand, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with approximately 132,000 members. To be more specific, NASW has a determination to intensify the maturity and developmental process of its members. The main goal is to retain professional standards and to create fair social policies. NASW progresses

My internship as a counselor of domestic and substance abuse was challenging and practical. I came into contact with domestic violence defendants, substance abuse defendants, as well as DUI first & second time offenders. These are people who have problems with impulse control, some emotional instability, and people who need to reevaluate how they make their choices. Having an internship in this environment and with these populations helped me realized what natural skills I have in the area of counseling and in which areas I need to improve as I continue my education and career.

When individuals think of social work, the first thing that comes to mind are government workers taking children from irresponsible parents. This is true to an extent, but most individuals have no clue what social work is and how many types there are. Social work is one of the most endearing, yet difficult careers to have. The main goal of social work is to improve and attempt to protect a community’s well-being, especially in vulnerable environments. According to the socialworkers.org article titled “Social Work Profession,” it explains what social work is, who can become a social worker, and the various types there are. Craig Winston Leroy and Ericka L. Stinson discuss how the public’s negative perception of social work affects social workers

Being a social work student has allowed me to gain so much experience through internships that is a requirement for social work students. It allows you to develop and grow in the field that you choice to work in. I have had many internships that I was fortunate to learn and grow from. I have volunteered at a school with youth adults with disabilities in a school setting, a housing agency, for people going in foreclosure, a nursing home working with the elderly and mental ill population. I also have worked with homeless families in a shelter. I have a wide variety of experience with multiple populations. I am capable of working with different people from different backgrounds. I’m competent in the work that I do.

Social work is a unique profession for those with a strong desire helping people to improve their lives. People who decide to do this type of job they need to be strong enough to cope with the family’s problems and they should be steadfast to find a solution to help others in the process of making their lives better. Many different professions by their action can help people, but the social work job is on the top the most attractive to me where I can use my skills acquired in college and use knowledge from my experience to help others in need.

A masters degree in social work contains the ability to open more doors than most people can imagine. Someone who has held different jobs within the profession is Ciara Warden. Although the currently works in the educational setting more than the typically thought-of field setting, Ciara told me about her experiences in each. Throughout the interview, she made it a point to stress how social work comes in many forms and a person does not have to feel stuck working in the same type of position forever.

Social work has been my dream career since I was an undergraduate student. The very first time when I thought to choose social work as my future career was from a volunteer experience.

During the second semester of my freshman year, the results of the survey finally hit me. Now, I’m staring at the results from this survey that says social work in bold and just thinking to myself that this must be my calling. So for the first time ever, I began to research what the social work profession was and what exactly did it consist of. I was so excited and surprised of all the different careers that social workers could do and I wanted to learn more about this field so that I could be a part of it.