In my early twenties, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career that would help others recognize their challenges. With social work I am able to empower and liberate people to enhance their well-being, therefore, I feel I can do this in a caring and supportive way. I am continuing my college education in social work so that I can help others succeed in life, and help those in need to overcome obstacles and challenges. My goal is to provide others with the essential tools to be successful in life and become more active members of society. My primary objective is to promote lifelong achievement and happiness by employing the knowledge and insight that I have gained through my personal experience and educational development. I am passionate about empowering people and being able to give a voice to the vulnerable. Social workers will often work with clients from all walks of life, therefore it is imperative to keep an open mind. There are many social workers that will encounter different circumstances that bring them face to face with conflicts between their personal values and the values of their profession. When one enters the profession of social work, our personal opinions are put aside in order to treat the person with whom we are working even if we feel their values and ideas are wrong. This can be one of the hardest aspects of being a social worker. Social workers are expected to embrace a diversity of values and people. Learning to do this can be a process in which this
The purpose of social work in the contemporary society is concern for the individual. The function of social work is to help solve problems in human relationships for a better quality of life and to protect them from harm and from harming others which will enhance well-being. I have decided to pursue social work as a profession because I am at the point in my life where I want a sense of fulfilment. I care about people, I want to help others. I want to make the world a better place to live. I want to be the change I want to see. I want to serve the people in society who are physical, mentally, and socially less privileged than I am and make them feel loved and accepted. I will work with all groups of people but I have a strong interest in working with children and people who suffer from mental illnesses and addiction. I am interested in social work because it is a career with lots of flexibility in an ever-changing field allowing me to work in different settings, with different goals and challenges, but with a shared purpose of serving the common good of people.
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
The people in the world that we live in are extremely diverse, in terms of the nationalities, religions, gender classifications and physical abilities. Social workers must have a clear understanding of the consequences of diversity and difference and the mechanisms of oppression and discrimination as they relate to human development. The range of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds that social workers will practice in is huge. Because of this, social workers must have an understanding of the values and attitudes of a multitude of different cultures as well as an understanding of their own attitudes and
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.
To become a Social Worker who practices the tolerance, humbleness, patience, empathy, compassion, aplomb, commitment, dedication, persistence, flexibleness and, of course, some sense of humor are for me indispensable to develop this career every day. Although others attitudes as to be an idealist, passionate, have a high sense of justice, integrity or honor are valuables, however if we don’t manage them properly could lead us to a bad practice of our job. Otherwise are the prejudices. I won’t say I don't have them, after all I do. Is just I'm aware of them so I can be more objective in my opinions. It’s difficult to accept those events, realities or ideas that we don't share, or don't understand because we’re not able to conceive them as possible. There is when the combination of pragmatic studies and individual experience are essential to achieving an effective influence in our
I chose social working as my career because many other people go through tough situations and have a difficult time talking to relatives or friends to help them through a tough situation. I thought of becoming a social worker so I can have the ability to change the lives of others. Social work is one of those careers you can truly make a difference in people’s lives. I want to become a social worker because life isn’t about just helping yourself it’s about helping others as well, which is what social workers do for a living. Child and family social workers protect children and families in need of assistance. Many families and children don’t feel comfortable talking to just anyone about obstacles they have faced in their lives which is why
I can say that being a social worker was never in my plans. I started from Liberal Arts, because I wasn’t decided on my career choice. I took almost all courses, when I got an advice from one of my friends to try Health Information Technology. I gave it a chance and I didn’t realize how time flied by and I graduated. My dream always was to work with children. When I graduated and took my internship, that was the time, when I understood that I made the wrong choice. I needed to search for another career, because I understood, that it would not be what I meant. My father is physical therapist and he gave me and advice to think and to do some research about Social Worker. This time, I did the most research that I could, in order to not repeat my mistake again. I instantly knew, that this what I needed. All over the world, there is and will always be abuse. That’s the reality of it, but now I’m studying for Social Worker here at Lehman College, because I would like to be working toward changing a child’s reality one day, I am changing my knowledge every time I come to class, and changing my life one step at a time. I believe that it all starts with me, and while I may not be able to save the whole world, I will be able to save and help at least small part of it. I currently work in the family practice as a receptionist. My best days are those when I able to help people and provide them with all the information needed. Every day is different.
Social work involves passionate individuals who are dedicated to helping others by providing services to vulnerable children, families or individuals in need, while constantly looking for ways in which we can improve society. This discipline is dedicated to helping people find solutions to their problems in order to make the world a better place. I chose this field of study, because I find the job of a social worker rewarding. I have always enjoyed helping others and knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life. It is no secret that this is a challenging career; however, the feeling of knowing that you made the world a better place is indescribable. I have simply decided to make my passion of helping others into a career. I know that in order to make my passion a career I will need to get the best education and training possible.
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 workers are responsible for human physical and emotional well-being. In order to help people, social workers have to make their decisions based on strong moral and ethical values. As claims DuBois B. (2009) “Social Work is a values - based profession. Values reflect preferences and inform choices” ( p.105).
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.
Throughout my life, I have always loved helping people and enhancing them to be the best person they can be. My purpose for choosing to pursue social work as a degree is through the burning desire I have upheld to support individuals achieve their goals. I consider myself as someone who is keen on acquiring new skills and knowledge of understanding on a daily basis. This is due to my motivation and determination as those two things are essential to sustain as an individual. From previous experience obtained by working in a Care home & Nursery, I have always had a passion to guide individuals who are less able to do so.
I believe that everyone is put on this earth to serve a purpose and that mine is to serve others. I am always the one who people come to when they are looking for solutions to their problems as throughout my whole life my natural ability to give support is why I started my education in psychology. This passion for helping others is what led me to psychology, however it wasn’t until recently that I discovered the profession of social work. Nearing the end of my undergrad studies, I realized that not only do I want to help people psychologically but socially, physically, and spiritually as well. I want to assist people of all ages to change their life by providing them access to resources for fulfillment of their most basic human needs.
It is not uncommon for social workers personal values to clash with the profession’s values. When reflecting on self-concept, I came to the conclusion that the values I stand for are kindness, equality, honesty, love, compassion, helping the less fortunate, and treating others the way you want to be treated. I also came to the realization that I highly value, respect, and appreciate diversity. I’ve learned and realized that by surrounding yourself with diverse, unique people you are able to grow and gain a better view and perspective on the world. One of the main values of the social worker profession is social justice. This is what has inspired me for my future. People should not be treated unequally for the things that make them unique. I want to bring social justice to those who are being treated wrongly due to the things that make them beautiful. This is why I believe my self-concept fits with the social work profession. I do believe that I will face many challenges while working in the social work profession. One of these challenges is becoming more self-aware. After reflecting on Chechak’s paper I can see how some of my values and beliefs may clash while working in the
Social workers should aspire to work on values of social justice, dignity and relationships. Worth of the person must always be looked at with integrity and competence for all service users (BASW 2012)