By Maria Garcia Ingier
For those of you currently toiling away in the wonderfully exhausting world of social work, you’ll know it’s less of a job and more of a calling. It’s the sort of work that leaves you both proud of what you’ve done and slightly baffled as to how you’ve managed to do it at all. But here you are, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what the next step is in this journey of helping others while trying not to lose your marbles in the process.
The obvious answer, of course, is to expand your qualifications. Whether you’re a fresh-faced graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or a slightly more weathered practitioner with a few years of experience under your belt, there’s always the tantalising prospect of further education. And yes, there’s a practical element to all this. While the work is fulfilling, one must also consider the financial realities of keeping oneself in tea and biscuits. Which brings us to the rather pressing question of BSW vs MSW salary. It’s not simply about earning more, though the difference can be considerable. It’s about opening doors, widening your scope of practice, and generally giving yourself a bit more breathing room in a field that’s often alarmingly short of air.
Before you start drafting grandiose plans for your social work empire, it’s worth taking a good, hard look at where you are now. What sort of work are you doing? Are you feeling fulfilled, challenged, or simply surviving on a diet of instant noodles and relentless optimism? And more to the point, what do you want your future to look like?
It’s a good idea to jot down what you enjoy about your current role and what feels about as appealing as a trip to the dentist. From there, you can start to determine whether further education, a change of workplace, or simply refining your existing skills is the best way forward. Just be honest with yourself. There’s no point in upgrading your qualifications if what you really want is to leave the profession entirely and open a little bookshop by the sea.
If you’re still passionate about social work and merely want to stretch your wings a little further, upgrading your education is an obvious step. For those who began with a BSW, the MSW is the natural progression. It’s not just about earning potential, although the financial difference between BSW vs MSW salary is not to be sniffed at. It’s also about expanding your capabilities, taking on roles in clinical practice, management, or specialised areas that you simply can’t access with a BSW alone.
Online programs are particularly convenient for those of you trying to fit postgraduate study around the full-time commitment of, you know, having a life. Just make sure you’re signing up for an accredited program, preferably one with the sort of reputation that makes employers’ eyebrows lift approvingly rather than twitch suspiciously.
Once you’ve got the educational aspect sorted, it’s time to think about where you’d like to carve out your niche. Social work is a broad field, after all, ranging from child welfare and mental health to policy advocacy and beyond. Specialising can make you more valuable to employers and give you a clearer sense of direction, which is always handy when the day-to-day can feel a bit like being lost in a maze with only a paperclip and a half-eaten sandwich for guidance.
Look at your interests and your strengths. If you’re particularly good at working with families, perhaps focus on family counselling or child protection. If policy-making intrigues you, there are roles that allow you to nudge the system in a slightly more humane direction. And if you’ve always been fascinated by the administrative side of things, well, management could be calling your name with the dulcet tones of a well-organised spreadsheet.
The value of having someone who’s been there before you cannot be overstated. Finding a mentor in your area of interest can give you invaluable insight into what’s worth pursuing and what’s better left on the back burner. Networking, too, can open doors you didn’t even know were there, though it can often feel like standing in a room full of people shouting over each other about their latest achievements.
Attending conferences, workshops, and local seminars can provide the connections you need. But don’t forget about online networking, which has the added benefit of letting you do it all in pyjamas if you so choose.
This one’s a biggie. Social work has a nasty habit of draining people dry if they’re not careful. No amount of qualifications or networking will help if you’re crawling from one crisis to the next with all the enthusiasm of a cat being dragged towards a bath. Learning how to pace yourself, how to say no, and how to maintain some semblance of work-life balance is crucial.
Whatever steps you decide to take in your social work career, remember that progress doesn’t have to mean relentless forward motion. It’s perfectly fine to pause, take a breath, and remind yourself why you started all this in the first place. After all, the world may be a chaotic, bewildering place, but there’s something to be said for trying to make it just a little bit kinder. And if you can make a decent living while you’re at it, well, all the better.