Hello.
Long-ish time Mental health worker here (5+years). After working in the field for that amount of time this fall I decided to pursue my MSW as it was the next step in my career. I had taken some time off to see if I wanted to go for my MSW or my Psy.D and because I didnt want to get into mountains of debt I chose MSW. My school has a great reputation AND and it’s a state school so tuition isn’t horrible. I’m in a state where hour requirements are higher so I’ll be good to go wherever I want after graduation.
However going into this program I was VERY burnt out from working at my old agency. I made a career switch to a wonderful agency but still felt burnt out. Now I’m an unemployed grad student, taking time to figure life out. I’m in my first semester. My internship is a basic foundation level practicum where I’m helping clients fill out paperwork. Everyone in our unit hates the job I’m doing except for the girl I regulalry work with. It’s a weird atmosphere.
Classes are alright. So far it’s basic stuff I have already learned in the field so I’m bored and lacking motivation. I’m trying to see the good and the interesting but I mostly spend my time comparing MSW careers to non MSW careers.
I feel like everywhere I look for advice on how to address my burnout I’m getting nothing. I’ve tried therapy, talking to other professionals in the field, etc. but it hasn’t been helpful. I take care of myself both health wise and spirit wise. But when I go to research social work futures and career outlooks the negativity I see really makes me want to reconsider. I look at reviews of mental health agencies and see how negatively the staff are treated, I hear story after story of not having money. Even the professors in my program talk about how they have a lot of loans and we don’t do this for the money.
I know you don’t do a job for the money, but for all this talk about policy and protecting the rights of the vulnerable, I have a duty to make sure I’m taken care of too and have a stable personal life.
So social workers,
I have two questions:
1. Does MSW coursework get more interesting? Why are ways to stay engaged and make the most of my time in this program?
2. Is it worth it? If you were in your 20’s and questioning things this heavily in your first semester of the program and had been for MONTHS would you run for the hills or grin and bear it until you fell in love with the profession again?
Long-ish time Mental health worker here (5+years). After working in the field for that amount of time this fall I decided to pursue my MSW as it was the next step in my career. I had taken some time off to see if I wanted to go for my MSW or my Psy.D and because I didnt want to get into mountains of debt I chose MSW. My school has a great reputation AND and it’s a state school so tuition isn’t horrible. I’m in a state where hour requirements are higher so I’ll be good to go wherever I want after graduation.
However going into this program I was VERY burnt out from working at my old agency. I made a career switch to a wonderful agency but still felt burnt out. Now I’m an unemployed grad student, taking time to figure life out. I’m in my first semester. My internship is a basic foundation level practicum where I’m helping clients fill out paperwork. Everyone in our unit hates the job I’m doing except for the girl I regulalry work with. It’s a weird atmosphere.
Classes are alright. So far it’s basic stuff I have already learned in the field so I’m bored and lacking motivation. I’m trying to see the good and the interesting but I mostly spend my time comparing MSW careers to non MSW careers.
I feel like everywhere I look for advice on how to address my burnout I’m getting nothing. I’ve tried therapy, talking to other professionals in the field, etc. but it hasn’t been helpful. I take care of myself both health wise and spirit wise. But when I go to research social work futures and career outlooks the negativity I see really makes me want to reconsider. I look at reviews of mental health agencies and see how negatively the staff are treated, I hear story after story of not having money. Even the professors in my program talk about how they have a lot of loans and we don’t do this for the money.
I know you don’t do a job for the money, but for all this talk about policy and protecting the rights of the vulnerable, I have a duty to make sure I’m taken care of too and have a stable personal life.
So social workers,
I have two questions:
1. Does MSW coursework get more interesting? Why are ways to stay engaged and make the most of my time in this program?
2. Is it worth it? If you were in your 20’s and questioning things this heavily in your first semester of the program and had been for MONTHS would you run for the hills or grin and bear it until you fell in love with the profession again?
