susanbe

good to hear this is an educational path people take. does anyone have insights on realistic career prospects? specific jobs?

Hello, I am a first year MSW student, very interested in international development work, my school doesn't have a dual degree with the international affairs dept. Is social work something any of you global affairs students/professionals are interested in? It's a niche area -- I'm just trying to see if there's a career path with social work/international studies

i am as well...

I've been on the social work forum for a while. But since I'm very interested in international social work and work abroad, it's been suggested that I look into a dual MSW/MPH degree. PH is a new field to me -- I've looked throughout this forum and haven't found a ton of info on international public health, which seems to be very different than other concentrations in PH in interms of both subject and obtaining a position in the field. Can anyone suggest the "best" programs for this concentration? Any advice about programs, what the market looks like for this type of work, and the best way to obtain an internationally-focused social work/public health job would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I believe nearly every top program has an online option. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the best ones as it was never an option for me. There's probably a thread out there about the better online ones....

I get this all the time as well. Social work conjures up images of CPS and overworked case workers. It's this image that has scared me off to social work for most of my life. But as michigan girl says, social work is under represented in the media and people are under informed on the profession. If I had known during my undergrad that social work is so much more than CPS, I probably wouldn't have waited nearly 10 years to pursue a MSW.

CJMSW- I know quite a few people who did their MSW and continued working through out. I believe this forum is just a select demographic -- the older students who do part time/evening MSW programs don't tend to post on here. I don't know anyone who attended a full time program and continued working though; these people all did online or part time night programs and saw the experience as more of advancing their careers than "the college experience". I'd also assume attending these PT programs is a very different experience in terms of your cohort and learning experience, though though the class curriculum is the same. If this is your plan, don't be discouraged -- like MBA's there are plenty of people who pursue alternative programs....they just don't post on this forum.

Hi all- For first year MSW students, what type of schedule works best? The program I am attending only offers 2-3 hour classes, once per week. So far I've registered for the standard 15 units of classes all on two days per week (many of them with no break in between classes). My thinking is then I can work for the rest of the three days + weekend. And it will cut down on my commute costs. But it's been a long time since I've been in school so I don't remember what type of schedule I used to have in my undergrad days. And I wasn't a social work major back then so I don't know how consuming these classes are. Will stacking all my classes in two days be too intense? Should I space it out where I'll have classes throughout the week? Or at least classes with huge breaks (3+ hours) in between? Please advise! I'm rusty at this....

Thanks for the responses everyone! It seems most people our age are attending part-time programs or staying local. Any 30 somethings "over-hauling" their lives for an MSW program (far move, quitting full time job, leaving behind friends/family)? THis is the option I'm facing now, and it sounds silly but I feel like I'm just too old for this type of thing.

Just out of curiosity, what are everyones ages and how many years of work experience do you all have? I'm 32 and am worried I'll be the senior citizen in the MSW program. I know average MBA students are in their 30s but it seems to be a young crowd on this forum. I've spoken to several people who are currently in an MSW program and they straight from their undergrad, or waited a few years max. Any other 30 somethings out there applying for the MSW program? If so, are you also struggling with the decision to leave your full time work to be a starving student again?