for those already in the social work program..

[bm08]

I know this would definitely be helpful for me and possibly for others currently applying. I was wondering for those of you who are currently in the MSW program if you could give me some insight into how the workload is and if you have any tips or techniques to balancing out classes and field placement. Also for those who are currently working part-time or even full-time how you manage to balance work with school

 

 

Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Rivka]

I am in my first year in the day MSW program at the University of Washington.  I know that a lot of schools have you start practicum right from the beginning but at UW you don't start practicum until the second quarter of your first year.  So the schedule was very different starting out--I had classes 3 days of the week (class scheduling wasn't flexible, we only had one time option for all of our classes).  The reading and paper writing was tremendously time-consuming that first quarter--classes and out-of-class work easily took up a combined 40 hours a week.  Now in the second quarter I spend about that much time on work but two full days of the week are spent in practicum.  I'm honestly not really sure how someone would be able to hold a part-time or full-time job and get all of their work done.  Only one of my classmates I've spoken to has a part-time job and she only seems to get a few hours of sleep a night.  Not sure how other schools would be, but I wouldn't recommend working while doing this program.  That said, there are ways you can minimize your hours spent reading.  Most weeks we are assigned about 400 to 500 pages of reading and it really helps to team up and form reading groups.  4 to 5 people each reading about 100 pages and then providing notes on it helps prepare you for class.  The paper writing is still pretty extensive though.  Sorry if that was a bit of a downer!  I do really love the program and the work we do in practicum and in class is incredibly interesting.

[2011 MSW Hopeful]

I'm in my second year MSW right now. The workload is tough to manage at first, definitely, but I was able to hold a work-study job (about 10 hours a week) first year in addition to field placement and classes. The best advice I got as an incoming student is that you probably won't need to read everything that's assigned for every class, so don't kill yourself trying. I still do as much of the assigned reading as is reasonable, and it definitely takes some time, but I think prioritization is an important skill to learn in grad school. Second year is very busy - a full course load plus three days a week in field, and I've had to scale back some of my work-study commitments. In terms of working more than 10 hours a week, you might be able to do it if your job were very flexible, and I think some people do, but I'd imagine that it's really challenging. 

[ATohCe.24]

As a first-year at Berkeley, working while going to school is definitely doable. For an assignment, my friend surveyed fellow classmates and discovered that 32.3% of first-years worked while going to school. 22.6% worked between 1-10 hours, 8.1% between 10-20 hours and 1.6% more than 20 hours.

I worked around 20 hours on the weekends, had school for two weekdays and fieldwork another two weekdays. Now a reasonable conclusion is that I didn't have a social life or slept very little. I actually got around 6 hours a night, participated in nearly all the social functions in grad school, and elected to be a graduate assembly member. What I sacrificed is doing all the assigned readings--I honestly did only about 20% of them. Nonetheless, with my classmates' help and resources from the school, I did pretty well my first semester.

Tips

• Study groups -- get into study groups with a bunch of smarties before exams. They'll be able to summarize a semester's worth of material if you can't do all the readings.

• Reading groups -- this can decrease your reading load from several books / articles per week to a chapter. The more people in your reading group, the less reading you'll have to do.

• 2nd year buddy -- connect with a second year in your concentration. That person will have study guides, notes, textbooks, and essentially, invaluable wisdom on how to navigate through your first year.

• Peer support groups -- fieldwork can be tough. At Berkeley, support groups provide a space in which students can connect across concentrations and talk about emotional reactions to field placement, stress and burnout, maintaining healthy relationships outside of work/school, vicarious trauma, financial concerns, use of self, and negotiating the micro/macro divide in social work.

• Organization -- Google calendar everything you plan to do and you'll discover that there's still time for recreation / self-care activities.

• Grades -- if pursuing a Ph.D. is not in the plans, A's don't really matter. Getting less than a B is pretty hard in grad school. At Berkeley, the professor needs to petition to the Dean before giving a student anything less than a B.

• Professors -- communicate with professors if you need an extension. They're reasonable human beings invested in your development as a social worker.

Edited January 21, 2013 by ATohCe.24

[amanda lauren]

I'm in my last semester at VCU right now (so close to being finished!!!) and although it's a lot of work, it's definitely manageable. Our first year, we have field placement 2 days a week for 14 hours, plus 4 classes; second years have field 3 days per week plus 4 classes. From the get-go, you learn to balance field and classes, so it isn't a shock/adjustment later on in the program. There are a TON of papers to write and very few tests (the only ones I've ever had were for my research classes), so it's nice that you can start papers early and work at your own pace rather than needing to study for a 2-hour test. Definitely DO NOT leave your work until the last minute or you'll end up pulling all nighters and will fully regret it. I did that only once in the program, when my (now ex) boyfriend was visiting and I didn't want to give up time with him in order to do my work. Fast forward to the night before my final paper was due for the semester and there I was, pounding coffee like it was going out of style and writing my paper until 6:30 in the morning. Trust me, not as fun as it was in college.

 

I have to say, one major major piece of advice that I would give is actually one that my advisor told me during my first week of the program: HAVE A LIFE. Sure, the MSW program is hard, there's a lot of work, field can be super draining, and there will be some weeks when you have so much work you feel like you're going to cry - usually toward the end of each semester. However, it's so, so important to make friends (in the program or otherwise), get out once in a while, and just do some fun things, or you'll be burnt out before you even graduate!

[MSW13]

Hi,

I will be starting my MSW in the fall and was just curious about the essays you have to write. In undergrad, essays can typically range anywhere from 5-10 pages in length (with the odd 12 pager).  Are essays usually this long or longer in grad school? Also, in undergrad, you usually have to complete 2 essays per course--do you have to write more than this in grad?

I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea of doing 3 days of practicum AND 4 courses... it isn't the readings I'm afraid of, it is the essays!