reneegavin Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Hello everyone, I have always been interested in helping others. However, due to my father encouraging me to go into a field which offered more money (which I hated and dropped out of anyway), and then other circumstances, I never followed my dream. I am now considering going back to school for social work. However, I have several problems. First off, I know you can't counsel anyone one on one until you get your Masters. What CAN you do with a Bachelor's Degree? Also, the nearest school for social work to me is between 1 to 1 1/2 hours away depending on traffic. I have a family, so going to school full time, with this commute would just not be possible. Does anyone know of any reputable online schools? I realize I will have to do clinicals, and that is fine....I just can't do the daily commute for 4 years. It is going to be a HUGE stretch for me financially to do this. It is also a risk, because I will be over 40 when I graduate. Is it still easy to get jobs in this field at that age?? Lastly, which is best to major in? I can't go for psychology, because I kjnow you need a doctorate to do anything with that. However, there's social science, human services, counseling, social work, applied behavioral science etc.... I'm a bit confused!
louise86 Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) Hello! If you are wanting to become a therapist I know of a couple of options. First would be a bachelor's in psychology and then enter a graduate level counseling program. Second would be a bachelor's in social work (this usually means 1 year in grad school) or social science (this means 2 years in grad school), grad school for an MSW, and then go for the LCSW (licensed clinical social worker) designation. The CSWE has a few accredited online BSW programs listed but it looks like some are just open to those in a specific state and some are completion programs. It's worth a look, though. http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Information/DistanceEducation.aspx. Beyond that schools offer quite a few general education classes online and I've seen only very basic social work classes like Introduction to Social Work available online. As for jobs with a BSW, go to a couple of job searching sites and type in "social worker" and your location. That can give you a good indication of what's available in your area and what the qualifications are. In my area I always see a lot of jobs for intervention specialists, case managers, outreach workers, intake specialists, etc. These range from government agencies to nonprofits to private companies in areas of child & youth, probation/parole, veterans, substance abuse, homelessness, etc. The BSW and MSW degrees are very diverse, though. There's some great books that show all of the areas and agencies social workers work in. I've read all of these and highly recommend them to anyone considering a career in social work! Days in the Lives of Social Workers More Days in the Lives of Social Workers 101 Careers in Social Work Hope that helps and good luck! Edited March 15, 2013 by louise86
MindyMSW Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I have a bachelors in psychology and work at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. I would recommend going to job search engines such as indeed.com and typing in mental health specialist or tech.. That is if you're interested in mental health good luck!
reneegavin Posted March 15, 2013 Author Posted March 15, 2013 I have a bachelors in psychology and work at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. I would recommend going to job search engines such as indeed.com and typing in mental health specialist or tech.. That is if you're interested in mental health good luck! What are you able to do there?
MindyMSW Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 What are you able to do there? Milieu management, conduct 15 minute rounds on patients, de-escalation, lead some of the therapeutic skills groups..
TheCrow Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 If you already have an undergraduate degree, you can apply directly to MSW programs. If you do not, earning a BSW (rather than another undergraduate degree) can allow you to be admitted with "advanced standing" and complete an MSW afterwards in only one year. Also, if you do not have an undergraduate degree, you might explore what BSW options are in your area and take community college courses online to substitute for your first year before transferring to a BSW program (of course, talk to the BSW program before doing so). These courses would be cheaper and would likely work with your schedule better--I don't believe that most BSW programs require students to take social work classes their first year. Rather, you'll be taking prerequisite courses like psychology, sociology, and biology.
reneegavin Posted March 16, 2013 Author Posted March 16, 2013 I have an OLD associate's degree in medical office assistance. I'm sure my basic english, college algebra, electives, etc would transfer, but I'm not even sure if the basic psych and sociology would still transfer. Ideally, I would love to counsel people with anxiety problems and eating disorders. However, I'd probably have to stop and work for awhile to pay back my loans once I would obtain my bachelors degree. I just can't foresee me making that 90 minute drive veryday for even 3 years. I may have to wait until we move closer to a school that offers the courses . One school offers a bachelor's in applied behavioral sciences that has a lot of the classes online, but I'm not sure what that degree is exactly?
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