9 to 5
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Any Child Caseworkers here?
in 9 to 5
I started out going to school for nursing, but now am thinking about changing my major to social science to become a child caseworker. How do you like this career and what did you consider tough about this major?
Re: Any Child Caseworkers here?
I'm not a child caseworker per se but I have my Masters degree in social work so I have worked with kids in the past.
The degree has pros and cons. Biggest pros are: I can work with many different populations doing many different jobs, the benefits tend to be very, very good, its fun to work with people. The biggest cons are: you get burned out no matter what job you do, the money. Human services pays crap. I could easily be making 20,000 more if I picked a different Masters degree.
Know this isn't exactly the same as what you posted but I hope this helps. GL!
3/12 5 mi -- 49:22 Pace: 9:52
5/1 Half Marathon -- 2:11:22 Pace: 10:01
5/22 10k -- 56:29 Pace: 9:00
5/24 3.6 -- 29:03 Pace: 8:18
7/10 15k -- 1:44:46 injured Pace: 11:14
10/29 5k -- 28:24 Pace: 9:04
I work with them... caseworkers that is. They would all tell you that you are crazy, especially if you are working at the state level. I had a coworker go from NJ to FL and she returned to her job here in NJ because she said that if we thought NJ was bad, FL was worse. They say you don't actually do "social work things" here and that you do them more in a school.
If possible, do a double major. Also look into whether or not you will need to or if you should get your Master in social work over time. Everyone here is running to get theirs.
Not to sound jaded, but why?
3/12 5 mi -- 49:22 Pace: 9:52
5/1 Half Marathon -- 2:11:22 Pace: 10:01
5/22 10k -- 56:29 Pace: 9:00
5/24 3.6 -- 29:03 Pace: 8:18
7/10 15k -- 1:44:46 injured Pace: 11:14
10/29 5k -- 28:24 Pace: 9:04
I don't know. I am not a social worker but I work with them. And they aren't paid for through out job, they are all paying for them on their own.
Maybe they feel they need them? At the rate things are going here, they aren't getting a pay raise for it.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Some states required that you become licensed in therapy/counseling and that is only done at the graduate level.
I guess that makes sense
3/12 5 mi -- 49:22 Pace: 9:52
5/1 Half Marathon -- 2:11:22 Pace: 10:01
5/22 10k -- 56:29 Pace: 9:00
5/24 3.6 -- 29:03 Pace: 8:18
7/10 15k -- 1:44:46 injured Pace: 11:14
10/29 5k -- 28:24 Pace: 9:04
I have a Master of Social Work degree and I used to work in child welfare in FL. If you are talking about becoming a child protection worker I would make sure it is something you feel very passionate about because it is a tough job. I see that you are also in FL, and just so you know FL "privatized" child welfare so you would be working for a non-profit private agency, not the State. So depending on what agency you work for your benefits will vary.
I would be prepared to work well over 40 hours a week, salaried so you don't get paid overtime. There is also a lot of court work involved so you will be preparing paperwork for court and going to court. It may involve removing children their families (although in FL police officers will go with you to do this, at least where I worked they did.) You will also rotate being on-call, and you will get calls while you are on call. I think in FL you will earn about 30 grand a year with a bachelor degree.
The turnover rate is pretty high. A lot of new workers quit before even finishing a year on the job.
It can be a good experience because kids need good workers to be advocates for them but it can really take a toll on you. You have to have good boundaries and be able to maintain a good work/life balance.
If that sounds too intense you can always look for case manager positions at some local agencies that serve children and families. Whiles case management can be challlenging too it's typically not as intense as doing child protection work.
Also, if you are in school I would take advantage of doing an internship. This will give you some experience and give you a better understand if this is the type of work you really want to do.
ETA: I wanted to add that I saw you are in school for nursing and I think a double major would work well. I know some social service agencies like Healthy Families or Healthy Start hire nurses and having a dual degree might give you an edge.
Also, after I got my Master's degree in Social Work, I wished I had gone into nursing
Have you ever thought about completing the nursing degree, but working for a child welfare agency? Many of the non-profits near me like to hire nurses to work at residential shelters. (And the nurses get the nice 1st shift, non- holiday stuff!... giving some general medical advice and doing some check-up stuff, making sure medical forms/meds are locked up and documented properly.) What about working at the Health Department? (You could get lots of exposure to youth... prevention classes (taught to youth, not just parents, immunizations, WIC, etc.)
Perhaps get a BSN, then get an MSW... you could do therapy at that point, and I'm sure there are other great combinations career wise with those degrees!
Locally here in Illinois, our large hospital nearby has a child sexual assault out-patient clinic that works with the child welfare agencies. The clinic does medical exams, writes reports, and gives recommendations. Might be something to consider as well.
I would agree with PP... stick with nursing, casework pays crap (less than 30k around here) and you WILL get burnt-out! With nursing, you can change up your online of work- go to a doctor's office, home health, different floor of hospital, public health department, etc.