have decided to just do what I want to do, but am I making the wrong decision?

afterglow

Hi everyone
I have posted here before so hope ok to do so again.
I have decided, that after a lot of applying for jobs I really didn't want to do, that now I am just going to focus on what I want to do and study social work.
My question is, will I be able to find employment as a visually impaired social worker, and will I be able to find practice placements/work experience in the degrees? I know that this work practice/experience is a vital part of all social work degrees.
Am I wasting my time with my decision, will I actually have employment prospects or will my degree just be something that will look pretty and hang on my wall in a frame, never representing anything more than what it is?
Thanks and feedback appreciated

hippy_hi

Hi Afterglow, I am unsure what work will be available however my initial thought while reading your post was how you would be a great social worker in the area of disabilities - knowing the hurdles people have to surpass to live the style of life they wish.

Best of luck to you

LadyMayBelle

Hi Afterglow
I think that it is great you want to be a social worker. My advice is to think about the role of a social worker and what that entails; primarily the relationship with people, but also assessments, home visits, appointments with children, adults, other professionals and often under strict timescales. It is fast paced, you have to react quickly and be able to deal with emergencies. I have worked in both the statutory and voluntary sector and these themes are the same. You gotta be a team player and also have the ability to be peripathetic, depedning on the specific role.

We dont know the extent of your visual impairment, and I think that would be a factor. A lot of social work is about recording what you see; going on home visits, carrying out observations in school, at home, in sessions, noting things like does the child look unkempt, is there food in the fridge, body language, what is the envirnoment like....so if your impairment is such that it would affect your assessment or overall judegement on a case that then would affect the child therefore it may be that you need someone to accompany you on visits. I dont know how possible that is. Granted a lot of social work is about what you dont see (in between the lines, application of theory to casework, paperwork) but an awful lot to do with what you do. 'Reasonable adjustments' are be made to help, but again it all depends on the extent of your impairment.

My suggestion would be to shadow a social worker for some time and make a decison based on that. Shadow if possible for a few days, or in different agencies to get a real flavour of it. Read Coulshed and Orme's book on Social Work as that covers what social work is, and go from there.
Good luck, happy to provide info if necessary.

hippy_hi

I agree with the above post. Although i don't know how easy it would be to shadow a social worker regarding confidentiality. You could also try to contact someone in the colleges where they host thesocial work courses and get theit opinion or better still try to have a meeting with them to inform yourself further.