Personal Qualities that make a Successful Social Worker

A social worker must be able to handle a wide variety of situations. They must be good at dealing with a wide variety of personalities as well. A strong desire to help others will definitely be needed as this is the main goal of a social worker. You must also be objective, as many situations that you may run into can result in conflicting decisions especially if you want the best for everyone you are dealing with. In many cases you will experience situations where you do not agree or approve of a person’s values. You must however try and counsel them in a non-judgmental way. Empathy is a fantastic quality to possess because you will be dealing with people that are going through difficult problems in their life and trying to understand what they are going through can help you to better communicate in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. As a social worker you should respect all forms of religion, race, sex, and gender. All these differences play a role in people’s morals and how they relate to one another. It is imperative to understand this prior to dealing with a particular situation. Many time people don’t consider these traits when figuring how to be a successful social worker.

Education is Important if you want to be a Social Worker

Social Workers may work for a wide variety of organizations but there are certain standards of education that most of these organizations require. When considering social worker training there are a large variety of routes that one may take when pursuing this type of career. Most curriculums in a social worker program will require you to study the history of the practice as well as policies upheld by today’s social workers. Your path should begin with a bachelor’s degree in social work and to some this is the end of the path, although this is not recommended. Many of the premier jobs require a person to gain further education in related fields such as psychology or sociology or to specialise into one particular field. A masters degree in social work will provide students with a much more intense study in this field and will be much more highly looked upon by employers. No matter which degree you pursue, to be a social worker in the UK you will need to obtain a license to practice. The UK requires around 3,000 hours of supervised work in the field or two years of experience. An exam is also required to obtain this license and you must re-certify annually.

Opportunities for Social Workers

A social worker can specialize in both children and family social work or in primarily adult services or primarily working with children. Which ever option you choose will have an impact on who will employ you. It is estimated that the need for social workers in the UK is growing and this field is one of the fastest growing fields in the country. Organizations such as schools, charities, local authorities, and independent organizations are the primary places that a social worker may gain employment. The NHS also takes on social workers for a wide variety of differing employment. This may include psychiatric hospitals, medical hospitals, or health trusts. Psychiatric hospitals also have a need for social workers that may specialize in dealing with substance abuse and the effect it can have on families. Elderly homes are yet another care facility in need of social workers as senior citizens deal with a specific range of different type of problems. Foster homes and adoption agencies too have high demand for social workers since the process of adoption can be difficult to a child and a social worker will be required to help both families and the child involved to adapt to this process.

Social work can be an intense and frustrating career but at the same time one of the most rewarding. You will have a direct impact in people’s lives and aim to help them to look forward to a brighter future. Becoming a social worker is a long process that requires self discipline and intense studying but is one of the few jobs that let you interact with people that are in true need. Make sure that if you are in fact pursuing this career, that you take the time to research how to be a social worker and every aspect related to ensure you choose a type of social work that will be the most rewarding and provide a career that makes you happy, as well as the people you help.

There are no salary scales that apply Nationally across all facets of social work and all employers. Local Authority social work jobs and those in Health Care trusts will use some kind of social worker salary scale but even these will vary between different Authorities and Trusts, geographic region and scope of job.

A social worker salary in the UK will vary dependent on several factors:

• level of experience
• level of responsibility
• area of specialism
• employing authority
• geographical location

Social Worker Starting Salary:

As of August 2009 the typical starting salary for a freshly qualified fully trained social worker is between £23,500 and £30,000 per annum. Where you are placed in this range will depend largely on the area of specialism and geographical location. Social work jobs in London and the South East will usually offer salaries towards the top end of this specified range.

Social Worker Early Management Roles:

With a solid record of proven good performance and given the right opportunity then an early management role should be achievable for the social worker with 2-3 years experience. Salaries at this level will start at around £30,000 and rise to typically £42,000 after several years experience. Social work jobs in the South East and London will attract salaries at the higher end of this scale.

Social Worker Senior Management Roles:

This level of Social Work would not normally be achievable without 10-15 years experience in the field of which many of these years should be at a more junior level of management. Typical salary for Senior Management Social Work would be approx £57,000. But again this is difficult to accurately state since there are many variables involved.

Social Worker Working Hours and Benefits:

The number of hours a typical social worker is required to work is 37 hours per week. In social work there are often part time jobs and job share jobs available which require fewer hours to be worked and the number of hours required dependent on the specific job concerned. Residential social work jobs often require unsocial hours to be worked. Other types of social work jobs may include frequent visits to service users and in such cases car user allowances or car lease schemes are usually available.

Many people often ask the question: How to become a social worker? This is a commonly asked question by young people wondering about the level of social worker training they may have to undertake, as well as those already in full time employment looking for a career change. The main aspect of becoming a social worker is undergoing the right training for social workers which qualifies you to work with vulnerable people. These qualifications not only teach you how to deal with the situations you are presented with, but also how to work through the extensive paperwork that all social workers have to deal with on a daily basis. A good quality standard and understanding of English, backed up by a relevant qualification is important because there is so much paperwork. A GCSE at a level of C and above will be sufficient, and this is a lesser consideration than the relevant degree. A social worker is expected to have a University level qualification, the more relevant the better. A social worker degree is the most relevant and important qualification to have when becoming a social worker. If you already have a degree which is related such as nursing, or social science or even some kind of behavioural science such as psychology is a good form of social worker training in an employers eyes.

A candidate who does not already have a degree or equivalent qualification in social workers training may undergo a foundation degree. This is a good option for people in full time emplyment already, or those who do not want to devote too much time and money on their education. There is always the opportunity to get a full social worker degree later on, if you feel it is necessary to be able to get a better job or even a promotion at some stage. Training for a new job is never easy, but it is highly rewarding.

What Do Social Workers Do?

This is very important to understand, before you start researching any social worker career option or starting to look into any form of social worker training, you don’t want to waste time booking training courses if you don’t fully intend to complete them. Social workers have quite a difficult, and responsible job. Its important to understand this and really question whether you think you are prepared to work in such a job, or even industry. To become a social worker, its important to have a certain drive and ambition and a genuine interest in helping people. These people will be from a variety of different backgrounds, which all social worker training teaches you how to deal with, but will all have one thing in common, which is the need for help. This help will be varied depending on the case in question, but it is up to you as a social worker to decide on the form of help and make sure that it is administered to the individual in need. Usually these individuals will be part of a family with children and all sides of the family may need to be given support from you. This may be very complicated in some situations, well most actually, and no case will ever be easy. If you have not been put off by this paragraph, then do continue to read more about what kind of social worker training you will be required to complete, in order to become a fully fledged social worker.

Social Worker Education and Training

To become a licensed social worker there are several options for social worker training available. Usually it is essential to have a social worker degree which can be taken at either undergraduate or postgraduate level. If this is not required by an employer, which is usually unlikely, then the employee would be interested to see some other form of professional qualification to be able to employ a candidate legally. There are a range of options for social workers to be able to take these social worker degree courses. Most universities are quite flexible and offer these types of social worker training courses via part time or full time learning schedule. This is very useful for full time parents, or people already in full time employment, who are searching for another career choice.

There are a number of options when undertaking social worker training, and these may help to enhance your CV and employment profile. Employers love to see extra qualifications, and these can help to set you apart from the crowd. Social worker jobs are highly competitive, mainly due to the fact that they are so very well payed. Most social workers start at a very healthy salary of around £25,000 – £35,000 which is a lot more than most health workers and people in industry related jobs. There are a number of specialist subjects which can be added to your CV to make you much more attractive to employers. These can be specialist qualification such as mental health or children’s nursing.

While social work can be quite well paid and personally rewarding, before embarking on a social work career it should be borne in mind that the majority of social worker employers are reliant on Government funding which can result in volatility since social services often seems to be one of the first areas that are looked at to save money when Politics change. This can often mean departments are short staffed and extra demands being placed on others to cover any shortfall of quota.