Is social work a flooded field?

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amother

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 10:58 am

I'm posting this in Working Women but it's actually for my DH lol.

He would like to become a social worker but is being discouraged by some of the people he's spoken to who say that the field is flooded.

We are in Lakewood if that affects things.

Would anyone here be able to weigh in?

mha3484

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:01 am

For a man no. I feel like in my large community when my friends sons want a male therapist its the same names over and over again. There is always a need for more frum men who want to work with boys. But thats just my experience.

amother

Chambray

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:03 am

It's hard to call it "flooded" because social work is such a broad thing. It can mean anything from therapist in a clinic to a school social worker to a hospital social worker to working for a nonprofit that helps hook people up with services etc. Maybe one or another of those specific paths is more "flooded" than others, but if you really want to be a social worker, you'll find something because there are a lot of potential directions to go in.

The bigger issue is the pay. While there are exceptions, the pay is well known to be...not fantastic, especially considering the amount and level of schooling required.

amother

Daphne

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:09 am

What is the career goal? I work in a hospital Bh and we are always looking for great candidates. Social workers in healthcare is a constant if not growing meed

amother

Saddlebrown

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:17 am

I’m not a social worker in Lakewood but a similar mental health professional in New York. There are not enough mental health professionals to meet the demand. Everywhere has months long wait lists. I see job listings for social workers all the time. What I don’t know is if these places offer supervision or if you have to be licensed already.

amother

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:23 am

amother Daphne wrote:

What is the career goal? I work in a hospital Bh and we are always looking for great candidates. Social workers in healthcare is a constant if not growing meed

He would probably want to work as a therapist.

amother

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 11:23 am

amother Chambray wrote:

Thank you.

Yes we're aware of the pay scale.

Fox

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 12:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

He would probably want to work as a therapist.

One of my closest friends of 30+ years is a therapist with LCSW credentials, and we've talked a lot about this as she's navigated her career.

If you are a salaried therapist working for some sort of mental health agency/facility, then the pay may not be spectacular, but you have an element of security and can focus on doing therapy instead of spending your time doing billing, etc. The downsides are that you often become enmeshed in internal paperwork and have little choice in choosing your clients or what kinds of problems to specialize in treating.

If you choose to establish your own practice, you must really be a bit of an entrepreneur. You need to be able to make connections to attract patients; work with insurance companies and fee scales; and manage your office efficiently. There's a huge small business element to an independent practice.

My friend had originally planned to have an independent practice, but she quickly discovered she really hated running a small business. She's worked over the years in hospice settings, hospital settings, and specialized clinic settings and been very happy. However, she has friends who absolutely love the small business aspect of a private practice.

So this complete outsider's view is that it can be a very rewarding career, partly because there are so many different settings and types of work. The most important thing is to view social work skills and training as a suitcase that can be taken into a lot of different environments -- the key is being willing to make changes as needed and be willing to take a chance on work that may not have been your original dream but may, in fact, be a better fit.

amother

Watermelon

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 3:51 pm

I've been trying to get a good therapist for my daughter for the last few weeks. All the good ones don't have any availability.
So I guess it depends if he's successful.

amother

Mauve

Thu, Mar 23 2023, 3:53 pm

There is a huge need for skilled therapists.

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