Do you wish to bring about a positive change in your local communities? Do you want your work to have a lasting impact on your society’s well-being? If yes, you are ready to build your career as a social worker. A degree in social work offers you an educational foundation to bring about a change in society.
The professional skills that you’d acquire from an educational degree coupled with your passion for helping communities will transform you into a dedicated and skillful agent of change.
Asocial worker’s job is stressful, emotionally taxing, and physically demanding, but the rewards are incomparable. The satisfaction that you’ve helped someone and made a difference in their lives, however small, enables you to sleep well at night and heals your heart.
Besides, there are numerous monetary benefits in this field too.
The last few years have seen a boom in the field of social work. Numerous highly qualified professionals are spending their free hours supporting social workers in their local communities. Many professionals have even opted to acquire a second or third academic degree in social work during the pandemic.
Here are six reasons why you should choose a social work degree in 2021:
- You want to help people in need
The gist of social work career is to help people in need. People dealing with difficult circumstances need to have a ray of hope. Social workers, with their counseling and problem-solving ability, offer them that ray of hope.
2. The ever-changing and challenging role of a social worker
A highlighting feature of the social work field is its diversity and engagement with various areas such as psychology, business, healthcare, childcare, etc. A formal degree equips you with academic knowledge and real-world expertise. Thus, it opens up more options for alternative careers for social workers.
Some alternative employment opportunities for social workers are becoming health educators, probation officers, psychologists, diversity and inclusion consultants, teachers, sociologists, etc.
3. An emerging field in the wake of pandemic
While the world is still dealing with an unprecedented health crisis in the wake of the pandemic, social workers are becoming highly sought-after professionals. Their roles have also expanded in 2021. Today social workers are helping patients with their insurance coverage, discharge planning, retirement planning, and much more.
As care providers, counselors, and therapists, a social worker’s role has become more significant in 2021With an outrageous increase in the number of COVID-positive patients in the US, the need and the services of social workers have become more meaningful. In addition, social work has turned into a gratifying profession during the pandemic.
4. Offers a chance for self-improvement
Being a social worker gives you a chance to interact and work with people from all walks of life. While working with people who live on the fringes of society, one learns to count their blessings and realize that life is not as straightforward or easy for others. For example, when one sees a mother fighting for her child’s custody or a young boy dealing with drug addiction, one realizes that life is quite difficult and painful for many people.
When you work with communities selflessly and often ignore your comfort, you become mentally and emotionally stronger. Hence, social work is more than an exercise to bring solace to others’ lives. It is intricately linked to your self-improvement too.
5. Increasing career growth prospects
Apart from intrinsic benefits offered by this field, such as self-satisfaction, personal improvement, meaningful life, the field also has promising employment opportunities. The US Bureau of Statistics projected employment growth of 13% between 2019 and 2029.
This is an encouraging factor for people interested in enrolling in social work degree. With increasing unemployment, this field still has lucrative jobs to offer to many interested individuals.
6. Can contribute to changing the world
Social workers transform lives. They try to make as slight a difference in an individual’s life as possible, and their work reflects on larger canvases. With their knowledge about the prevalence and intensity of societal problems, social workers can make their voices heard on local and national community platforms. They can help community leaders reform old, ineffective policies and propose socially and culturally inclusive programs. For instance, they often raise voice for child abuse and domestic violence and finally make authorities take action against the culprits.
Social workers touch every aspect of society, from poverty to deprivation of rights, family conflicts, and health. Therefore, they have more insight into these issues than anyone else.
An individual with social work degree is in an excellent position to be part of the change by commanding the campaigns with negotiation and communication skills.
Conclusion
Social work is surfacing as a versatile but demanding field in 2021. As a result, the role of social workers has also become more significant along with that of other front-line workers such as doctors, nurses, and health counselors.
Nowadays, social work degrees are designed so that graduates get many options in choosing their careers. This versatility coupled with optimistic growth projection has made this field highly attractive in 2021.
