Social work is more than just a degree or career choice. For some, social working is the means of fulfilling their passion and drive to help the community. They are the ones who impact our lives and those around us. Typically, social workers’ image is that of a stressed-out government worker, whereas the reality is far from that. Today, the ones who complete social work degrees are more energetic, dynamic, and have better creativity for helping others. These past few years have become a time when social working saw its growth and the workforce’s chance associated with reinventing itself. A degree in social work delves a person into many aspects of human life and their communities. The learning offered in social work covers everything from sociological and psychological impacts to safeguarding individual rights. The primary objective of social work is to promote the well-being of people and meet their basic demands. Social workers focus their attention on every aspect of society to address and contribute to lifestyle problems. They supervise their impacts from government agencies, law firms, hospitals, private practices, or non-profit organizations.
Why Pursue a Career in Social Working?
Pursuing a career in social work is both a challenge and rewarding at the same time. If you select social work, you commit yourself to serve oppressed populations. You become part of a system that works for the betterment of the community and people. People associated with social work believe in the profession’s work ethics and recognize that there is so much they can do for the community. According to statistics, the employment rate of social working will rise in the coming years. The expectation of growth comes for healthcare, family issues, substance abuse, and mental health workers. They establish their position behind their abilities to provide treatment services.
With the involvement of practical working practices, social work degree has the skills needed to professionally conduct various public sector roles.
So if you don’t have a master’s degree yet, you can opt for online masters social work and gain the skills to assist traditionally. There are many impacts that an individual with a social work degree can make on society. Chief among these include:
Promotion of Civil and Worker Rights
Since always, the social worker has been at the center of promoting worker and civil rights. Social workers have to play a vital role in securing people’s rights irrespective of their age, gender, race or religion, etc. They understand that the experience of discrimination affects the lives of people and their living standards. The principle of social working ensures that people have all the opportunities to lead a comfortable life free from social issues. Similar to civil rights, social workers also offer support for social rights movements and associated activities. They understand that the lack of employment can have a stressful impact on one’s life. They also become a crucial player in terraforming civil or labor rights and design programs that help them cope with issues. Some of these programs include unemployment insurance, worker compensation or social security policies, etc.
Mentorship for Society
The principle of social working stands for all types of people irrespective of their age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Some of the people might struggle with addictions, violence, crimes, or homelessness. Someone with a social working degree raises the issue of mentoring for the youth today and acts as oneself. Social workers start various programs and movements that facilitate social mentoring. They have to design a society where the youth has all the support from their adults and community. They bring forward the experts and professionals in various fields that offer their support and concern for youth’s mentoring. The simple yet effective move provides support to youth and helps them become a valuable member of society.
Raising Evidence-Based Practices
Since the last few years, the term evidence-based practices have become a core part of social working studies. These practices become the driving forces that build effective workers, increase accountability, and promote smart resource usage. As the evidence-based practices become more recognized, social work’s career adapted best ways to complement community experiences. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for these practices as they only complement the system and processes.
Coping with Mental Issues
Unfortunately, with all the advancements in education and technologies, our society still lacks awareness about mental issues. The lack of knowledge regarding mental issues causes patients to receive inhumane treatment. Individuals with social work degrees help raise awareness about mental illness and fight for patients’ right treatment and procedures. They help change the perception of mental illness in society and make an effort towards implementing a humane system for treatment. Their efforts bring changes in mental illness treatment procedures to make the patients a better part of society after rehabilitation.
Safety for Children
One of the issues that have plagued our society is child neglect and abusive treatment towards children that have raised countless other social issues. They address issues that contribute to child abuse, such as addiction, domestic violence, family issues, or other factors. They raise awareness of these issues as they create a ripple effect in a society where children suffer from traumas that leaves them scarred for life. Social workers work towards making safe heavens that foster care for children to make them a productive part of society.
Support for Addiction and Substance Abuse Victims
Unfortunately, the use of drugs and substances has become the norm for our society today. Individuals with a social working degree have to deal with addiction and substance issues before engaging in family conflicts or other problems. Like mental health issues, social workers also have to put their best efforts forward for advocating rehabilitation programs and treatments to facilitate these issues. They work on implementing public health programs and initiatives to take care of addictions and abuses.
Final Word
Attaining a degree in social work opens the door of opportunities for individuals to work in various social areas. We cannot neglect social workers’ efforts to better awareness of social issues and their solutions. Irrespective of their area of expertise, their objective of facilitating society remains the same. With their efforts, society today becomes better and more productive.
