Social Work Careers Anne Millane, MSW School Social Worker School District of Lomira

Skills Needed that I learned in Elementary School  Reading  Writing  Spelling  Math to understand research findings  Speaking  Good communication skills  Good interviewing skills

Education Needed Bachelor’s Degree  Four Years of College/University for a Bachelor’s in Social Work Degree  360 Hours of Practicum Master’s Degree  Two Years of Graduate School for a Master’s of Social Work  900-1,000 Hours of Practicum  License

Duties of a Social Worker  Help improve people's lives.  Assist people by helping them cope with and solve issues in their everyday lives, such as family and personal problems and dealing with relationships.  Help clients who face a disability, life-threatening disease, social problem, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, or substance abuse.  Assist families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving child or spousal abuse.  Some social workers specialize in a client group such as a school social worker who works in schools.

Social workers should be emotionally mature, objective, and sensitive to people and their problems. They must be able to handle responsibility, work independently, and maintain good working relationships with clients and coworkers. Volunteer or paid jobs can help people test their interest in this field. Social workers help people resolve issues in their lives.

What do I enjoy most about my job?  Working with young people  Helping people  Being a change agent  Seeing students grow and learn

What do I struggle with about my job?  When students make bad choices  When children suffer because of bad choices that adults make  Seeing people hurt and sad

How can you find out if a career in social work is right for you?  Babysitting young brother or sister  Taking care of pets  Volunteer at school, church and in the community  Take part in service learning activities  Boys Scouts/Girl Scouts  4-H Clubs

Questions and Answers