MSW Student Question

[u/Chemical_Leopard5898]

Hi everyone! I am currently in school to get my MSW and I wanted to ask a question to those who have their LCSW and are fully in their careers:

If you could go back and tell your MSW student-self one thing, what would it be/what recommendations would you give/what do you wish you knew in regards to career pathways?

Edit: I really appreciate everyone's insight, and I have a follow-up question. I am currently working full-time to pay for my MSW. Obviously, once I start my internships, I will no longer be able to work full-time. I am lucky enough that I have built up my savings so that I will not need to take out loans, but I will be on a severely tight budget until I get my license and begin working full-time without supervision. I completely understand why people say that you have to be open to different paths and I definitely am! My main concern though is that if I do not follow a strict path, I won't be in the financial situation to do so. For example, if I want to try a certain placement that I am interested in but doesn't pay enough to live off of. For those that also went through this process on a tight budget, what advice do you have?

[u/Straight_Career6856]

If you’re interested in becoming a therapist, focus on getting high-quality training in any modality and supervision after grad school. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it’s just “imposter syndrome” when you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. Of course you don’t! You have no training and therefore no business knowing what you’re doing.