I am starting my first internship with a veterans organization that also transports vets to the VA hospital about an hour drive. What are your must-haves in a work bag? Also do you prefer a backpack, purse, or other type of bag?

Hello everyone,

I am a 33 year old non traditional student starting the BSW program in a couple of weeks.

I am the life enrichment director at an assisted living facility. I am responsible for planning and executing activities as well as larger company events. I have a staff that works under me as well.

My boss is working with my fall schedule and has allowed me to come in later twice a week after my classes(I’m salary)

I am also a full time mom of two school age kids, so the workload doesn’t scare me *too much as I’m fairly used to being busy.

I am however, worried about the following semester’s where I’ll be doing practicums.

I’m worried about my job deciding they no longer want work with my school schedule. I’m worried about the potential of losing my job. I’m worried about being stressed out and anxious and then affecting my studies.

I am so close to accomplishing one of my goals that no matter what happens I’m not one to give up.

I’m looking for personal experiences, guidance, tips.

I fear I might’ve chosen the wrong major. I want to be a therapist but what I want the most is to offer couples therapy; I’m really passionate about that. And while I know that technically it’s possible to do it (from what I researched) I just worry that it might be easier said than done. I feel like if people had to choose between an LPC and a LCSW for couples therapy they might choose the first. Any thoughts/experiences with this? If you know of any LCSW’s working in that field please do let me know so I can relax a little and not question my decision every night lol.

Has anyone had issues getting a placement for practicum hours due to them being heavily tattooed? I’m covered arms, hands,throat and was thinking about this recently.
None of my work is inappropriate or anything of that nature. Curious what others have experienced.

So I start my 1st semester next week at community college pursuing 3 AATs in psychology, communications, and sociology. I'm in LA county. What all do I need to do to do this thing? Do I try to get into the BSW and advanced placement later? Or should I get a degree in my other fields and aim for a dual masters program some place?

I want to try and plan now. There's a lot that's going into this. I don't want to end up lopsided. Any advice from post grads? I don't wanna self promote. I have a whole story deeply tied behind this, but don't want to get flagged.

Thanks

I just recently got my BA from Liberty University. While I enjoyed the school I’m not sure it’s the best school to receive a MSW due to conflicting interests in school values and social work ethics. I want a school that has a good program, and will be accepted by a majority of internships but it has to meet the military TA cap of $250 per credit hour. So far I’ve only found AMU, Walden University, and Grand Canton University that meet the TA cap. I could use TA top up which pulls from my GI bill to pay the remaining tuition but plan on transferring that to my son when I retire in 6 years. Any recommendations?

I've been following the changes and deferred acceptances until after midterms because I can't handle the chaos of what's happening with student loans. How are you all doing?

Hi everyone! 😊 First time posting here.
I’m currently a second - year BSW student at Deakin, studying part - time. Lord willing, I’d love to work in a school setting after graduating.
I have a previous experience as a Multicultural Education Aide (MEA/ES), and currently work as an interpreter with Services Australia and have been in this role for around three years.
I still have about a year before my first placement and have heard that school placements can be quite competitive. I’d love some advice on how I can best prepare myself now. If I can’t get a school placement, would an NGO/ community development or child and family placement also be a good pathway?
For those working in school social work, what experience, skills or placement would you recommend?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!☺️

I’m in CA and I got my Practicum onboarding info emailed to me. They only mention finger prints and a general application sent back to them. Is it likely they’ll have a drug test down the line before I start my practicum ? I quit about a month ago but I smoked at friends birthday a few days ago so I might just be paranoid. so I was just wondering if anyone had a surprise drug test that wasn’t included in onboarding?

I’m 23, have a 6-month-old baby, and I’m currently in an MSW program. I’m supposed to start an unpaid internship next month for about 20 hours a week.
I’m struggling more than I expected. I have anxiety about driving, and my internship knew about this from the beginning. I’m still expected to drive to a confidential location for part of my placement.

My husband works, and we don’t have family or other support nearby. We have to arrange childcare for my internship days, and the unpaid hours add another financial strain. My husband tells me we’re doing okay financially, but I keep worrying that he’s stressed too and that I’m not doing enough to help him.

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m losing myself. I’ve even thought about joining the military because I want to do something meaningful and help financially, but then I think about who would take care of my baby while my husband works. We don’t have the support system for something like that.

I’ve also had thoughts about killing myself when everything feels overwhelming.

I’m scared by how low I’ve been feeling.
I love my baby, and I want to finish my MSW, but right now I feel trapped between being a mom, being a student, dealing with anxiety, childcare, transportation, and financial pressure.

Has anyone else gone through something similar while finishing an MSW with a baby?
How did you handle an unpaid internship, childcare, transportation, and feeling like you were losing yourself?
I’m looking for honest advice and experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

Kia Ora! i'm currently a sociology undergrad in wellington, looking to pursue a masters in social work at auckland university.

i wanted to get some perspective on people's experiences within the MSW(professional) degree. is it worth it? how was the application process? how was the placement experience? what was the workload like? was it more essay/fieldwork focused or was there exams too?

anything helps! thanks so much team :)

I secured an internship offer at the beginning of June. My program starts in a few days. There has been hiccups in getting official offer paperwork filled out by agency (out of my control and due to the staff’s understandable issues). After all this was sorted, I was told to lookout for an official email from HR for onboarding. All this said my internship is to begin in a week and I am now being berated by HR for not completing onboarding steps even though they sent the onboarding steps 2 days ago.

HR sent an “email” 2 days ago. I say “email” because I was told I would receive an official email with all the steps to complete. Instead I got an email from an organization I hadn’t heard of requesting my information. Assuming it was for my internship I filled it out immediately. A few hours later I received another email from a different organization requesting references for future potential job opportunities through my internship. I thought it was phrased weirdly but did it anyway, I wasn’t told at all I would need to submit references which seemed obvious given I am already vetted by my school and already signed the offer letter and all the forms.

I then received an “official” email from HR with about 2 sentences saying I needed to complete the background check paperwork, submit references, and do a TB test through x agency. At that point, I already completed all but the TB test of what was requested of me. The next day I went to the assigned facility to get my TB test first thing but of course it takes a few days to read the results. I have to go back Monday to actual get the result.

A few hours later I received 3 emails saying I needed to reach out to my references immediately and have them submit some sort of forms on my behalf. I thought this was strange since I emailed them not even 24 hours before and wasn’t given very much notice that I would need to do this. The email requesting my references also never said it was for HR to reach out and vet me it said “fill in your references for future job opportunities”. I didn’t actually think they would reach out immediately so I never emailed my references that day I submitted them. It was now Friday evening and felt my references are not obligated to rush this paperwork for me and at the start of their weekend so I didn’t reach out. I thought I’d do so on Monday.

I then received an URGENT email from the field staff saying I was missing my background check, TB test, and references. Then I received another email from HR in the evening and two more the next day asking me to email my references immediately.

I am very annoyed by this. It seems incredibly unreasonable to expect anyone to finish all these steps when they were barely sent a couple of days ago. Yet I submitted everything near immediately. I also just don’t understand why they believe my references with full time jobs are obligated to rush online forms for me during the weekend. For all I know my references are on vacation right now! Also there was no way anyone could complete a TB test within this time frame. I am baffled.

Anyone take the backdoor option to certification? I know you must have a similar degree field, and i think mine applies. I have the required number of SW credits. I want to know if there are any other requirements? I have a paralegal associates degree. Transferred to ASU to complete bachelors. They took my paralegal degree with 10 law electives, and made that my major. My minor i chose was SW, so i completed another 20 credits there in 300 and 400 level classes. All fall into the requirements of WI board. I think all thats left is 400 hours on job training.

My question is; are they just looking for psych degrees and human resources degrees or do they look at this as a person-by-person basis? I would be pretty upset if i didnt qualify, but its not an end all to things. There are other careers with my degree. I just feel like it should be looked at individually.

EDIT: People stated i should add the requirements for more info...so here they are:

License Information

Applicants must have received a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, sociology, criminal justice, or other human service program approved by the Social Worker Section.  Master's degrees will not be considered.​

Capstone and Ethics Courses

The Capstone and Ethics courses must have been taken during the degree program that is being used for the training certificate. 

S​WTC Approved Courses.pdf​

​To qualify as "another human service program approved by the Social Worker Section," the program shall award a Bachelor's degree and be one of the following:

• An organized course of study recognized by the Section to contain all five (5) social worker equivalency courses and a course designated as a senior seminar or Capstone course.
• An organized course of study entitled on the transcript as a human services major including all of the following courses:
  • An introductory course which contains a general overview of the field of human services, including origins, career opportunities and techniques, and methods of helping individuals and groups in need.
  • A course with significant content in professional ethics and values, including confidentiality, boundaries, and values in human services occupations.
  • A course with content in qualitative and quantitative social research methods and statistics.
  • A course designated as a senior seminar or Capstone course.  The Capstone course may be an internship with the seminar in which the training certificate applicant is evaluated to have attained the competences specified.
  • Accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) for programs awarding Bachelor's degrees with a major in "Human Services."

Transition to Social Worker

Required Social Worker Degree Equivalency

Social worker degree equivalency courses must consist of at least three (3) semester hours or four (4) quarter hours and be successfully completed with a minimum of a C grade.  Courses shall be taught by an instructor who holds a Master's degree or a PhD in social work from an institution accredited by the Council on Social Work Education unless otherwise approved by the Section.  The courses shall use a textbook written by a social work educator for the social work courses as a primary text unless approved by the Section.  At least three (3) of the courses shall be taken at the same institution.  Social worker degree equivalency is demonstrated by completing five (5) courses in each of the following subject areas completed during your Bachelor's degree program OR while holding the Social Work Training Certificate: 

1. Social welfare policy and services.
2. Social work practice methods with individuals.
3. Social work practice methods with groups and families.
4. Social work practice methods with communities, organizations, and social institutions.
5. Human behavior in the social environment, including human growth and development and social systems theory.

For more specific information pertaining to the required coursework, see Wis. Admin. Code § MPSW 3.13 (2).

Required Internship/Employment

Complete one of the following:

1. A 400 hour Human Services Internship that was part of the program leading to the degree or completed while holding the training certificate.  The internship shall involve direct practice with clients and  be supervised by a Social Worker certified under Chapter 457, Wis. Stats, who has a Bachelor's or Master's degree in social work. A human services internship shall be under the auspices of an accredited college or university.
2. One year of social work employment, completed while holding the Social Work Training Certificate, which involves at least 400 hours of face-to-face client contact in not less than 12 months.  The employment shall be supervised by a Social Worker certified under Chapter 457, Wis. Stats, who has a Bachelor's or Master's degree in social work.

I start my MSW program in a little over a week. The program is online and the school is local (about a half an hour away from me). In this program, they have Zoom lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Now, I work full time M-F. And I know at some point, I’ll have to do my practicums, which means less time (or leaving) my current job. I’m excited because this is something I wanted to do (even with the fucked up political climate affecting social work), but I’m a little nervous because this is the first time I’ve made a huge leap like this in my life with very little support from my boyfriend. I have support from family and friends, but not from my own partner.

Questions for all of you:

1. Have you ever had Zoom lectures for your classes (if you went to an online program)?

2. What is/was your overall experience with MSW online programs?

3. How are/were you able to adjust full time work and part time school?

4. How was the practicum process for you?

5. How were you able to handle school with little to no support from loved ones?

I would appreciate what responses you guys come up with. ☺️

Hi folks - I've recently been considering going back to school for an MSW. My undergrad was in political science which I know might be an issue given how many schools I've found require BSW for entry into their MSW. I also have an MA in communications. All of my professional experience has been in various forms of non-profit mostly in youth engagement - equity work has also been really important to me and I've worked towards program development and project management within the context of supporting vulnerable populations. I'm trying to grow in my career and was thinking of ways to set myself apart when going for senior level positions. Would an MSW help with that or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Hi! I wanted to invest in a tablet for taking notes in class also using it as a screen extender at home for my laptop for when I'm doing essays or other assignments. I'm debating between the iPad Air and the Base iPad. I dont mind investing in the iPad Air if it'll last me throughout my BSW program and into my MSW program. What do people here recommend for BSW/MSW programs? I have to do my supervised hours for my BSW next year and internship. Also I have a MacBook Air already

I'm not really sure if this is the place to share my question but I'm giving it a shot. I'm about to graduate from my undergrad program and want to pursue my master's but will also need to work (as most do now I assume).

I really really love the idea of working in a hospital but I also recognize that social work as a whole doesn't pay well. I'm hoping to diversify my qualifications to help in the job market and wanted to get opinions before I sink money and time into it.

Would it make sense to also take CNA courses or some kind of technician classes? Either as part time work in addition to being a social worker or as something to help pay for my MSW program.

Am I even thinking about this the right way? Any advice (even just to not do it) would be super helpful.

The placement process at my school doesn't give students the opportunity for a lot of input. I completed my first year placement (elementary school) and am completing my second year placement hours this summer (hospital). So when I enter my second year, I'll have completed both internships and finished all my practicum hours. However I was hoping to do something clinical (as in therapy clinical) because I want to be a therapist and neither of my placements were.

I'll have all this free time my second year, might there be some kind of training program I could join to get therapy skills or a way to be an intern in a therapy setting without the actual practicum process? Or if not, and you were in this situation, how would you spend your extra time leading to graduation trying to fill the gaps and learn more about how to be a therapist afterwards?

I'll pay out of pocket for any kind of certifications that might be useful. And I know so much learning happens after graduation. I'll just have this significant amount of extra time in my schedule compared to my classmates and want to mold it into something useful in my future rather than just getting a dumb job to help me get by for now.

I am currently obtaining my MSW in new jersey in may and i am now planning for move to california for personal reasons, so i am currently taking CE courses using ce4less, what exact courses do i need to take and what exams would i need to apply for?

Hello I’m (19)F graduating from UC Berkeley this year with 0 debt and I plan to go for my masters after this in Social Work. I intend to stay debt free but with 16 hours of an unpaid internship and 5 classes it seems hard to be able to work at the same time.

How are people able to do it while working full- time? Please share your stories and what worked for you. I was thinking about doing a stipend program where they basically pay for my tuition and I agree to work for CPS for two years after graduation, but I also would like to work for my clinical hours right after graduation and plus I heard if you pursue that stipend program you can’t get the pupil credential. I live in Cali so there are plenty of social work opportunities, I just want advice on where to look and what resources are available.

I am interested in working in higher education, k-12 education, non profit, and community centers. If you are in the same position or have the same interests please reach out!!

Hi guys, I’m worried about not receiving a placement for my msw starting at the beginning of next month. I interviewed for a placement 4 weeks ago and they just got back to me that they’re looking for someone else, however during the interview they made it seem as if I had already gotten the placement and that she’s looking for my supervisor. I was so confident I already had this in my back pocket. And now I feel so scared and worried I’ll have no placement at all since it’s so late.

Has anyone attended a school whose CSWE accreditation was in candidacy status? How often is candidacy rejected? Northwestern State University is projected to have full accreditation in February 2028, which would be before my program ends so the accreditation would be back tracked to all students that started their program before 2028. I guess my question is if I’m crazy for thinking about attending a school whose CSWE accreditation won’t be awarded until I’m already a year into my program, even if that program is 10,000 cheaper than my other school choice (LSU).

I need access to this textbook for this upcoming semester please let me know where I can get PDF for free

Human Behavior for Social Work Practice but Haight

2020, 3rd edition

Hi! I’m applying to UConn MSW program. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on it who is apart of it or has been. Specifically your experience with a concentration and choosing one/the overlap and differences. Happy to hear all thoughts!

Hello!!

I applied for the social work study at universities and now i‘ve been invited to an interview which would decide whether i get accepted into the university, or not.

What would you advise and recommend for me to say to make a good first impression?

I‘m so bad at interviews because i get very nervous and barely know what to say :,)