Social work can be a very gratifying field of work. A simple definition of a social worker is that he/she provides “help” to communities, groups, and individuals to improve their quality of life. A social worker intervenes by organizing communities, teaching people how to either deal or rise above poverty, learning them how to cope with social injustices, and works to ensure that their client’s human rights and civil liberties are met.
Associate’s Degree in Social Work
A person with an associate degree in social work cannot be employed as a full-fledged social worker, which requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in social work. However, an associate degree will prepare a person for other types of work in the field.
An associate degree in social work will prepare a person to work in various services of the community, as an assistant to a social worker, in a department of health and human services, in social welfare departments, as a child advocate, dealing with troubled teens, or working in any type of job that requires a social work background.
To obtain a job as a qualified social worker, a person must continue their education until they have obtained a bachelor’s degree in the field.
Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work
When a person has obtained a bachelor’s degree in social work, they will be qualified to help communities, groups, or individuals to reach their maximum level of functioning in society.
The professional social worker applies the principles they have learned in college. They help people to obtain much needed services for survival and engages in psychotherapy with groups, families, and individuals.
They rarely work out of their office, because they work in a variety of places: in a client’s home, hospitals, schools, voluntary organization, and other public sectors.
A qualified social worker must combine his/her knowledge of cultural factors, including the educational level, social skills and economic status of their clients, and how these issues figures into their human behavior and development.
There is currently a shortage of social workers due to the bad economy, high unemployment, and the cultural decline in the general population. Due to these influences, social workers are in great demand to assist people with their problems and to teach them survival skills.
Obstacles in Working as a Social Worker
If a person obtains an associate’s degree in social work, they can learn what it really means to choose a career in the field. Burn out, due to a large workload, is the main problem that social workers face. Therefore, after only attending two years of college, and obtaining a associate degree in social work, a person will be in a position to find out whether they are suited for the profession and have a desire to continue their education.
Rewards for a Social Worker
Social workers hold some of the most important jobs in the world. Their work helping the elderly, abused and neglected children, people living in poverty, and the millions of people who need assistance greatly contribute to how well their clients navigate successfully through life.