Social work is a really broad term that most people have no idea what it encompasses so here are 5 things that all social workers want the rest of the population to know.

1. We can work with any group of people.

I can work with Child Protective Services. I can work with kids with disabilities. I can work with adults with substance abuse problems. I can work with people who have mental illnesses. I can work with teenagers who have eating disorders. I can work in schools, hospitals, mental institutions, nursing homes, prisons, and I can even have my own practice. I can literally work anywhere and with anyone.

2. Do you really think we care about the pay?

I don’t. I chose this field because I wanted to help people, and I want to love going to work every day. I want to go to work and never have to do the same thing twice, and I want to meet new people. I knew about the pay when I declared this as my major. I literally had someone tell me, “You better make sure you get your LCSW or you’ll never make any money.” If I was even remotely concerned with what I’d be making, I would have decided to be an engineer.

3. We're not here to just take your kids away.

I swear, I have heard, “So you take people’s kids away?” more times than I can count. That is NOT what social work is. Sure, sometimes social workers do have to take kids away from their parents, but there is most definitely a reason as to why they are being removed from the home. Why would anyone want a child to stay in a home where the parents are using drugs and neglecting/abusing the child? Social workers don’t just take children out of their home for the fun of it.

4. We probably won't have a lot of free time.

Between the paperwork, being on-call, and all the driving around for our clients, we’re going to be pretty tight on time. Some social workers put in 60+ hours a week, especially with CPS. We’re closer to our work friends than our real friends because of this. Essentially, having a life outside of work takes quite an effort.

5. We take our work home with us.

Just because we go home doesn’t mean we forget all about work. We talk to our clients every day, and we know the struggles they’re facing. I know I can’t forget all about them just because I’m at home. However, this also makes us more aware of the world going on around us so we try to be nice to everyone because you never know what someone is going through.

There’s good and bad to any job, but the good that social workers do far outweigh the bad parts of the job. Social workers get to see all different types of people who are working towards something to better themselves. There isn’t anything that could come close to seeing another person accomplish a goal that you helped set.

I’ve gotten to see moms struggle with addiction while working to overcome it to get their kids back. I’ve seen kids with disabilities who struggle with bullies, but who still love everything about life. I’ve seen some elderly people who have more fun than I do on the weekends. I’ve seen grandparents step up when the parents couldn’t because they have so much love in their hearts for those children. I’ve seen children in foster care with behavioral problems directly related to their birth parents, but they overcame those issues in therapy. No day is ever the same for me.

If I had the chance to choose again, I’d still pick the same career.