Why did you pick your field?

I might ask this as a career type question too.

According to my first lecture I picked my course for the wrong reasons.

According to my counselor I'm spending thousands of dollars to do nothing more then understand myself more.

This may be long winded so bare with me.

I started at uni in social work. I spent my childhood moving from family member to family member and I was lucky. For a few years I watched my brother get passed around the system after becoming a ward of the state because none of his dads family wanted him (aged 7) and my mums family barely knew him. I was lucky- I lived with my Nanna and aunts from birth to 6.

So neither mum nor John turned up to my brothers custody hearing.

I wanted to be on the inside..... I was sad for him, I wanted to understand and make a difference. Then I decided it would churn up too much and dropped out. Did hospitality because I loved the nightlife. I wanted to work nights and liked the idea of hospitality, I could take it anywhere if I travelled.

Then I needed a real job. I fell into admin, taking over from my cousin. I studying accounting off campus because the measly $14 an hour wasn't enough so I figured I could earn more with a diploma.

9 years on I'm back at social work. I'm doing a double diploma with psych my second major.

All these years the only books I could read were of abuse, true stories, mental illness and the like. I suffered depression and panic disorder. Yes I love understanding the process of what happened to me better but I went back because....... I want to save people. I want to give the help I received. I want others to not go through what I did. I want to tell people they aren't Alone. I want to turn my hurt into something useful now that I have accepted it. This goes for both social work and psych.

And well lesson 1 in social work - people who are training to be a social worker should not be those with a personal background in the field....... They have strong beliefs - too strong to be flexible which is what is needed in the field.

My dh says not to listen, that 9 years on it is obviously something I need to do. Even if it doesn't work it's the only way it will be out of my system. And the odds are with a social work psych degree I'll find something to fit me even if it's not something I considered before. I could end up in aged care or a sports psychologist or even managerial admin - making the rules, rewriting acts and creating new procedures. So I'm comfortable with my decision and prepared that I might not end up "saving" the people I want but I'll be making a difference to someone's life in some way.

So why did you decide the field that you did?

Sorry for the really long post
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I wanted to work in forensic psychology since Yr 8. I started going to uni open days in Yr 9.
I picked all the right subjects and was good at them. After first semester Yr 11, I dropped general maths (was doing general and methods which were the only maths in Yr 11) because it was too easy and I was bored, and picked up IT.

Went to do an assignment for IT and the guy raved about his uni course and how they paid all the students a tax free scholarship who got in, 4 Yr degree in 3 years, industry placements...paid to study..

And so I applied for and got in to one of the most selective IT courses there was. I found it pretty boring. I also hated being made to feel like western suburbs scum by 80% of the students there but that's a whole other thread.

Anyway that's how I ended up in IT. They waved money in my face. Funnily enough, that's why lots of people are in IT. But they won't all tell you that.

Id still like to go back to uni and study something else. I just can't decide what.

I went into teaching because I figured that was the best way for me to make a difference. Screaming out for help as a teen and no-one caring: I want to be the teacher who cares. I want to be the teacher who sees huge scabs on someones arms and asks how they got hurt. I want to say "that's out of character for you, do you want to talk?" and not tell the person they are stupid for doing something so wrong.

Needed quite a bit of counselling to get over the fact that teachers are all trained to spot this and legally have to do something, even if it was in its infancy when I was at school, people dropped the ball in a big way. I don't want that to happen to anyone else. So yeah, I'm doing my course for all the wrong reasons. But if it helps just one person, I'll stay doing it.

I went into medical science because i had a medical condition that the drs were unable to diagnose. I was getting more debilitated and i figured if they couldn't work it out, i had the greatest knowledge of my condition and how it was affecting me and so i was going to have a go at working out what it was and curing myself.

I did that for a few years, found a better neuro and got my diagnosis and a treatment. Worked in research for awhile and was also heavily involved with on-line support for others looking for diagnoses and found that even when people were diagnosed many of them weren't given proper explanation of what their condition was, and their questions weren't being answered by the doctors when they asked them.

I returned to study and completed my Masters in Genetic Counselling. ONe of the major roles is to be an advocate for people in making doctors listen to their clients and to give them understanding of their condition and then assist them to exercise informed decision making.

In my course, there were a few people with prior experience of genetic conditions or disease and their insight and ability to see things from different perspectives was far greater than those with no experience. It helps that they had pondered their own experience and were aware of potential biases. I see having experience in the field if you are aware of how your experience can potentially affect your working ability as a benefit.

Many social workers and others in social health positions have experience with social health issues, don't let this stop you. Your experiences can give you greater abilites than reading a million books.

I can see what your lecturers are getting at, but I also think that it is just their opinion and does that opinion really matter kwim? I think most people who choose a career do so because they feel some sort of affinity for it and I think for some careers having that type of background like you do can make you so much better at your job. I think someone like you won't end up feeling disillusioned like so many others do simply because you've been through it all and have a better understanding of it than say someone who goes in blind and immediately thinks they can change the world or make a difference and end up frustrated that it doesn't happen like they think it should.

For me, when I was at high school I toyed with the idea of become an industrial arts/design and technology teacher and specialising in woodwork/construction because I loved doing that at school and I would have enjoyed teaching students how to do it, but when we started doing the rounds of the Unis and getting more information about how much uni costs, I knew there was no way I could go because 1 Mum couldn't have paid for it and 2 I didnt' want to do it all on HECS and live hand to mouth for 4 years on a minimal wage. By the end of school I decided that regardless of money I just didn't want to go to uni and would rather get into the workforce. After a few years I decided I wanted to get back into study at some point but with having the kids it just didn't happen. But back in 2009 I finally decided that the time was right for me to start a degree and by then the kids were at school and it was pretty easy to decide on teaching. I saw what an amazing job teachers had and how children just blossom once they start school and the decision was made. So here I am. Second year in and I'm loving it and can't wait to finish so I can get into the classroom.

i got into media studies because i failed maths in high school and lost my spot in dramatic arts (was devastated!). turns out i was able to do the course i was in quite easily and was finding it interesting. when i was awarded an academic excellence award i fast tracked through an advanced studies course and that is where i got hooked as i began researching below the radar vaccine trials in south america and the role of soap operas in getting communities to agree to the trials. this then led to my PhD in international and development communication and humanitarian intervention.

i chose to continue my studies as i soon realised that it would be a really hard slog to get into the work i wanted with only a honours. the work i was getting was nice, but not personally meaningful.

I started part-time Uni when I was 27. Went into Accounting. Why??? For some reason a lot of my office jobs tended to have some form of bookkeeping. In fact my first office job was with an IT company that wrote accounting software. I floated around from job to job, until I worked with a bunch of cows who were just admin girls and only ever going to be. I looked at that and thought no way, I can't do that and accounting seemed to fit my skill set. Also as a mature age student I needed to show industry experience.

It was not the best choice, even though it helped me get better work and I learnt a lot, corporate accounting in a large city and me are not what you can call a good "cultural fit". Looking back I should have just done a more general Bachelor of Business as I really enjoy all aspects of business, along with Accounting. I am more a small to medium business person, not the Big 4 accounting type. I tend to fit very well with IT businesses. Just wish they had done some personality testing as part of the enrolment process.

Funny enough, after 18 years I am back working for a small IT company that writes accounting software. Back full circle, but with a whole lot of life and work experience under my belt.

I wanted to do Medicine and probably obstetrics/gyno.

My brother who is one year older than me, got into medicine first.

I decided I'd had enough of competing with him and so decided to do law.

I now work mornings and love my job, he does 100 hr weeks and is always exhausted, and I get paid a lot more than he does!!

I know who's better off...

I'm tossing up my options now.
I could do law but have no idea about the money, hours etc. The subject interests me and I like a challenge.
I've looked at teaching but mostly so i can have school holidays with my kids (mostly). I'd do primary school but am worried we would have to move so I could get a position.
Finally I've looked at social work. 90% of the social workers we have met have been horrid to deal with (saying the wrong things etc). I'd love to do it but again no idea about money, hours.

I never wanted to be a teacher, I had very few good teachers and I was always 'encouraged' by my family to aim 'higher' and do medicine or law or research. I love science so I went to uni and did a science degree, loved the study but hated the field to work in. So I droped out and started working in call centres. In call centres I kept wanting to do the training side of things, that seemed much more interesting to me.

Eventually 6 years after my first degree I went back to uni and did my teaching diploma. I realised I wanted to make the difference to others at school - not letting them slip though the cracks and really listening to them. I teach high school science and maths now. Most people think I am crazy when I tell them, but I love what I do. Teenages are so confused, they need all the sympathy, empathy, patience and help people can offer them.

I'm also about to start a councelling course. I have a long history of mental illnesses and would like to use my experiences and understanding to help other teens who might be going though the same thing. It may not be the healthiest option for me, but since I have an inside view, surely that will help?

What I tell my students when they ask me what they should do is study what you enjoy, you will always have motivation to study as it is important to you. You will then work out what you will do as a job, using the skills you have.

I think if you have experience and a passion for social work - then definately study and get your qualifications. My mum is a social worker and from what I understand there are so many areas that are avaliable, you will find one that you enjoy but not raise too many old issues.

GL

I'm doing science, something I should have done when I left school, I had the marks for it, just was sick of studying.

I've started 3 other degrees & not finished them for various reasons.

I love science, even if I never work in the field I'm studying in, I'm still happy doing the course.

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And well lesson 1 in social work - people who are training to be a social worker should not be those with a personal background in the field....... They have strong beliefs - too strong to be flexible which is what is needed in the field.

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Funny you say that, I thought long and hard about going into that myself but decided that I would not be able to work within the constraints... not a chance in hell of that! At the moment, I'm in the middle of doing Dip. Counselling... but right now, second guessing on that too. Not sure that I'm going to be able to control my own values and biases.... although, thinking of completing it because I started it. I may or may not do something with it and there are a lot of different avenues I could take anyway and not my original thoughts and reasons for getting into it. Mine, were VERY much like yours... save other kids from the same fate etc.