Uni offers...... Warning disturbing content

I have a problem...... I was offered not 1 but 2 places at uni.

Bachelor of education primary

Bachelor of arts/ social work double degree

I'm not asking for anyone to decide for me...... I'm asking opinions, what pros and cons you see.

I've heard about holidays and taking home work but today someone shone a light on the reality of one of the courses that really made me think twice about where my heart is taking me...... So I'm craving more!

Reality hit today when I found out my neighbours wife committed suicide. She was a social worker. She saw so much and dealt with so much in her 15 years of social work she ended up very paranoid.

In my mind I want to help save children from a life that they being so innocent do not deserve. I want to be in child protection.

I never looked deeper...... This lady had to deal with 3 year olds who were raped, children who are treated not just beaten but tortured.

He advised if this was the path I take I need to be able to switch off. But he told me these stories and I know in my heart I would want to SAVE each child. I would want to take them home and take their pain away. I would cry for them.

I don't care if its a thankless job I don't care about money I don't care about holidays.

I still want social work in my heart but my head now is saying no. But I also think there is such a large oppotunity to work in a different area of social work. Teaching is teaching. But teaching is more rewarding, you can watch those kids grow and develop into themselves and know you played a part in it.

I'm so confused........ I like the education course itself more than the social work course.

I'm trying to arm myself with as much information as possible to help my decision.

Tia

Ahhh I know what you mean... I don't have advice but I think I've steered away from doing child services/counselling cos I'm like you... I just know I'd cross boundaries which you aren't supposed to. I have a background like that myself and my youngest brother does foster care with his wife... so I just think that I wouldn't be able to stay within the confines of it. Sorry I can't help you but I understand what you're saying.

One of my girlfriends went down the teaching path, then did a masters in social work and is now a child protection officer, she decided to do this because she is a single mother and wanted to be a better parent for her child until her child was of a reasonable age (child now 10). It wasn't like her child had no idea of the "nasties" out there, as her mother and one of her mother's friends fostered a family of 3 children (the friend is also a child protection officer).

There are ways you can still get into child protection if that is what you truly want to do. Good luck with it all.

Have you done any lengthy work experience in either field? - is it even possible to arrange this?
Can you ask the uni to put you in touch with any recent graduates or those currently studying in their final year who you could chat to?

I had a similar dilemma when applying for uni. I'd love to be a midwife, but I ended up studying nursing. Main reason : DH pointed out to me that I'd need to be able to switch off if a birth ends (and there is no nice way to say it...) in a stillbirth. I just wouldn't be able to cope. I already work where I nurse palliative patients, so I'm able to switch off there and would be ok (I hope!) with nursing. I can understand and see his point.

Would you be able to trade not being able to take holidays for not being able to take yourself out of the picture?

Best of luck xx

That's the exact reason why I couldn't do that type of job. Heck I have a friend who is a foster carer and I get too angry hearing about the homes her foster kids have come from. BUT, I am studying primary teaching and I think that you can help these kids just as much in that job. You can give them the tools they need to get a better life for themselves and hopefully break the cycle they are in kwim? Plus there is no saying that you can't do teaching and then have that evolve into something that directly helps kids in the way you want to.

A friends daughter studied this field at uni, worked in it for only a very short time and just couldn't handle the emotional baggage if you like, that comes with the lives of those she'd be working with.
If you are questioningit now, I'd say don't do it and go for the other option.

I did education and there are lots of different ways you can branch off if you are interested in child protection but don't think you want to do social work. From what I understand from people that work at DOCS that I worked with while I was teaching - it is a very frustrating job with not enough resources and they can't help kids as much as they like to.

As a teacher, especially in the lower grades, you make relationships with kids and you can make a real difference in the lives of a few kids through your relationship with them. While relationships stay professional, it is amazing how much some kids respond to feeling cared for even just in the classroom.

I branched off into being a behaviour management specialist teacher and worked as a liaison teacher in a school for kids with severe behaviour difficulties. Basically it means I did a lot of case management - identifying kids at risk, working with their teacher, principal, social worker, psychologists, parents, family to try and help them adjust to mainstream schooling. I got to know my students exceptionally well and felt like I really could make a difference. There are other ways you can branch off in education so you can do some more case management. You can also look into a psychology degree down the track and be a guidance officer - they also work with families to help out kids.

I thik with both degrees - social work and education - you have options. You don't just have to do one specific job, there are lots of ways you can branch out.

from a purely educational point of view - i think that you should do the course you are more excited about & think you'll do well at.

i think it's also important to remember that once you're in a course, you can still change & that you're also still very young :) study doesn't have to stop at a certain age & you can always make a career change later.

it may also be good to look at why your heart says social work - what is it about it that attracts you? and is the drive something you might also find in teaching & nurturing children?

i also like sodpet's suggestion - you can do one as an undergrad & do your masters in something else

good luck with your decision :)

Thanks everyone.

When I look at Education I see it as that...... I couldnt see how it could branch into something more if I felt I wanted to try something else. So ty just me for showing me it doest have to be that straight forward.

I will keep thinking about it over the weekend. I need to enrol next week. It would be hard for me to say no to Social Work but I really foresee burn out. I myself was a foster child, my brother a ward of the state, when I read I read very sadistic stories as DH says - quite often about child abuse, not that I get pleasure from those stories but something just attracts me to them, maybe in someways I can relate, maybe I like to see how they pulled through the other end, I dont know. So yeah I would be very sad to say no, but it also scares me to say yes.

At the moment I am leaning towards the education course....... however I am still finding it very hard to let go of social work, I know my limits - very well - I have had depression and post natal panic disorder....... it still doesnt make it any easier to let it go even though I know I really need to.

I need to remind myself that I could be of more help teaching because I know I will love it and be happy in it. Whereas Im not necessarily going to love what I see and come home happy doing social work (whether it be housing or child protection or sitting behind a desk) and if I do happen to shut down because of what I see Im really no help to anyone who is in a crisis and have done nothing but hurt myself in the process either.

I read this last night but I wasn't sure what to say. I haven't read any of the responses yet.

I've never done social work but I was in the cops. The reason I left in the end was exactly the reasons you gave for being cautious about your course. Public service jobs like that are not done for the money or the hours (as you already know) they are done well because you love it (just like you want to). I know that stuff exists, hell I lived it for 9 years, but my heart couldn't deal with it any more. At first I was angry with myself for having wasted my time and money and career, but I'm a better mum and person for both having done it and having resigned.

I have anxiety issues too and the ahem 'challenging' work environ didn't really help with those. In fact I didn't even know about them until after.
I know that's not really a clear answer, but you've already got reservations, and that is both encouraging and not.

I think you've answered it yourself.

It's great that you've acknowledged one if the biggest hurdles in a career like social work and child protection. But if you're going to go into a career like that, you need to have ways of switching off. Of dealing with the things you see. It might be gym time, boxing classes, reading, swimming, sewing, counseling yourself - it depends on what works for you. But you need to have checks and balances in place for you. Ways to keep your own mental health in check.

Good luck with your decision.

MG

I am studying social work and also work in the human services field and yes you see some really ****ty stuff. I also suffer from depression and anxiety, and also had PND after having both my girls. It really is such a personal decision hun. And if you took Education now, you could always change degrees later if you changed your mind.

If you have reservations, I'd steer away from it. There are always post-graduate degrees if later on you decide social work is what you want to be doing.

I started a duel degree: B. Early Childhood/B. Human Services, and had to srop the Human Services because I just knew that even though my heart was in the right place, I couldn't 'leave it at work', I'd take it home, I'd worry about the 'ones that got away', what children are going through and not being able to help... I still get that to a certain extent, but I feel I have a huge impact on children being in childcare/education, and spend a lot of time with them daily :)

It sounds to me like education is the better option for you, but don't think that by not doing social work that you won't be making a huge difference to kids who need you, you are just unlikely to have to deal with the absolute worst cases of child abuse etc up close. Sometimes it is hard to let things go when you are a teacher too. I have seen plenty of my colleagues burn out because they care too much. There are lots of children who really need their teachers to be a strong and supportive person for them because they don't have anyone at home who fills that role. Students who you don't suspend no matter how badly behaved they are because you know they are beaten when they are at home, students whose mum ran off with the internet boyfriend and left them with their teenage sibling as a guardian. Students who cut themselves and attempt suicide, and use drugs and behave it incredibly stupid and risky ways. There are lots of them out there. You will still need to find a way of letting it all go when you leave for the day, even if it is just because the kids in your class were really naughty.

I am not trying to put you off, some days are fantastic! I just want to point out that as a teacher you really are a social worker too, so you can help kids the way you want without it being an all day everyday attack on the heart strings.

Can't stay so short post.

I accepted primary education BUT today I was offered a third bachelor degree placement, which I'm very sad came so late.

Community welfare & counselling. This was possibly the perfect middle ground. I could have gone on to do school counselling or any counseling where I could have helped without being in the forefront.

Argh!!! I really want to cry because I've already started.

You can change degrees if you really want to. This early in the piece you shouldn't be charged any fees yet either.

Can I do both? Part time maybe. It sounds so greedy doesn't it.

There is some overlap..... Psychology being one which accounts for 32 credits in Ed and 54 units in counselling.

Maybe I can defer for a year on the counseling as its a smaller course and I have to do an intensive this weekend if I decide to do it.

Ok I think that's what I'll do. I'll defer for a year.

Have you had a think about the implications for your family of doing the different courses?
I know that children are happy if their parents are happy but if things were equal which career would be a better fir for your family?

That's where it gets hard.

Counselling, a bit like education, you see people come in and see them leave better.

For a young family counselling I can name my hours.

Once they hit school then education is best.

I could be a school counsellor lol.

My dh called the dep of education who put him onto a federal hecs service that say if I want to do both I most certainly can.

It still equates to 4 units a semester but this will take 7 years, possibly less if I do summer school, instead of 4.

Just waiting to hear back from monash. Otherwise I'm going to stick with my original decision and to education

Of course you can do both! I am doing two degrees at the moment. And did you know as a social worker you are actually a fully qualified counsellor as well? The community welfare one will be very similar to social work. I actually did two years of a bach of human services and it was really close to the social work, social work just has alot more sociology subjects.