Deciding Which Client Population to Work With

This is ultimately one of the most important decisions that a social worker can make regarding their career.  As students social workers usually get a first taste of what populations they are comfortable and enjoy working with during their field internships.  Or they might stumble into an area depending on the types of jobs available after graduation.

Social factors can also have an impact on which clients we work with.  Your family might have a history with the medical field, i.e. in your family there are many doctors, nurses and other health professions so you may feel comfortable carrying on with this tradition.  A family member or friend might also have had an experience with a social worker in the past and had a great experience.  This could have been your inspiration to enter the field and you might follow suit with the type of agency that the social worker worked for.

I believe that when someone decides they want to study social work they have a picture in their mind of the type of work they will be doing and where.  It could include working with veterans, children, street populations, the physically or mentally ill, seniors, those who are incarcerated and so on.  Once you actually begin working with a specific population you may decide that you love it or that it is not a good fit at all.  And if ever you begin to question why you got into the field it may help you to remember those initial feelings you had when you first decided you wanted to be a social worker.

It may take several jobs in different areas of social work until you find your niche.  I know many social workers where this has been the case.  Ignoring from family and friends, why can't you just settle down in one place? might be necessary until you finally click with a job.

Things to consider when deciding which client populations to work with include:

• Which client groups do I have experience with?  Did I enjoy those experiences?
• What areas am I naturally inclined to, the quick pace of a hospital or the steady atmosphere of a counselling centre?  Take a hard look at your personality to see what work environment best suits you.
• Are there any client populations that you just do not feel comfortable working with?  I.e., you might be concerned about your safety when working in a prison.
• Is there a client group that is just too close to you emotionally whereby you feel it would affect you negatively if you worked in that field?  I.e. a seniors home if you recently lost an older parent or relative.
• Where do you see yourself heading in your career?  Do you want to continue doing front line work or would you eventually like to work up to management?  Depending on the agency there might be limited opportunities to move up.
• What do your overall instincts tell you?  I.e. do you want to be a school social worker but know deep down that you have a hard time working with troubled youth or other professionals (teachers or administrators) that may have a hard time grasping your role?
• What are the pay and benefits like with the populations you would like to work with.  I.e. working with street populations usually includes working for a non-profit agency which may have a lower salary and limited benefits when compared to working for an institution which is entirely provincially funded.

Whatever client population you decide to work with, do lots of research first including volunteering or starting casual.  You want to make sure that you are comfortable physically, emotionally, and mentally with the type of clients that you choose to work with.