Is It Really Worth Going to Social Work Grad School?

First off, I want to wish everyone a belated Happy Canada Day for all of our Canadian readers.  I also want to say happy three month anniversary for the blog which is this close to 300 views.  My last post was supposed to be a celebration of this, however I couldn't include it due to some technical difficulties.  But I am continuing to work on the issue.

Moving on, I often get asked by others in the field (and members of my own family!) if I will be doing a master's in social work.

Back in the good old days when I was doing my undergrad in social work it was all a part of "The Plan."  I would get excellent grades, work for a couple of years and then pursue my masters in social work.  Then I entered the field and everything changed.

First off, the agency I worked for had a sequential pay system based on seniority and NOT education, so getting my masters quickly was no longer imperative.  Also, it was often only the higher up supervisors and managers that had a masters degree in social work.  And seeing how much responsibility they had I decided that I likely would not make moving up into the upper echelons of management my goal.  For the most part, I liked not having to take home paperwork in the evenings and on weekends.  And I liked that I would never have to be on call 24/7.


Secondly, as I continued to gain more experience and looked beyond the agency I was looking for, I realized that many counseling and hospital positions required a masters degree in social work.  But when I looked more deeply into the job descriptions it seemed that with an increase in education I would also have a serious increase in responsibilities.  I felt like I could handle just about enough politics and responsibility in my current front line roles and felt that I did not need the added stress!

Thirdly, I looked at getting a master's in social work degree as a pure educational opportunity.  However, I could not commit to the two years even though it was only part time and online.  I just didn't feel like I had the energy to commit to all those assignments and exams after a long and stressful day of work.  I would pretty much have to put work on hold for a year or two to complete the program full time and since I was still new to my career I did not want to risk losing any momentum.

Fourthly, I figured I had one more big degree/diploma program in me to finish until I called it quits with higher education (not counting professional and required educational development programs).  Plus, the master's degree is expensive and it has a somewhat lengthy admission process depending on which school you are applying to.  I already have many years of post secondary education, some of it more useful than others, so I wanted to make my last leap into education count.  However, I was not feeling the pull to get a master's degree in social work.  I thought that I would feel overwhelmed even doing it part time and it would purely be a professional move, not a personal one.  Also, where I am living now there are fewer education requirements for social workers so I know that it was not 100% necessary for me to get my master's to receive a good position.

I have read many discussion posts where people jump into a master's degree in social work, and here are some reasons why:

• They have no experience in social work and their undergrad degree is in a totally unrelated field.  But they feel they "might" like social work and they really want a masters degree in something so they go for a masters in social work.
• They are disgrunted with social work in their current position and feel like getting a masters in social work will give them more job opportunities.  This is true, however you have to look at your current feelings about social work before diving into an expensive grad program.  Maybe it's the field entirely that you are getting tired of and in that case, a masters in social work will not help you.
• They go right from an undergrad to a masters degree in social work, hoping that they can finish their education all at once.  Yet, they do not take a break in between to see how much they even like this field.  Many people change career trajectories after their first degree so it's good to give yourself time to grow to ensure you are remaining on the same path you started on.
• Your employer really wants you to move into a management position but they say that you need a master's degree first.  You must ask yourself, is moving into management something you really want to do?  If so, then it's fine to get a masters degree for this reason.  If you are seriously not interested in moving up the ladder into management then I highly suggest having a discussion with all interest parties about YOUR career goals.
• Your agency offers tuition reiumbursement so you feel that you MUST take them up on this deal.  But be careful, do you really feel at this time that you can juggle work, school and family life?  If so, then I say go for it!  If not, then maybe you should put your masters on hold for a while until you can do some more planning.

Overall, deciding on whether or not you should go for your master's degree in social work is not only a professional decision that you need to make, but a personal one as well.  You have to make sure you can handle the workload and you have to talk to people who will be impacted by your decision to go to school.  Is your family alright with you spending extra hours away from home, and what about a reduction in income if you are going to school full time?  Also, does your work support you in getting your master's?  Will they be flexible about giving you time off to do your assignments and exams?  Are they interested in having the latest social work theories practiced at their agency, or are they closed to new ideas and may feel threatened by your new knowledge?  You really have to evaluate your situation carefully but I do know it's possible to achieve your masters in social work if you truly desire it!