Poll Shows Students Motivated by Desire to Help Children and Families
After conducting a poll of site visitors, we were able to draw some interesting conclusions regarding the people most likely to seek a degree in social work. Whether you are interested in a career change or you're looking to start a career, the vast majority of people who obtain a degree in social work choose to do so in order to help other people. This means that if you are an others-focused person who enjoys listening to and helping others, you would probably enjoy the noble profession of social work.
Is Social Work an Appropriate Field for Online Study?
You should determine whether you want to attend classes on campus or take an accredited online program for social work. According to the results of our study, three out of four people reported being at least somewhat likely to enroll in an online degree program.
While we would expect visitors of this site to be more likely than average to consider online education, we were surprised by the percentage who actually reported some level of intention to go through with the application process. This may be related to the fact that the study of social work is a good fit for online learning. Plus, the flexibility of distance education programs give many students the opportunity to access higher education when it might otherwise not be a feasible option.
What Specialties Might I Consider?
Social workers most often work to help those going through family issues, substance abuse issues, mental health issues, or with general guidance counseling. The duties associated with a particular social work career can range from broad counseling practices to specializing in specific medical conditions.
The results of our research poll revealed that the overwhelming majority of those seeking to become social workers do so because of a desire to help people, as opposed to more inwardly-focused motives such as "it fits my skill set" or "I am confident about the career/salary prospects." Specifically, over fifty percent of those potential social workers wanted to help those with familial or child custody issues.
One might speculate that this specialty hits close to home for many individuals. Alternatively, some individuals might have concerns about the emotional difficulty of working with substance abuse or mental health patients on a daily basis. In any case, most social workers won't actually decide on their specialty until they have progressed well into their social work studies, or even after graduation.
Do You Have More Questions?
If you have more questions about social work, ask us on our Facebook wall. We want to give you the best education and career information possible because this stuff is important.