If you want to become a social worker, don’t let the myths about the field stop you from achieving your goal. Social work is a service profession, which means that many of the people in the field are not in it for the money. Because of this, there are many myths about the work that social workers do.
Social Workers Just Take People’s Children Away
Many people think that social workers only work for Child Protective Services or other Government Family and Child Services agencies. These agencies are in charge of protecting children and families from harm. While sometimes social workers do, in fact, remove children from abusive households, their number one goal is to protect children. Typically, they try to do this by keeping the family together. Removing a child is always the last resort.
Social Workers Just Give Out Welfare and Contribute to Bureaucratic Problems
It’s a common public complaint that the government gives out too much public welfare to people and there are too many bureaucratic problems. Social workers often work for government entities that manage welfare, so they get swept up in the blame for some of these political and public concerns. While it’s true that some social workers do work for agencies that handle welfare, you don’t have to do this kind of work if you want to be a social worker.
If You Have a Kind Heart, You Can Be a Social Worker
While many social workers list passion for service as reasons for becoming a social worker, it takes quite a bit more skill to be a social worker than just being kindhearted. Social workers have to be tough and experienced; they have to manage difficult situations and solve problems for people. They also have to follow bureaucratic guidelines (when applicable) and manage numerous cases.
All Social Workers Work for the Government
While there are many government agencies that have a demand for social workers, such as Child Protective Services, there are many social workers who work for private agencies, non-profits, and corporations.
Social Workers Only Work with Poor People
Social workers work in a variety of capacities, and not all of them deal with low-income families. Social workers commonly work in prison systems, courts, mental health centers, schools, hospitals, corporations, police departments, public and private agencies, and private practices.
Anyone Who Works in a Public Service Position is a Social Worker
There are many professionals and volunteers who work in service sectors that help people, but that doesn’t make them social workers. Social workers are trained professionals with a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate in social work. Only people with a social degree can be called social workers.
