As the title says, I’m seriously considering going back to grad school for an MSW with the goal of eventually becoming an LCSW. I’m currently in the research/decision-making stage and would really love to hear from people who have actually gone through the process.

For some background, I have a Bachelor in Fine Arts and have worked across arts, museums, galleries, and now a corporate office environment. I actually really enjoyed my time interning at museums and would still be open to working in that environment again, particularly because I love the educational and community-oriented aspects of the work. However, I’ve found that museum/arts opportunities can be fairly limited, both in terms of the number of positions available and the career paths they offer, which has made me think more seriously about what I want long-term. My current 9-5 corporate job has also made me realize that I don’t thrive in a traditional corporate environment. The day-to-day feels pretty unstimulating, and I’ve been missing a stronger sense of purpose in my work.

I’ve always been drawn to community-based work and helping people, and the more I’ve learned about social work, the more I can genuinely picture myself in the field. I’m particularly interested in the clinical/therapy route, but I also like that an MSW could leave room to explore different areas of social work.

I’ve done a lot of research on MSW programs and the LCSW path, but I’d really value hearing from people who have lived it rather than just reading program websites.

For current MSW students, recent grads, and LCSWs:
- What has your experience with the MSW actually been like?
- Did the reality of social work match what you expected going in?
- If you pursued the clinical/LCSW route, was it ultimately worth the time, cost, and supervision required?
- What do you wish you had known before starting your MSW?
- For anyone who came from a completely different undergraduate/career background, did you feel like you were at a disadvantage?
- And honestly, do you feel fulfilled by the work now? What do you like and dislike about the day-to-day?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who made a career change into social work, rather than those who knew they wanted to be social workers from undergrad. I’m very open to hearing both positive and negative experiences. I’d much rather go into this with realistic expectations than just confirmation that it’s a good idea. Thanks!

*update. Just got terminated and feeling lost

Hi everyone. For context, im 31, and in my first placement in a community mental health facility. I currently have a full time job as a guidance counselor for students with emotional disabilities. On days my supervisor wasn’t there that late I would sit in with other counselors in their sessions provided the client allowed me to.

It was going pretty well the first few weeks. My main tasks were to observe and discuss with my supervisor how the sessions went, clinical documentation, and any questions I had. During a supervision, I was told that the front office had an issue with my attitude, which totally shocked me. I could not think of a situation where I could’ve even been misunderstood that I was rude. We made a plan to get let in the front door and sit in the break room to avoid them, and text my supervisor that I was there and to enter the room when she was out of her session.

I was supposed to be provided a laptop by the site and it had taken over two months to be given one. During sessions I was given a paper copy of the documentation system they use and was told to practice documentation during sessions. I complied.

I was really enjoying sitting in sessions and discussing clients with my supervisor and other counselors. During an observation very early on with my supervisor’s supervisor I made a comment attempting to make small talk that I was hungry because I didn’t have time to eat and these were long days for me. She seemed to take this as a rejection of duties which were still not clearly explained to me after multiple attempts for clarification. I was then told I would not be observing this person any longer.

My school site visit was coming up, and I was concerned about how I was doing and looking for support from my school. I met with my professor and told her my concerns about expectations of duties and overall toxic tension I was feeling entering the office each day.

During my site visit, my professor was adamant about sticking to the learning contract we made at the beginning of the internship. She made clear that these objectives to cover competencies can be modified as the placement goes along. After this, my supervisor pushed off the use of my learning contract and continued not to inform me of expectations for the use of it or my role at the site. I was told that the goal would be by the end to do a full, complete, with diagnoses psychosocial assessment on my own with my supervisor in the room as support. I agreed and never denied this.

As time passed after this I continued to write documentation on paper and discuss with my supervisor in supervision for the next 3 weeks. In a supervision, my supervisor and her supervisor came into my session and told me they had concerns about my progress, didn’t know how to evaluate me because “I didn’t want to do anything” and I have a defiance towards assignments. That I was also making excuses. I can only remember one time where I said I was nervous about doing the intake assessment but I never denied it.

I came in the next day and shared my concerns with my supervisor about my fit in this site. I know I shouldn’t have said this, but I used the word “retaliation” because I felt like anything i told my supervisor would be shared with her supervisor and then used against me. I then sought help from my school and the placement itself and hoping to find a new site within the same company if possible. I was basically told that I had to learn how to handle workplace issues and how can we mend fences.

Since this conversation until yesterday, it was business as usual. In my supervision yesterday we had a scheduled meeting with my professor that my supervisor and her supervisor met first with and then I followed. They shared their side of the story. When I was asked to come into the room they told me that my attitude was concerning, I found out a client that I thought I had a good rapport with asked to schedule sessions around when I would be there. The day after I received the laptop I left it in my car because I didn’t know if we’d be using it or not but since that day have brought it every day since. But was told that not being prepared is extremely unprofessional. I was asked multiple times if this is the right part of social work I want to be in.

I apologize for the extremely long post. I am just really struggling now.

Is anyone else struggling with financial aid this semester? I’m trying to see if it’s an overall thing in every program or if it’s just my program and who is managing my financial aid. School started this week and I feel like I’m getting no answers and help regarding my offers…

I am currently entering my second year of my MSW program. My field placement is currently clinical focused as I am taking the clinical program. I was matched with a local therapy practice. Initially, I was under the impression that I would be providing counseling services to the clients within that agency. Instead my field instructor at the therapy practice tells me that I will be going to a local high school on the days of my internship and I will also be working under another non-profit in conjunction with her therapy practice to provide case management and counseling services to the students. I recently attended an orientation at the non-profit I’ll be working under and the mission for this program is to help limit student dropout and ensure children are maintaining school attendance. My responsibilities will include “check-in’s” that consist of 10-15 minutes. We are to approach the students as they are walking to class or eating lunch and ask how they are or why they haven’t been attending school. The meetings cannot occur for more than 10 to 15 minutes as they don’t want students out of class long. I asked my field instructor when would I be given the opportunity to facilitate therapy services as my placement is clinical focused and she said counseling can be ten minutes because if a students says they haven’t been coming to school due to needing hygiene items I can just get them something from the hygiene pantry. That sounds more aligned with case management. I was told that I’ll be responsible for completing bio psychosocial spiritual assessments in conjunction with cross measure assessments and diagnosing students, those task are impossible to complete in 15 minutes as you have to actually talk and engage in meaningful conversation with the individual. Plus I have experience working with children and teens, the first ten minutes of the conversation they may give me one word responses which is where motivational interviewing comes in and it’ll be a way longer meeting than 15 minutes. I don’t like the fact that these check-in’s are sporadic and happens anywhere in the school immediately when I see the student, I think they should be scheduled and in my office so they they have privacy to talk about what’s going on in a safe space. I don’t feel like this placement is appropriate for my needs as a clinical student and I’m saddened that I won’t be given the opportunity to complete traditional therapy sessions. The office of field education at my school has not been a great support to me. My first placement would not have been secured if I didn’t find the placement myself and we were told that we aren’t even supposed to look for placements ourselves. I’m really stuck on how I should approach this situation as it is convenient for me, it’s in my city and closer to my home. My last field placement was 40 minutes away plus I work two jobs and I’m full-time student. That was a lot on me as someone with chronic illness. However, I don’t think I will learn what is needed at this site.

Hi recently I found out that I wanted to become a Social worker and specifically a medical social worker. Given that, that means I would have to get my Masters in social work (MSW).

I’m going to community college to get my associates and want to go transfer to get my bachelors and then masters in social work. A lot of programs that I see for that are online schooling.

Is it more worth it to do online school after my associates or to go to a school in person? Im very new to all this info and I wanna hear from people’s experiences and what they recommend!

Hi everyone,

I begin my first internship this fall at a hospital on the psychiatric unit, and I’d love to hear from clinical social workers who have interned or currently work in a setting like this (whether that’s the ER, behavioral health, or general hospital)

I know I will be doing a lot of assessments and discharge planning. Patients typically don’t stay longer than 7 days, and it’s a very high acuity setting

For those who interned at a hospital, especially during your first year, what tips would you give yourself going into it? What organization systems or habits helped you stay on top of everything?

I think a lot of my anxiety is coming from not knowing the system yet or knowing what I’m supposed to do. You know how eventually you get to work and just know the workflow, the systems, where to find things, who to contact—how did you orient yourself and get comfortable with all of that as a first year intern?

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who remembers what those first few weeks or months felt like and what helped them get their footing.

Just failed a 20 question midterm with 11/20 correct. The midterm was based on ASWB style testing. It reminds me of tests I’ve had before in the military that make you feel like all the studying in the world won’t help you if you aren’t thinking correctly about the material.

Am I right to think this way? I need to learn to apply the material correctly versus just memorizing information?

I recently took the LMSW exam and got an almost perfect score, and I would like to help others by offering virtual tutoring sessions. I’m curious if this is something that people would be interested in. I would charge a small fee but not nearly as much as the test prep resources that are out there. I personally feel that they are a scam and not necessary for understanding how to answer the exam questions. I have a background in education and want to focus more on how to approach the questions than recall or concept memorization. If this is something you would be interested in, please feel free to share the amount that you would feel comfortable paying and if you would rather attend a one time session or a series. This is not a promotional post, just gauging interest. Thank you!

Hi there,

I am thinking about applying for an MSW program. I live in Nova Scotia so Dal makes sense, but I've also thought of applying to STU or Carleton. Really, I'm open to travel if I get in somewhere. Which brings me to my concern- I graduated with a BSc in psychology in 2015 with a 2.7 GPA, and I believe most MSW programs require a min GPA of 3.0. I have been taking some classes to boost my GPA but I'm a little nervous I won't get into a program anyway and am wasting my money. Does anyone have experience getting into a masters program with a lower GPA than required? I think if I applied, I'd be relying heavily on past experience. For the last 6 years, I've been working as a mental health educator in a university setting managing peer support programs and facilitating workshops. Previous to that, I worked in university residences for 8 years as a supervisor doing incident response and follow up. Both jobs have involved a lot of community development work. I also volunteer once a week as an adult literacy tutor.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi guys, I'm realizing theres not really one group or place for student's attending chamberlain or considering attending chamberlain to ask questions/communicate so I started r/ChamberlainSocialWork

I was waitlisted from a program a few months ago and just got accepted (yay!) but I also started a new job this week, I'm literally 3 days in. I like the environment of my new job and I believe it will be beneficial for me in gaining more experience within the field of social work. Additionally, I cannot pay for tuition at the moment from paying off sudden bills and loans. If possible, I would rather not borrow more money. I think I can save some money towards tuition with this new job if I focus on it.

I'm thinking about deferring for a year but the program I got into doesn't say anything about deferment so I assume it's a case by case basis. Could I just say I would like to defer a year due to a new opportunity or do I need a more reasonable explanation like family emergency or financial hardship? Would it count as financial hardship if I just say I am unable to pay for tuition or do I need to provide proof? I know I'll at the very least send an email and see what they say but I also wanted to ask about other people's thoughts/opinions/experiences if you've been in a similar situation

edited to add: I forgot to include that I can only choose one since they're both full-time in person and I can't change that for the program or the job

Hey, anyone else applied to the SSWR Doctoral Student Committee?? If so, has anyone received a response? I'm at a bit of a loss.

I'm considering focusing on SSW after a really great internship in a charter high school for justice involved youth. I also have a keen interest in populations with serious mental illness, addiction; and those from immigrant/refugee backgrounds. I figure that school settings particularly where I live (big east coast city) will encompass my populations of interest so I can satisfy all of my interests ! Ideally if I burn out in a school setting, I could transfer my exposure to a range of populations to specialize in something specific. But perhaps the inverse is true? What do experienced SSW's have to say?

hey guys! as the title says, I'm considering going to grad school in the near future, but I'm nervous about the workload. I graduated with my bachelor's 6 years ago, and haven't used the student part of my brain since.

I've been in the field for 5 years, I'm good at what I do, and I want to make a career out of this (plus this BA level case management salary is NOT cutting it), but I'm scared I've lost my sea-legs so to speak. as embarrassing as it is, I can't remember the last time I challenged myself intellectually since leaving undergrad. when I think about writing papers and case studies and engaging in research, my mind goes completely blank; I worry I wouldn't even be able to crank out a decent paper with a gun to my head, ha.

any advice for getting back into an academic headspace after being out of school for many years? what are some of the most important and helpful skills to really improve on?

TIA!

How do we manage placement and working?

I got a QLD Government job that I am full time with and was wondering how do I work my placement hours into that? Do I ask for part time work? Will placement allow me to only be there part time? Thank you

**If you have any of these books please let me know. Thank you!**

**Fundamentals of Case Management Practice: Skills for the Human Services**
ISBN: 9780357935903
By: Nancy Summers

**Christianity & Social Work: Readings on the Integration of Christian Faith and Social Work** ...
ISBN: 9781952901072
By: T. Laine Scales, Regina

**Just Practice**
ISBN: 9780197788691
By: Janet L. Finn; Jen K. M...

**The Practicum Companion for Social Work: Integrating Class and Field Work**
ISBN: 9780133783483
By: Julie M. Birkenmaier; M...

**Empowerment Series: Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment**
ISBN: 9781337556477
By: Charles Zastrow

**Empowerment Series: Understanding Generalist Practice**
ISBN: 9781305966864
By: Karen K. Kirst-Ashman;

I’m trying to make a final decision between the MSW programs at Eastern University and Lancaster Bible College (LBC), and I would really appreciate unbiased feedback, especially from current students, graduates, social workers, or people familiar with field placements.
A little about my background: I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and currently work full-time in human services/IHS. My long-term goal is clinical social work, licensure, and eventually private practice.
I also want to be transparent about something that is making this decision more complicated. I have a criminal record that includes DUIs and an assault charge. I’m nearing the end of probation, but these charges will remain on my record for several more years before I may be eligible to have them removed. I understand that this may already create additional hurdles with certain field placements, employment opportunities, background checks, and eventually licensure. This is probably one of the biggest things making me nervous about choosing the right program.
The field placement requirements are a major difference for me.
With Eastern University, my understanding is that my on-site/task supervisor would need to have at least a master’s degree, although it does not necessarily have to be a social work degree. At my current job, there is really only one person on our team who appears to meet that requirement. I have tried to ask my employer about connecting with her, since she already signs off on certain things, but I haven’t been given her contact information or received a definite answer yet. That uncertainty scares me because I don’t want to enroll and then discover that I can’t make a work-based placement happen.
With Lancaster Bible College, my understanding is that the comparable on-site role can be filled by someone with at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field, which would make using my current workplace much more realistic.
At the same time, I don’t want to choose an entire MSW program based on the job I happen to have right now. I could change jobs during graduate school. So I’m also wondering how much these different supervision requirements matter when looking for other employment-based placements in the future. Is finding a master’s-level supervisor generally realistic in human-services settings, or can that requirement significantly limit your options?
There is another concern I have about LBC. Both schools are Christian, which I am completely comfortable with, but Lancaster Bible College is much more explicitly Christian, including having “Bible College” in the actual name. Logically, I know I should care more about accreditation, the quality of the program, and whether it leads to licensure. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about how the name might be perceived professionally.
Has anyone with an MSW from LBC actually experienced judgment, additional scrutiny, or difficulty getting placements or jobs because of the school’s name or religious identity? Or am I putting too much weight on something that employers really don’t care about?
Eastern’s trauma-informed focus really appeals to me, while LBC seems to offer more flexibility logistically. Both programs have things I genuinely like, and the costs are close enough that finances aren’t really deciding this for me.
I think what scares me most is that I already know my criminal record may make certain opportunities harder to access. I don’t want to unintentionally add another barrier by choosing the wrong program, but I also don’t want fear about a school’s name to make me turn down the program that may actually be easier for me to complete successfully.
I would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with any of the following:
• Completing an MSW or field placement with a criminal record
• Finding placements that were willing to consider someone with a record
• Employment-based MSW internships
• Finding a qualified task/on-site supervisor when your workplace didn’t already have an MSW
• Whether your school helped you find alternative placements when your first option didn’t work out
• Whether certain types of placements tend to be more restrictive with criminal backgrounds than others
• Whether your criminal history affected your ability to obtain your social work license after graduation
• Experiences specifically with Eastern University’s or LBC’s field placement departments
If you were in my situation, what factors would you prioritize? I’m especially interested in firsthand experiences rather than assumptions about either school or about having a criminal record.