Review: SAGE Guide to Social Work Careers (2019)

SAGE Guide to Social Work Careers: Your Journey to Advocacy (2019) by Melissa Bird, PhD is a career book about macro social work practice. Unlike the other career books, this book does not focus on clinical work. Rather, it provides guidance for social work students whose dreams and aspirations are leading them toward a career in social justice and advocacy work. In macro social work, students learn this under other names such as community practice or policy practice. Ultimately this book provides students and professionals with a strategy that can be used to effect broad policy change in all political climates: community engagement, policy and legislation.

Each chapter has stories from the profession, job descriptions from the practice area, as well as advocacy and policy examples in each practice area. I am thankful for this book because there is little literature out there that focuses specifically on the needs of macro social workers. Macro social work practice is underrepresented in the social work profession, yet the origins and foundation of social work is rooted in macro-level processes (e.g. the settlement house movement, Progressive era, and New Deal policies such as Social Security, disability insurance, workers' compensation, and so forth). This timely book, based on the author's own experience as a social worker in political advocacy, is needed to encourage more social work students that they can have a career in macro social work practice. While the career path is more entrepreneurial than the typical requirements for a clinical social worker, the experiences gained can be rewarding and life-changing, particularly if you work on a policy that will benefit a population in need. Overall, I highly recommend this invaluable resource for anyone who is considering macro social work practice. I believe that everyone should follow their passion and use the available resources to turn those aspirations into a career, whether it's through direct work with individuals or advocating on behalf of groups in the policy arena. Social work is not simply clinical work; it a microcosm of the different ways in which we as a profession effect social change.

This book contains the following chapters:

1. Follow Your Passion, Not Just a Path
2. Poverty
3. Child Welfare
4. Health Care
5. Disability
6. Mental Health
7. Substance Abuse
8. Aging
9. Criminal Justice
10. Advice for Moving Forward (resume, interview, etc.)

Review: Careers in Human Services (2015)

Careers in Human Services (2015) by Michael Shally-Jensen, PhD is a comprehensive occupational guidebook that contains 25 chapters describing specific fields of interest in the human services. It provides the necessary insight into potential careers and instruction on what job seekers can expect in terms of training, advancement, earnings, job prospects, working conditions, relevant associations, and more. Each chapter comes with fun facts, famous firsts, photos, and charts and tables, including projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and median annual salaries or wages for those occupations profiled. A highlight of each chapter is the interviews with a professional working in a related job sharing their personal career paths, detail potential for career advancement, and advice for students. The guidebook is specifically designed for undergraduate students or those changing careers.

Social Work is one of the chapters in the guidebook. The first section provided a snapshot with career cluster, interests, earnings, and employment outlook. The overview focused on the sphere of work ("Social workers are social service professionals committed to improving the social and behavioral lives of individuals, families, and communities." Macro social workers are labeled as "administrative social workers" who engage in research, policy, and administration. Interestingly, the profile section includes the type of people drawn to the social worker profession and the Holland Interest Score, a career inventory that measures your personality under six occupational categories. This makes me want to take a Holland Interest Test! There is extensive coverage on the duties and responsibilities of social workers by practice area (child welfare, school, psychiatric, etc.) as well as relevant skills and abilities in the physical and human environment. The second section focused on education and training. It starts with high school/secondary preparation and continues with recommended college majors. There is detail on the professional licensure requirements and the importance of joining a professional social work association. All of this information is helpful and conducive for someone who is new to careers. The third section focused on earnings and advancement. The guidebook offers a hourly wage chart for social workers by metropolitan areas which is useful when one must consider regional economic differences. It concludes with an interview with a clinical social worker, selected schools that offer MSW programs, and websites of professional social work associations.

Overall, I found this guidebook to be wonderful for young readers who might be intimidated by career books and want a gradual introduction to human services. It doesn't only focus on social work but related fields like psychologist or the clergy. For someone who wants to help individuals and communities but have not decided on a precise occupation, this is the right book for you to explore and learn. I highly recommend it.

Social Work Month 2019 Theme: Elevate Social Work

The 2019 theme for Social Work Month is Elevate Social Work. From NASW website:

Every day, the nation's 680,000 social workers work to empower and elevate millions of people, including some of the most vulnerable in our society.

National Professional Social Work Month in March 2019 is an opportunity for social workers around the nation and world and their supporters to educate the public about the invaluable contributions of the profession.

And we will also use the month to begin a conversation on how to boost the pay of social workers, which continues to lag behind that of other helping professions.

March also has World Social Work Day. The 2019 theme is "Promoting the Importance of Human Relationships." From IFSW website:

The 2019 world social work day highlights ‘Promoting the Importance of Human Relationships’.

World Social Work Day is on the 19th March 2019. It is the key day in the year that social workers worldwide stand together to celebrate the achievements of the profession and take the theme message into their communities, workplaces and to their governments to raise awareness of the social work contributions and need for further action.

This year’s theme focuses on the social relationships between people’s essential relationships with each other, their environments and their futures.