If you are interested in helping and serving humankind, you can go for an exciting career in social work. The working area of a social worker is varied. They devote their energy and time to people of all ages, starting from children to the elderly ones. So, as a social worker, you can work in different areas such as NGO’S, Human Rights Agencies, Old age homes, hospitals, clinics, health industry, education sectors, etc. They work at local, state as well as federal levels. They work as public servants in government agencies, schools, hospitals, community centres, career centres and mental health centres.
Role of a Social Worker:
- They help in building trust relationships with the service users.
- They are responsible for managing and organizing support plans.
- They are involved in the mental and physical development of children and young people.
- They support people in improving their financial condition.
- They help people of all ages and work for their health improvement and well-being.
Eligibility to become a Social Worker:
For pursuing a career as a social worker, you need to fulfil the eligibility criteria:
- Candidates should have completed their class 12 in any discipline from any recognized board.
- For M.A (SW) programme, candidates should have completed their graduation from any recognized board with social sciences or sociology.
- Candidates have to qualify for entrance exams such as TISSNET, AMU entrance test, JMI entrance test, DUET etc., to take admission into the master’s programme.
Employment sectors for social workers:
- Education and research sector– Social workers can work as a teacher in the education and research sectors. They can make students aware of the value of social work in society.
- Medical and healthcare sector- social workers can work in hospitals and work with the patients. They ensure that proper care is provided to the patients and also take care of their health and hygiene for efficient work.
- Government sector- Social workers can get a job in government organizations as a development officer or a welfare officer such as HIV Test centres, women development projects, adolescent houses, state homes for women etc.
- Corporate Sector– Social workers can get employment in private as well as corporate sectors too. They work in HR Departments of various companies and MNC’s. They work on the social needs of the employees and hire other social work graduates.
- NGO’s – Social workers work with domestic and international NGO’s such as green peace, UNICEF etc. they can also work with the rural and urban populations where they contribute to relevant issues such as lack of sanitation, unemployment, poverty etc.
Job roles for a social worker:
The job roles for a social worker are different from that of other careers. Unlike other professionals, social workers engage themselves in social activities like unemployment, education, poverty, sanitation etc. let us discuss some of the well-known job roles offered to the social workers-
- Medical Social Worker: They provide psychological supports to the patients and helps them to deal with terminal illnesses and conditions.
- Welfare Officer: Welfare officers are fundraisers. They raise fund for universities, colleges, schools and private organizations. They also work for the welfare of children, women, youth etc.
- Rural Development Officer: These officers are responsible for promoting integrated rural development and social upliftment. They help to improve the standard of living of agricultural workers.
- Social Scientist: They are involved in creating a relationship between society and human behaviour.
- Probation Officer: They are responsible for arranging rehabilitation services. They also supervise the criminals and arrange job training.
The career of a social worker offers a sense of fulfilment as they are involved in helping others. Often, social workers get emotionally attached to some cases. One should try to keep it professional. As a social worker, you may not get a lucrative career as it takes a lot of experience to popularize in this field. But it is a field where you can get various choices.
By – Sanchayita Chattopadhyay
