When you have been a stay-at-home parent for a while, you can begin to lose your sense of self and also your sense of identity.
Not knowing what you are capable of, and not being prepared to push yourself forward can have a negative impact on you and on your family dynamic too.
Improving your prospects, and getting back into the world of work can be exciting (even if a little bit scary).
However, embracing change positively will help you to overcome any negative feelings you may be experiencing.
So, planning your career in social work that you want, what planning should you start undertaking?
Table of Contents
Establish What is Motivating You and Planning Your Career in Social Work
To begin with, you have to good, hard look at yourself and ask yourself – what is motivating me and this career move? You cannot look at building a new career if you do not know what is driving and pushing you.
For example, do you want to provide more for your children and for your family? Would you like to start a new challenging career to show what you are truly capable of?
Or, would you like to start making an impact and change in the lives of others – perhaps those in your local community? What is making you want this career move the most?
When you have this motivation established and nailed down, you will find that you can grow and push through even the toughest of periods.
Start Getting Organized
As you know, getting organized when you are a parent can be difficult – to say the least. There is always something that needs doing or somebody that needs looking after.
However, to get the career in social work that you want, you must start getting organized. Start looking at childcare arrangements so you can study, and even start looking at what programs you would like to study.
When you are organized, you can tackle any challenge that comes your way. You can also start focusing on creating a career-focused mindset instead of your child-focused mindset, which you adopted as a stay-at-home parent.
When it comes to getting organized, you need to start the process slowly and at a pace that is comfortable for you. Do not try to change too much at once, as this may be overwhelming for you, your children, and your family dynamic.
Planning and Preparation are Key
Planning out your career and planning your first (and next moves) is just as important as anything else that you do. When you focus on planning, you can establish what you must do and by when.
Planning out your career moves will give you direction, and it will also help to give you that all-important focus too. So, what planning should you start doing now?
To begin with, you may want to plan out when and how you will study. You cannot simply walk into a social worker role.
Your education is crucial, and planning what you will study and when and why will help all of the pieces in your puzzle fit together.
Investing Your Time and Energy into Understanding Social Work
How well do you know what social work is about and what it offers to those involved? When you can understand the ins and outs of social work, you can start to see where you will fit in the big picture.
You can also start to see just what impact and effect you can look at having. If you do not focus on understanding social work, then how will you know where your true value lies?
How will you know what you can (and need to do) to make a difference? Looking at social work case studies and even shadowing local professionals is the best way to get an insight into what the work and role are all about.
Opening your eyes early on in the process of planning your career in social work is important.
Decide What Area You Want to Focus On
As social care and social work are so diverse, you may find it beneficial to establish what area you would like to focus your energy and efforts on. For example, would you like to work with supporting children, or would you prefer to work with adults who may be suffering from an addiction or change in their life?
What is important and valuable to you, and how can this translate into your career choice?
Laying Out a Career Plan
No matter what stage you are at with your vision to become a social worker, you must focus on creating a career plan. A career plan will guide you through the tougher times, and it will help you to maintain focus.
If you do not have a career plan to focus on or even refer to, then you may find that your efforts can often be misdirected or even completely off-target. You do not want to pursue the wrong avenues or waste time when you are building a successful career in social work, so take advantage of career planning as soon as you are able to.
Why Social Work Provides the Right Opportunities for You
You can change the way that people receive personal care, and you can change how proactive social workers are – even if you are just starting off in your career. When you know more about what social work is about, you can then begin to see the potential for change, growth, and development, and not just within your line of work.
The ability to have an impact on the lives of others while working flexibly around your own family is important. In social work and social care, there are usually no set 9-5 working hours, and this is something that may be advantageous for you and for your family too.
With flexible working patterns, you can often find that you can work around your existing commitments and around your family too.
Focus on Studying
Advancing your education is important when you are making a career move. You want to be sure that your education is at the top of your list of priorities.
If your education is not right up there, then you may find you cannot start in the position that you want to (and is this really what you want). A strong and solid education will allow you to launch your career the right way, and it will then open up opportunities for progression and self-development.
Making Education Fit into Your Life
Now you know the importance of education, it is important that you focus on fitting studying firmly into your life (and your lifestyle).
Studying online will give you flexibility, and it will allow you to fit your essential studies into your family life. When you are looking at online MSW programs accredited you need to look at the providers as well.
A high-quality provider will immerse you in what social work is about (even when you are studying on your own from home). If you do not choose the right program, and the right provider, you may struggle to push forward with your studies, and this may then set back your career goals and ambitions.
Balancing Studying with Your Home Life
Of course, getting a sustainable, and manageable balance between studying and home life may not always be the easiest of things to achieve. However, it will certainly be easier to achieve when you study online.
Being able to get rid of a daily (or weekly commute) to a physical campus will save you both time and stress. To get the balance right for you and your family, you have to be aware of everyone’s needs, wants and requirements.
Ensure that you are nurturing your family as well as your career (and then this way everyone will remain happy and content).
Starting to Build Professional Networks
When you are leaving the home setting, it can be challenging to meet people, and make the right connections for your new career. However, professional networks are important, especially for a successful career in social work.
You can join existing online and offline networks, or you could take the opportunity to build your own. To get the most out of networking, you must set realistic goals.
For example, do you want to find potential job prospects, or would you like to build connections with other social workers – whose insight may help you grow?
Getting a Role that is Both Rewarding and Fulfilling
A social worker’s role is rewarding and fulfilling, however, there will be days and times when not everything goes the way you want it to (or the way you thought it would). A rewarding and fulfilling role where you make change happen, can also be emotionally (and mentally) draining for you, and this is something that you must anticipate, and of course, be prepared for.
Learning to celebrate the little wins, while also protecting yourself from the negative aspects of the role is key to a successful career.
