What do social work jobs look like in practice?

social work jobs come in numerous different shapes and forms, but they all involve generally the same thing. Social worker jobs entail working with those who are having difficulties in one form or another due to their exclusion from society, or position on the edges of it. That can mean a few things. Around a half of all social services jobs involve working with young people and families who are experiencing problems in different areas – often due to financial disadvantage, or reasons resulting from it.

The times most of us hear about social workers are when things have gone wrong and cases hit the news. These typically involve young children in abusive family settings – which is one field where social workers are certainly busy and may have to make extremely difficult calls about what is best for the welfare of the child. However, this ‘public face’ of social work is only one aspect of it. You may be working with young offenders – either within an institutional setting or outside of it – or with children who are often skipping school.

On the other hand, you might find yourself working with people with learning or physical disabilities – either young or adult – which mean that they cannot take part in life to the extent that the rest of us often take for granted. Those with drug and alcohol habits could be part of your caseload, and the other major group of people who you will spend time with are the elderly. Given the UK’s changing demographic and the fact that the ‘baby boom’ generation is just starting to retire, it’s reasonable to say that the elderly will probably form a greater part of social work in the future.

The duties entailed in social worker jobs are many and varied, but it’s important to remember that you won’t be working alone. By their nature social work jobs involve working with many different agencies, including health and legal services. Some of your time will be spent with clients, including families and children, aiming to establish their situation so that you can decide how best to help them. But social services jobs also involve plenty of meetings with other professionals and, of course, writing up reports and assessments – worth bearing in mind if office work and admin isn’t your forte.

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