Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
I'm thinking of applying for a doctoral program in a few months. I'm gonna have to retake the GRE, which will suck, but since they got rid of the Analytical (eeeek!) section won't be as bad as the first time.
Yes, it will be worth it. Just take it slow, one step at a time, eyes on the prize.
This is my next to last semester of my Bachelor's. Gonna start looking/applying to grad school in the near future. Torn between Music Therapy, Music Production, or something 100% unrelated to music. I do have a couple schools in mind for each though. Taking the GRE sometime soon.
Just don't go to law school. For the love of God, don't do it.
For what it's worth, there are presently TWO law school grads for every ONE legal job in the United States. I want anyone and everyone who is mulling over going to law school to think on that for a minute, and try to imagine what it will feel like with $150,000 (or more!) in student loan debt hanging over your head when you can't find a job.
The fact that you will never find a lawyer that will tell you law school is a good idea should tell people something (I'm one as well).
Post by Delicious Meatball Sub on Jan 8, 2013 9:52:08 GMT -5
As for the OP, how experienced are you in social work? It's a good job, but it's hard, and pretty depressing. A lot of my friends are MSWs and I know I'm not emotionally capable of doing their jobs. Be sure you're volunteering or shadowing or whatever you need to do to get feel for the work.
In my last semester of grad school, masters in accounting. It's been a really positive experience for me, but I'm definitely ready to be done. I suggest you bust your ass and take every opportunity to hunt for jobs you can. My program provided a wealth of job searching tools and I took full advantage of them. In fact I start my new job Thursday.
I just wrapped up my M.S. in geography; I left school post-comps to pursue a good job and my thesis has been holding me up. I would strongly recommend that you consider carefully how you finance this effort. If you have the financial means to pay for it, more power to you. If you don't, make sure you secure some funding or an assistantship of some kind; shizz can get expensive really fast.
Also make sure that you have some kind of end result in mind. I have two friends with M.S. degrees working in service industry jobs because they didn't take the time to network and aggressively pursue jobs while they were still in school. It only gets harder once you leave and accept stop-gap work.
I'm applying for an MSW program and it's FREAKING ME OUT, MAN! The worst part is that I've just begun! I think it'll all be worth it, though. ; )
Anyone else in the application process or in grad school currently? Other potential future social workers would be especially cool to hear from!
Be very careful and thoughtful about this, especially how you're going to pay for it. SW jobs are harder and harder to get as government budgets are being cut so PLEASE don't take student loans.
I'm applying for an MSW program and it's FREAKING ME OUT, MAN! The worst part is that I've just begun! I think it'll all be worth it, though. ; )
Anyone else in the application process or in grad school currently? Other potential future social workers would be especially cool to hear from!
Social work is a spiritually fulfilling, noble job. I was a licensed SW for a number of years. However, I left the profession to become a nurse, for a number of reasons. One being the pay. BSWs with an LSW started at 26,000 at the community mental health agency I worked for (this was 13 years ago). MSWs with only an LSW started at.....28,000. Ouch. Additionally, I felt like I maxed out my potential. Social work isn't an ever-evolving, intellectually stimulating, progressive field necessarily.
OK. Enough of the negatives. I have, at this point in my life, considered going back to school for my NP, PA, MD or......my MSW. However, I think that it is important to get your LISW, or other independent license. As you know, this allows you to be a counselor, and even have your own practice, if your state allows. Or you cando supervisory work because you can sign off on diagnostic assessments and other clinical paperwork for LSWs.
I love doing counseling. I get to do a lot now in the home. But it's not the kind I would like to be doing.
Good luck to you!!! Whatever you decide, life and how satisfied we are with it is all about perspective. It sounds like you are excited to start this new journey. That speaks volumes!! And kudos to you for continuing to improve yourself and grow!
We're all a mess of paradoxes. Believing in things we know can't be true. We walk around carrying feelings too complicated and contradictory to express. But when it all becomes too big, and words aren't enough to help get it all out, there's always music.
Just don't go to law school. For the love of God, don't do it.
For what it's worth, there are presently TWO law school grads for every ONE legal job in the United States. I want anyone and everyone who is mulling over going to law school to think on that for a minute, and try to imagine what it will feel like with $150,000 (or more!) in student loan debt hanging over your head when you can't find a job.
Question for someone in the field and with first hand knowledge.
I have a buddy who is about to finish his doctorate in chemistry. For some reason he wants to go into law school after he finishes. From what he's told me the plan is to work for a large business (je DOW or DuPont) on a legal team. I'm not entirely sure I agree with him getting another 100k+ in loan debt with already having a doctorate.
Is this a good idea and is that specialized enough to be fairly easy to find a job in?
where are you applying? are you fresh out of undergrad? what is your area of interest?
i got my MSW a couple of years ago and i'm very pleased with it, although i had to fight the school every step of the way to get what i wanted out of my education. i would love to council future social work student grad students on education/career planning. there are a million paths to take: i'd say half of the people in my class ended up as something other than a case manager or clinician (the 'standard' social work jobs). a lot of the students who went to grad school straight out of undergrad did not have a clear idea of what they wanted to do and are floundering as a result. however, those that started grad school 2+ years after undergrad are all excelling and doing well financially. my point is that, if you don't have an idea of what you want to do/what you care about, you are susceptible to a lot of the negative stereotypes about social work (low pay, deadend jobs).
also, there are some loan forgiveness programs available to social workers & other public service employees. income-based repayment and the 10-year forgiveness clause reduce the financial burden dramatically. plus, there are a lot of scholarships/fellowships available to MSW students.
Post by greenteatoast on Jan 11, 2013 0:08:02 GMT -5
Delicious Meatball Sub - I am not super experienced in Social Work, but I've been thinking about it since my first year of undergrad (I studied Women's and Gender Studies and Psych. Really good major for getting a job right out of school! Tell your friends). I volunteer for a crisis and suicide hotline and I've been doing that for almost a year. I'd enjoy it a ton more if I got paid to do it and didn't have to talk people through serious business life stuff after working all day and being kinda mentally fried, but I do enjoy it and love working with people in that capacity. I find it very spiritually fulfilling in addition to finding the work interesting.
I graduated in May 2011 and have been working since. I've been with a non-profit arts organization for the past 8-9 months now so I am getting a feel for the "other" side of Social Work doing administrative stuff. I know for certain that's not for me, though it's not the worst job.
I would like to go into Clinical Social Work and move towards eventually working primarily with the trans/gender non-conforming/LGBTQIA community, however long that will take.
I am concerned about money, but I'm more concerned with regretting not following a path I really want to go down.
mrtibbs - for right now I'm only applying to Rutgers (and it kills me to only apply to one school, but it's kind of a must for my current circumstances).
It's good to hear that about folks who started grad school 2 years after undergrad as that's where I'll be when I (hopefully) start in the fall. What kind of work do you now?
Whoa, that got really long. I don't think you all really wanted to know that much about me. : p
I'm in the middle of my MBA and I'm loving every minute of it. Graduate school is so much better than undergrad; they treat you like an adult and the classes are so much more interesting and involved. I leave my classes feeling important and educated. I actually anticipate a harder schedule this semester and am excited about it. Maybe I'm weird
I'm in the middle of a dual MBA/MS-Chemical Engineering program, and I have to say it was the best decision I've made. I wrapped up my BS in chemical engineering last year with a job secured, but decided to bet on a better and more enjoyable (for me) future position by pairing a business degree with my technical degree. From talking to companies, I certainly think I made the right decision. I agree with jakicker that classes are much more involved and you are treated very differently, at least from my experience to this point. I'm now considering a PhD in ChemE as well, so obviously I'm a big fan of school. If you enjoy learning and taking classes, I see no real reason to be in a hurry to graduate (provided finances aren't a MAJOR issue; most grad programs have at least partial funding available).
Post by mizvalentine on Jan 12, 2013 15:25:28 GMT -5
I'm thinking about going back for my MS in Human-Computer Interaction next year. Its a one year program, I can go for free thru work and I've already been in the field 10+ years but the notion of being in school still scares me to death. Anyone here ever go back in their mid-30s? Does your brain still allow for it?
Delicious Meatball Sub - I am not super experienced in Social Work, but I've been thinking about it since my first year of undergrad (I studied Women's and Gender Studies and Psych. Really good major for getting a job right out of school! Tell your friends). I volunteer for a crisis and suicide hotline and I've been doing that for almost a year. I'd enjoy it a ton more if I got paid to do it and didn't have to talk people through serious business life stuff after working all day and being kinda mentally fried, but I do enjoy it and love working with people in that capacity. I find it very spiritually fulfilling in addition to finding the work interesting.
I graduated in May 2011 and have been working since. I've been with a non-profit arts organization for the past 8-9 months now so I am getting a feel for the "other" side of Social Work doing administrative stuff. I know for certain that's not for me, though it's not the worst job.
I would like to go into Clinical Social Work and move towards eventually working primarily with the trans/gender non-conforming/LGBTQIA community, however long that will take.
I am concerned about money, but I'm more concerned with regretting not following a path I really want to go down.
mrtibbs - for right now I'm only applying to Rutgers (and it kills me to only apply to one school, but it's kind of a must for my current circumstances).
It's good to hear that about folks who started grad school 2 years after undergrad as that's where I'll be when I (hopefully) start in the fall. What kind of work do you now?
Whoa, that got really long. I don't think you all really wanted to know that much about me. : p
everyone wants to hear everything about everyone. we're all voyeurs here.
based on your work experience plus your ability to elucidate the population you'd like to work with (lgbtq) and capacity in which you'd like to work with them (clinical), i think you'll be fine. everyone i went to school with who knew their intended population and means of intervention is now doing work that is very meaningful for them. you'll do fine. my best to you!
plus, re: the financial stuff, there are a lot of loan forgiveness programs geared towards social workers, so don't sweat it too much.
Just don't go to law school. For the love of God, don't do it.
For what it's worth, there are presently TWO law school grads for every ONE legal job in the United States. I want anyone and everyone who is mulling over going to law school to think on that for a minute, and try to imagine what it will feel like with $150,000 (or more!) in student loan debt hanging over your head when you can't find a job.
Question for someone in the field and with first hand knowledge.
I have a buddy who is about to finish his doctorate in chemistry. For some reason he wants to go into law school after he finishes. From what he's told me the plan is to work for a large business (je DOW or DuPont) on a legal team. I'm not entirely sure I agree with him getting another 100k+ in loan debt with already having a doctorate.
Is this a good idea and is that specialized enough to be fairly easy to find a job in?
I'm not sure why he is interested in a Law Degree.... but people with hard science backgrounds are typically highly sought after for jobs in intellectual property law (patent law) and can make a ton of money.
My husband is finishing up law school now and was talking a few days ago about how people with hard science backgrounds are in high demand.