These days, it is always a great thing to find a career you love. All the more if the position allows you to help others during the course of your daily activities. If you have a soft spot for troubled and disadvantaged youth, you should consider becoming a social worker.
When you think about it, children are the most vulnerable types of people, especially if they have abusive or dysfunctional homes. Those living in these conditions are oftentimes helpless in their situations. Further, prolonged exposure to abusive or criminal behaviour from their primary caretakers puts them at risk to follow this pattern of negative lifestyle choices.
Disadvantaged Children Need Your Help
While you might think that children who live in poverty are the only ones in need, the truth is that there are those living in dangerous situations in every social class. If you want to use your skills, strengths and talents to help these youths, you should seriously consider all of the opportunities that social worker jobs present. This is a career that is both rewarding and in-demand. In the United Kingdom, you will find a number of open positions in this sector in Brighton, Ealing, Christchurch, Croydon, Derby, Ashford, Nottingham, Wembley, Buckinghamshire, Rutland, Ipswich, Sittingbourne, Cornwall, Tunbridge Wells, and many other places.
Depending on your education and experience, you can qualify for a number of positions including care assistants, social workers, project managers, support workers, domestic assistants, personal advisors, estate officers, social services workers, fostering link workers, tenant officers, and more. All of these positions give you the authority to offer assistance to children and families that are experiencing troubled times. Depending on your position, you may be called upon to offer counselling, referrals, fostering opportunities, emergency assistance, ongoing supervision, and other critical support services that defenceless youth need to thrive and prosper.
Help Stop the Cycle of Abuse
It may be shocking to learn that one in five children in the United Kingdom are a victim of severe maltreatment. Not surprisingly, those who are victims of poor treatment have been found to have a higher percentage of mental health problems when compared to their peers who did not suffer abuse or other forms of maltreatment.
It is worth noting that abuse and maltreatment come in many forms. The more common ones include mental abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. In some cases, there might even be multiple forms of abuse taking place at the same time. Obviously, abuse is very detrimental to a child’s a healthy development, especially if the abuse is taking place during his or her impressionable years. Those who are victimised by their own relatives or friends of the family are particularly vulnerable because the people who are supposed to be providing them care are actually putting them in danger. As an advocate for these young victims, you will be able to help them get care, counselling, and a safe environment to call home until the situation with their family improves or they are permanently placed in a foster or adoptive home.
Help People Living with Disabilities
If you feel compassion for people of all ages who have physical, mental, and learning disabilities, your job as a social worker will give you the chance to help them. In recent years, there has been a major shift to live in group homes in a semi-independent environment among adults with disabilities of varying levels. In many cases, these individuals require some assistance in their lives, including getting where they want to go, shopping for groceries, and learning various life skills such as cooking. They also need to be taught other pertinent know-how to live away from the constant supervision of legal parents or guardians. Group homes are truly a great experience for differently abled adults so they can have a bit of freedom despite their physical or mental limitations.
Select a Career That Puts You in a Position to Help
By choosing a career in social services, you are helping the world become a better place. No matter whether you follow a career path that focuses on helping abused or disadvantaged children or on working with people who live with disabilities, the work that you do on a daily basis is something that truly has an impact on humanity.
By empowering those who might not otherwise have a strong voice in society, you are making their lives much better than what it would be if you were not working as an advocate for them. Abused children and disabled adults are the most susceptible of people. When you devote your life and career to lifting them up instead of leaving them oppressed, you are helping them rise above challenging conditions. And when they are able to overcome these difficult circumstances, they can live a healthier and more productive lifestyle. By helping others, especially those who are unable to help themselves, you get everyone in the community to experience the benefits.
Find Job Openings in Your Area
There is no doubt that a career in social work can be both interesting and, in many cases, maddening. The one good thing that comes out of it is that people who need help the most are able to get the assistance they need to thrive and prosper.
If you have a degree that qualifies you to work as a social worker, chances are that you will have no trouble finding a good position in your preferred area that fits your interests, skills, education, and experience. The number of job openings for qualified social workers continues to grow as more disadvantaged youth and adults need assistance. Many of these positions offer a competitive starting salary, numerous benefits, vacation time and other perks so you will be able to start your career in social services earning a comfortable wage.