Social work is more than a job, it’s a calling where your mission is to help others in your community to improve their wellbeing. You support people dealing with homelessness, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, and disability. If you need more convincing, here are four reasons why you should study social work.

The world needs you

There will always be people who need support, so the demand for social work graduates will always be there. There’s a huge variety of jobs within the sector, from child protection to working with the elderly to working in hospitals. A social work degree also provides you with very desirable transferable skills – you become an expert in communication, complex problem solving and empathy. No matter what route you go down, your degree will be highly valued by employers.

Make a difference

Social work is a career with meaning. You meet people from all walks of life who may be in their worst moments, and you can offer them help and guidance through it. This is no small thing. Having the ability to improve the world around you is life-changing, both for service users and for yourself.

Discover yourself

Studying social work teaches you a lot about yourself and how you deal with difficult situations. You face complex circumstances and challenges that can be extreme. As you deal with conflict and cope with difficult emotions, you learn what your strengths and weakness are. Social work shows you new things about yourself, revealing who you really are.

Meet your people

Come together with others who also want to do good and stand up for people’s rights. This isn’t something that every course can offer. Your course mates come from diverse backgrounds, and each has their own story about why they want to create change. Not only do you share a course with people who understand your drive, you also get to learn and be inspired by the people around you.

By Steph Gardner