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Is Social Work. I swear, my professors arm you with answers to stupid questions and negative remarks people throw at you.

People always say, "why? you're going to take away someone's kids?"

"Oh! You can get me food stamps!"

And last night I told someone I wanted to go into coordinating adoptions. He said, "oh, you want to watch the kids until they get sent to homes?"

"No, I want to actually organize the adoptions, do the visits, match teh families, sign the papers..."

"Oh, well someone has to sing the papers."

mad

There's so much more to Social Work than that. I couldn't even list all the different types of areas Social Work gets into. That's one reason I chose this major. I get tired of one field? Onward to the next!

It is quite annoying but you can't really blame these people. They just know what they have heard or seen in movies, which is usually negative.

Misconceptions you have about social work that I could clear up?
People dissing your chosen profession.
People having misconceptions about your profession that you have encountered.

Well, my entire line of studies right now in CEGEP is kinda frown upon by people in other programs.
They call it "Unemployement Science, Profile: Welfare."
I really hate that, because a lot of people who don't know what to do go there, that every single student in that program is stygmatized with being a slacker jerk.

You do not know true murderous rage until somebody confuses being a mechanical engineer with being a ******** auto mechanic. Same goes for EEs and electricians.

got that right Se Ga Takai. the menu is at max 5 ft away, glowing yellow with black writing that i can read without my glasses. and yet i still hear 2 times(at least) daily "how much is a slice of pizza?". some of them are really intelligent(sarcasm) we have boar's head cold cuts that we sell(boar's head is the brand, just like bumble bee tuna) and we get ppl come in wanting to purchase a boar's head.

anyways, yea the look of superiority they give cause you work in the restaurant business is enough to make you want to deck em. but i do find that after they order(usually only one person getting something thats ordered a hundred times) that telling them the exact amount after tax before you ring it up and then watching them doubt their oh so precious superiority that they couldn't figure it out to be rather pleasing(yea, i'm a lil sadistic and a pain in the arse.)

ppl diss the culinary profession a lot, usually out of ignorence, if you actually take the chef and management courses then you end up knowing more on nutrition and sanitation and how to make an awesome meal then most of them ever will... and when their profession dies from technology moving ahead yours will still be booming. good chefs are always in demand.

I was considering to be an astronomer too, for a very short period of time. I -luv- to stargaze and look into the night sky using my telescope, but I decided that it was only a hobby.

If I could, I would go back to working as an artist, especially with the boom in graphic design, animation, and whatnot. But, I fear that it's too late for me to get into that game, especially with all the new and aspiring artist coming out from the shadows. I'm still a bit rusty when it comes to my pencil and paper, but I have been practicing. I've also started using a tablet and Photoshop to make my art on my computer.

I want to apply my artisit skills to my career. That's why I'm comtemplating in persuing a career in culinary arts or teaching. In culinary arts, you not only have to make the food taste good, but make it look good too. Competitions, especially in chocolate, sugar, and pastries fascinate me because the presentation of sculpture is a very important aspect when it comes to the judging. It's like creating a scuplture with clay, but with chocolate or sugar instead.

In teaching, I can definately apply my skills when it comes to making posters or decorating the classroom. The only problem I have right now is which career to choose. I would like to do both, but my loved ones keep telling me that I will not be taken serious because I am a "Jack of all trades."

OMIGOSH. Lots to respond to! <3 And forgive me, I didn't go to bed last night, so I'm a little wired. Please overlook any run-on sentences. >>;

Teaching - .. haha. Ha. ha. stare Right. My mom was a teacher for 13 years, and finally quit her job after almost having a nervous breakdown and now regrets ever going into teaching in the first place. No, they don't make enough money, and that's only the beginning. What about the bitchy parents that think their children are GODS and are therefore superior to other children? Or the little shits whose parents let them get away with everything and are a pain in the classroom?

The salary is a common argument, yes. It's true. Mom had a Master's degree and you know what she was paid $36k/year. No benefits, thank you. Not a damn thing other than a bottle of Tylenol and bandaids for the blisters caused by that damn red pen she used for grading papers all night, every night.

Summer off? Uh huh. Most teachers don't get paid enough to be able to support themselves over the summer, so they need to take up a full-time job in the summer to make everything work out. My mom even had to do a part-time DURING the school year on weekends to make ends meet.

mm.. what else. Oh! What about their families? My mom never spent any time with me as a kid, once she started teaching. All her attention was shifted from me, to other people's kids. I didn't get to play games with my mom or even really talk to her.. all her time was spent making lesson plans and grading papers and mulling over what some stupid parent had yelled at her about that day.

Not a day goes by that she doesn't regret going into teaching. Not one. By the time she realized what it was really about, it was too late. :/


Regarding the auto-mechanics thing - Yeah, a lot of people do look down upon the guys (and girls! *has female auto-loving friends*) who work under the hood of their SUV. It sucks. I dunno, personally, I'd rather have a mechanic than a stuffy businessman. :3 Yay grease~ <3 ( and oil-spattered shirts and big trucks and cowboy hats - .. *shuts up* >>; )

To vast_cerulean: Good for you! It's all about picking a career that makes you happy. You are living for yourself, so you should decide if you want work in art or in science, or in anything. It's your decision and no one else's. I just found this out the hard way.

To Orpheros: I know the pros and cons of teaching. For many years, I was a teacher's aid to many classrooms, I have tutored countless students, and I have worked as an after-school teacher for students who lack the skills they should already possess.

I'll be honest, kids are capable of being evil and sneaky. Hell, one of my students accused me of being a racist just because I didn't give her a ticket to a pizza/ice cream party I was throwing for my class. Despite the long list of her misbehaviors that I -had- to explain to her because she couldn't "remember" what she did, she continued to call me a racist. But, I held my ground and didn't give in to her. She stopped showing up to my classes. I didn't get any heat though, because I talked with my boss and the principal about the situation. They know who I am and were very understanding and supportive during the whole situation.

Parents, can be absolutely -worse- than their children. I've dealt with crazy parents and it's not only crappy, but so stressful. It's hard not to punch them out to knock sense into them, but you must resist and hope that they come to their senses and understand. But, no matter what career you go into, you're going to deal with crappy people who think that they are mightier than everyone else. Customers, co-workers, bosses, etc. etc. etc. There will always be people who give you the most difficult time. But, we all need to learn how to deal with that, how to put our foot down and not let anyone step all over us.

Salary, it's not the greatest. No benefits, that sucks. Sure, money problems can hit me later on in life, but salary isn't really important to me. When I think about what I want to do with my life, I'm more worried about what will make me happy and what I will be good at, than money. Acutally, I hardly think about money. I know that the way I feel about money is going to change later on, but if teaching continues to make me happy, despite the poor pay, well, I'm going to continue teaching.

Teachers get summers off, but they don't get paid enough to be supported during those months, I know. But, as I said before, I want to also become a pastry chef. I'm hoping that with my skills, I can open up my own bakery/bookstore than I can run during the summer. While I'm teaching, I'll still be running it, but behind-the-scenes, of course. If I can't open my own business due to a lack of funds, well, my uncle owns his own restaurants, so I'm always guarenteed a job there. If things don't go the way I planned, there's always some sort of solution.

If I do have a family, I'm just going to have to learn how to balance my schedule. If I can, I would quit working just to take care of my family, but, it depends if we can live comfortably with one income. Sacrifices will be made, but I'm determined to spend as much time as I can with my family, if I have to continue working.

I realize that the cons completely outweigh the pros. A great amount of time, patience, dedication, stress, thought, drive, etc. goes into being a teacher. But, I'm willing to give it all to help children learn, to give children the motivation they need to strive for a better tomorrow. There are so many kids out there who
-need- someone for support, someone to just listen to them, someone to teach them. I want to be that someone.

Teaching is not right for many people, but I know it's right for me.

It's good that you have thought about everything. smile

Social Work is also a pretty demanding and underpaid job. It's not quite as demanding as teaching though. You have to take some of that work home where I can leave most of mine at the office.

It truly is a labor of love. I consider teaching to be one of the most respectable professions.