I know only I can make this choice. I don't know if I am asking a question here or if I just need to spell it all out to help me find some clarity. Here is the situation. I have a Bachelors degree in Psychology. I worked as a domestic violence counselor for a couple of years before i had my first child and decided to stay at home. I have been home with them for 10 years now and just this year started thinking about returning to work. My state is desperate for case workers and I could probably get a job in my field relatively easily. The university here also has a good Masters of social work program I could use to get my license or to teach. This seems to be what makes sense, I could bring in a decent wage, maybe set aside money for my kids education. But the idea of going back to dealing with the darkest parts of humanity makes my soul heavy, the thought of dealing with it every day makes me sad.
My state has no Vet Tech programs. They have one for Veterinary assistant that is a occupational certificate. Right now if I got this and worked for 2 years I could test for my state license as a tech, but if the school here adds a vet tech program as they hope to possibly do in 2015 then I would have to go back to school once again, repeating some of the classes I took in the VA program, in order to test for my license. Either way I will make only a fraction of what I could as a social worker.
I can't decide what I should do. I prefer animals to people and the thought of spending all day around them make me happy, but it just seems to make more sense to stay in social work. It feels like I am wasting the education I already have and the level I could reach following some dream that may not even actualize. Am I crazy? Should I feel guilty for even thinking about doing this at the expense to my family and kids? I want to say happiness is more important then money, but in todays world is it really? I also feel like I should want to go back to social work because of the people I could help, and that also makes me feel guilty. I just don't know what to do.
You need to go volunteer in a vet office and see what and how a vet tech really does. Then you can decide on what you know rather than what you think you may like better.
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You need to go volunteer in a vet office and see what and how a vet tech really does. Then you can decide on what you know rather than what you think you may like better.
I am a veterinarian. A vet assistant program is a complete waste of your time. It is basically a money maker for the school. Median pay in 2010 for veterinary assistants was $22,000/year. A real veterinary technician program is something to consider but it sounds like you would need to relocate to do this. The field is very limited as far as income goes unless you are interested in going into industry or potentially working at a university. This is a career that most people can barely support themselves on, certainly not a family. If you were seriously interested in the veterinary field, would you consider veterinary school? Of course this is a much greater commitment and you would need to relocate.
Are there other jobs you could do with a Masters in social work? You mentioned teaching, perhaps there are others.
I think the big question here is are you looking for a job to bring in some income and be something to do each day or are you looking for a career? Once you resolve this question, the rest may fall into place for you.
Your choice is this...waste the four years of education you already have - or waste the next -x number of years- of your life pursuing a career you don't want. I think that's an easy choice.
(And you haven't wasted your education...you used it. It's okay to say, "I'm done with that now...moving on!")
Oh...I've also wasted large chunks of my education and am totally at peace with it. Go ahead, do it...go for what you want...you WON'T regret it. But I think you know that you will regret sticking with something that puts a dark cloud over your life!
I would suggest that before you make your decision, you take some time to shadow a vet tech locally. Liking animals doesn't necessarily mean that you'll like being a vet tech. I'm not at all against adults going back to school - but I think you should do so with a clear understanding of what it means to do that particular job, and not just the idea of what you THINK that job would entail.
If you shadow for a few months and love it then you know what you need to do.
It also makes a difference if you need the money to meet your monthly bills, or if your job will really be about providing extras to your family. Will your family be hungry/unable to pay the mortgage/etc with the vet tech job? Or will you just have to take lower-key vacations? Big big difference. Money doesn't guarantee happiness, but I think it would be hard to be really happy if your family doesn't have enough food.
Finally, if you go in the direction of social work...a friend of mine has her masters in social work, and she works for an insurance company as an approver for services (making sure the right services are being provided for the diagnosis). There may be other non-traditional social work related jobs you can do.
Last year I should have made a change and I didn't. This year I have had a really rough year but it has taught me quite a few things about myself, others, and my profession. I decided that it is time to make a change and have started working on going in a new direction.
You have to do what will make you happy. If you do not like your work it will rub off into your personal life. I know this from personal experience, as many others do too. I have decided that by August I will have a new job or I will be staying at home. I can figure out the finances but I would never forgive myself if I kept up with the day in and day out demands of my current job while trying to raise my children in a happy and healthy home.
You know what is best and you are right, only you can answer this question. Good luck and blessings to you for the clarity you need.
J.- I, too, struggled with a career change. I left teaching kids years ago, burnt out on people and went into the sportswear field. There I traveled internationally for some time, seeing the world, working on products that made it to market. It was exciting. I also worked with some big egos and eventually found working on "paper and things" felt empty to me. I later married and stayed home for a time with my daughter. After leaving an abusive marriage, I was needing to get back into the working world and scared as all get out about it. I went back into special education and have to say I love it. But it has been a journey. When I was asked to work in a self-contained class with behaviorally disordered kiddos, I turned it down. It isn't because I can't work with them because I do, but not an entire caseload. It isn't the right time in my life right now to do so. I am a single mom and would be dealing with emotionally draining kids all day and then would need to be available for my daughter at home after school. I could do that very job in a few years, but not now. So what I guess I am saying is that maybe you need to feel out what these jobs could really look like. Maybe your social work days are truly behind you, but maybe not. Maybe it is just your current life situation and you are feeling burnt out just meeting the needs of your family and wanting to deal with creatures who are less demanding. I get that totally. Is there a way you could talk to some professors in the programs you are considering or even job shadow? I wish you so much luck. Sometimes the scariest moments suddenly produce the clarity you seek. Kudos to you for reaching out. I have a good feeling you will find the right fit.
I think that you should wake up every morning and start smiling because you get to go to work that day. I have had a few jobs like that and life was so much better all round.
On the other hand. You do know the field and what it takes to do it every day. But you also know what a difference you can make to someone with just a little effort.
My goal was to get my masters if I decided to go towards politics. I wanted to be a lobbyist for people with developmental disabilities. I wanted to help make laws to help those with disabilities so they can have more rights and they'd be able to live more independently and with less interference from teams and parents and just a lot of people in their business.
If I didn't do that then I wanted to have my masters in, it was called this back in the 80's...., mental retardation. I would have gone to work in the developmental disabilities division of our states DHS and work with those that had been mistreated by institutions and places that were out of business at that time. It was called the Hissom Project and the people who had lived there won a major amount of money in restitution. So the state formed case managers to make sure those person's were being treated correctly and that the money they had won was actually being used for their benefit and not for unscrupulous reasons. One of the clients in the home I worked really wanted to go for rides every evening. He was one of the Hissom clients. The house manager sat down and did the paperwork for him to purchase a vehicle for himself. Of course he would never drive it so it could be said that he didn't need a car, he was retarded and should not have such an extravagant possession.
This is why these case managers were hired. They managed the clients of that court case and made sure they got what they needed.
So this was one of those jobs that would have been right up my alley. I'd have loved to work there and do that work. I worked alongside all these case managers for several years and had great respect for them.
So consider thinking outside the box. Having an MSW does not mean you have to work in one certain field, there are so many that could hire that degree holder. Just because you didn't love your past jobs doesn't mean the next one won't be just what you want.
Please go visit with your grad counselor about what degree and classes to take. They can guide you through the many different options you might have.
Happiness is *always* more important than money. All the money in the world won't help you enjoy a job you don't really want anymore. Let's face it, if you really wanted to stay in social work you wouldn't be conflicted. Don't feel guilty for making a change. Life is about change. Allow yourself to evolve as a person.
I agree with people saying you should really check out what a vet tech does first. A very close friend was a vet tech for years. She ended up going back to nursing school and not bc she likes people more than animals. :) I'd also think there would be a different way to use your social work degree that wouldn't be so draining.
