If you are one of those rare and special individuals considering a career in social work, you can look forward to challenges and rewards rarely found in other careers.
Some social workers help people and communities face the unexpected and everyday challenges of life. Others aim to prevent difficulties by establishing leisure, recreation or social services, and building the infrastructure for people to gather or seek help when they need it.
Studies for professional recognition
If this is the career path you want to take, a Bachelor of Social Work is your first step. It will allow you to join the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), the body representing the social work profession in Australia. The requirements, if any, for membership of the social work profession vary between countries, so speak with your local authorities about the details.
Choosing between university courses can be tough. All courses will give you skills and practice in a range of social work settings, but in some you may focus on a particular group of disadvantaged people.
Career-focused training
Many programs in the vocational education and training (VET) sector have a special focus too. A VET certificate or diploma program may provide you with skills to work with young people, the disabled or aged, or have a focus on welfare, justice or even recreation.
VET institutions specialise in career-focused training—this may be perfect if your focus is on community work. And while university courses in this field are not very difficult to enter, if you begin in the VET sector, you can often transfer to university at a later stage with some credit.
If you are already advanced on your social work career path, Australian universities offer a range of professional coursework degrees which allow you to build your skills in policy, research and practice.
To make a career change from another profession, look out for graduate-entry bachelor degrees at selected universities.
Although interests can vary, you can be sure that your fellow students will be as enthusiastic about their course as you.
Use our Search function to find a list of Australian institutions offering qualifications in this field.
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