Career advising DD age 25
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Anonymous
| My dd landed her dream job as a school social worker in the district in which she did her required internship last school year. She loooooved it there, didn't want to work anywhere else. When the district hires new people, they don't hire them for a specific school- rather they get hired by the district and then the incoming workers get to select among a list of schools based on their ranking after interviewing. She got placed in a really really tough school with horrid admin, few licensed teachers, all sorts of problems. It is seriously taking its toll on her. She is home for THXgiving and is clearly depressed. How can I help? She doesn't want to quit because she wants to stay in this district and feels she would be blacklisted if she quit midyear (probably true). At the end of the school year she can get a new placement which she will definitely do but June is a long ways away. I feel bad, I hate seeing dd like this. |
Anonymous
| June is not that far away. Help her stick through it. My kid with a union job gets a pick a year and outcome depends on seniority. Sounds like your daughter has a similar deal. She’ll eventually have seniority, as will my son. In the meantime, we support them. |
Anonymous
If you can afford to, maybe buy her some self-care: a Pilates membership, help with therapy bills or a career coach, monthly massages. We can’t shelter our kids from all pain and it is often these experiences that stimulate life changes. |
Anonymous
| You do nothing to help her besides listen. It's not your place to fix this. |
Anonymous
|
Would she consider working abroad at a DoD or international school? If she can push through and finish out the year, many institutions abroad will hire young people with at least one year's worth of exp. They like to hire young people in hopes of establishing longevity becuase the young applicants are more likely to be open to living abroad.
Working in a challenging setting would only make her application more appealing. Many international schools are now looking for licensed SW to support students' mental health. |
Anonymous
|
Social worker here. The first year out of social work school can be especially hard. You aren't paid very much and are still in training mode a bit because you don't have your full clinical licensure until at least two years of supervised work. Your options are limited, you get tough cases and as in your daughter's case, rough placements. I feel for her. If she is depressed to the point of having suicidal ideation, the discussion is different and I would encourage her to connect with a therapist right away. If she is depressed in the sense that you just feel like she's down and tired, then I would support her in continuing unless she tells you she wants to quit. I like the idea of offering some support for self care. You can also ask her what would help. I know it's hard to see your kids having a hard time, but as long as she is safe, she will likely learn SO many important skills during this placement that she will take with her the rest of her career. Crisis intervention. How to work with difficult admin. etc.
It should hopefully get better. There are so many options within a social work career, the beginning parts are hard but also important because you are often working with some of the most vulnerable populations. |
Anonymous
| June is not a long ways away. Not for an adult. Not for an adult facing aunt problems. |