Would you be annoyed—“Fun” as response to MSW degree?

[Anonymous]

She didn’t know what else to say. It’s like when someone is telling a story and the other person responds with “that’s crazy!”

Conversation is a lost art. Don’t read too much into it, OP.

[Anonymous]

It's nice that your kid isn't graduating with loans, but people who do social work don't earn much. Why don't you adapt my attitude which is to always assume the best in people, and figure she thinks being a social worker would be fun. It's so much more pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She didn’t know what else to say. It’s like when someone is telling a story and the other person responds with “that’s crazy!”

Conversation is a lost art. Don’t read too much into it, OP.

This. Not everyone is good at small talk and spending two years locked up, in their own worlds, has made it that much harder on everyone.

Extend grace. Surely, that is what your daughter would advise you...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. You are reading A LOT into a single 3 letter word. As in, she said one word which IMO is pretty neutral and you have spent days replaying a 15 second conversation in your head dissecting tone, meaning, number of word spoken to each kid, etc. That is not normal. And it’s not how mentally stable people react.

You should respond by asking yourself why you feel so defensive and verklimptbabout your daughter’s career choice. And you should realize that the fact you haven’t let a *perceived* slight *by someone you just met* go after several days says a lot about you— none of it good.

This was an almost stranger making small talk. There is a 99% chance she could care less what your kid does with her life. She was in a social situation and neeed to say something. Why are you assuming the worst possible motives? And even if there was an intentional slight (which I seriously doubt), why do you care what some rando thinks?

But by all means, track down this person you barely know and demand an apology for a neutral word she probably doesn’t remember saying. If you want to seem crazy.

PS: I think getting an MSW does sound like FUN. Especially compared to a hardcore STEM degree. Abnormal Psych vs Multivariable Calc? I’d certainly take the abnormal psych.

Woah. Are you the person who said "fun?" If not, you're certainly making up a lot of detail that wasn't in OP's post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's nice that your kid isn't graduating with loans, but people who do social work don't earn much. Why don't you adapt my attitude which is to always assume the best in people, and figure she thinks being a social worker would be fun. It's so much more pleasant.

Not necessarily. A licensed clinical Social worker can make a decent living in private practice.

[Anonymous]

OP, I get it. I still occasionally think about the professor in grad. school who called my dissertation topic "cute." The topic is now one of the hottest policy issues in the country, so I'll let that be my just desserts.

[Anonymous]

So she was being sarcastic, right? Because social work is the opposite of fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Not exactly, but she finds it very rewarding.”

Make the other person feel their rudeness immediately, without making a big deal about it. Then, like the PP said, let it go.

This is really good advice. People are just weird, and while the friend probably didn't think too hard about their response..."fun" is a rude way to respond to a parent talking about their kids' education and career.

This reminds me of something someone said to me when I was finishing college. My parents are both physicians, and this was a physician friend of theirs. He asked me what I was doing next, and I told him. He responded, "Oh, you're not going to medical school? I guess you just don't want to work hard." I wish I had said something to let him know what a jerk he was being instead of just staring at him dumbfounded. I'm pretty sure, though, this is the same guy who was giving me a hard time that I hadn't had kids yet at my younger brother's wedding...meanwhile I was still in the process of bleeding out a miscarriage from the first pregnancy I'd had after 3 years of trying and then fertility treatments.

[Anonymous]

She probably didn’t know what an MSW was. This is not a big deal.

Also, why on earth would you need a top program for social work? There is huge demand for social workers and insufficient supply. Are there even top programs in social work? Also such a tough profession with a high burnout rate.

[Anonymous]

I have a MSW....not that I use it anymore, I left SW after about a decade and switched careers. I would have interpreted as sarcasm? A lot of people have a very grim (and limited) picture of what social workers do...not that it can't be grim. I wouldn't have taken offense.

[Anonymous]

OP…I’m a NICU nurse, and I hear this response a lot when I tell them what I do. They’ll comment how fun it must be working with babies. I’ve learned to let it go…most people just don’t understand what actually occurs in certain career paths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She probably didn’t know what an MSW was. This is not a big deal.

Also, why on earth would you need a top program for social work? There is huge demand for social workers and insufficient supply. Are there even top programs in social work? Also such a tough profession with a high burnout rate.

PP SW here. Yes, there are top programs. Like there are top programs in many subjects. Just because a profession is not lucrative or prestigious, does not mean there aren't standards. Also, it's not just about getting the degree, you want to be trained well for your profession. That's like telling someone in IT to just go to a diploma mill instead of a solid school. Furthermore, programs have different strengths. Some programs are more well known for community level social work, others clinical. In my program, there were different subspecialties (mental health, school, hospital based, etc) and some were stronger than others. Also, there is a research and academia component of social work. At the end, I actually found a good niche in SW but ended up getting interested in another career. But I found my years as a SW invaluable and still use those skills in a different capacity in my current career. Unfortunately-many social work settings are tough and the pay is awful in a lot of cases.

[Anonymous]

I might say fun because I find interesting work fun. I would think an MSW would lead to a very interesting career. Also, a family member has an MSW and has had an amazing career with lots of international travel. Maybe not typical, but that’s what would come to my mind and might make me say fun. I’m also an introvert and don’t always say the right thing at social events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. You are reading A LOT into a single 3 letter word. As in, she said one word which IMO is pretty neutral and you have spent days replaying a 15 second conversation in your head dissecting tone, meaning, number of word spoken to each kid, etc. That is not normal. And it’s not how mentally stable people react.

You should respond by asking yourself why you feel so defensive and verklimptbabout your daughter’s career choice. And you should realize that the fact you haven’t let a *perceived* slight *by someone you just met* go after several days says a lot about you— none of it good.

This was an almost stranger making small talk. There is a 99% chance she could care less what your kid does with her life. She was in a social situation and neeed to say something. Why are you assuming the worst possible motives? And even if there was an intentional slight (which I seriously doubt), why do you care what some rando thinks?

But by all means, track down this person you barely know and demand an apology for a neutral word she probably doesn’t remember saying. If you want to seem crazy.

PS: I think getting an MSW does sound like FUN. Especially compared to a hardcore STEM degree. Abnormal Psych vs Multivariable Calc? I’d certainly take the abnormal psych.

Woah. Are you the person who said "fun?" If not, you're certainly making up a lot of detail that wasn't in OP's post.

Next time, read the OP. Where she says it’s was someone she’d “just met” and it still bothered her “several days later” etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She probably didn’t know what an MSW was. This is not a big deal.

Also, why on earth would you need a top program for social work? There is huge demand for social workers and insufficient supply. Are there even top programs in social work? Also such a tough profession with a high burnout rate.

I find your post interesting....first you say that the person had no idea and then you proceed to insult the OP even worse.