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[quote=Anonymous]I used to be a field instructor for MSW students.  I would be cautious about assuming that you will be able to find practicums with evening and weekend hours, even if the agency operates outside of traditional business hours.  You cannot be there without your supervisor, and the majority of supervisors work traditional hours.  For example, a hospital is open 24/7 of course, but the supervisors/field instructors are typically there Mon-Fri 8:30 -5, with occasional on-call responsibilities.

Your practicum is really important, especially as you are coming in to the field without any experience.  This will help you decide what area of social work you want to focus on, and could lead to job contacts.  I know you mentioned wanting to have a private practice, but as others have mentioned, there is a long road between starting an MSW program, and having the required licensure and experience to start building a viable private practice. As difficult as it may be to quit work, you will do yourself a disservice and potentially get far less out of the experience if you limit yourself to only practicums that occur during off hours.

For most MSW programs, you are either full time for two years, with few people maintaining some kind of part time work; or you are part-time for two years, then full time for one year.  There is just no way around the need to complete the last year full time, and at most you may be able to do a little part time work during that last year.  This is largely due to the practicum requirements, which are essential to the degree.

Agree with others that you also want to allow for adequate time for readings, papers, etc., given that this is a brand new field for you.

Good luck![/quote]

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