I can't decide what graduate program

by Soledad 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  Soledad

  I recently decided that I want to get my Master's degree. But I can't decide between the 2 programs that I am most interested in:

  Social Work or Secondary Education?

  I'd love the opportunity to be a clinical Social Worker, particularly within a women's health and safety institution

  But I would also love to be a high school teacher! I have wanted to be a teacher since I was very young. Apparently NYC has an urgent need for HS teachers, so urgent that NYC is willing to foot most of my college bill through an Urban Fellowship program set to start June 2006.

  I graduated college in 1998. My resume does not at all reflect any kind of background in teaching or social services. I've worked mainly in clerical/sales positions since my graduation. I was thinking that maybe I should try volunteering first before jumping in to either one of these fields.

  Any advice?
• 

  Cady

  I've done social work for a few years now and emotionally it's very tough. The burnout rate is really high and I know I wouldn't last much more than a few years; hence, I decided to get my degree in Psych to do research instead. Still fits my overall goals in life, etc., but w/a dose of reality (or my version thereof). The other thing is social services are notoriously unstable, as the funding is directly tied to whichever party is in power. Education is too, to a point, but they can't just close schools down - education's a right (at least here), social services are not.
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  Joel Wideman

  I'm not sure what to tell you, but consider the reasons NYC is desperate for HS teachers.
• 

  Soledad

  but consider the reasons NYC is desperate for HS teachers.

  
  Badass kids, I know! But then again I myself am a product of those schools.

  the funding is directly tied to whichever party is in power

  yep. I had a college professor whose sole purpose in teaching a Social Work Theory class was to convince us *not* to go into the field!

  I will continue to think!
• 

  enderby

  i would say that if you don't know which graduate program you want to enroll in, you shouldn't go to graduate school yet. but, other important issues to consider are who you will be working in with in the college and do you admire their research? also, what are the statistics for job placement like in each program?
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  chrissy

  have you ever considered combining your two passions, or fields of interest, and becoming a counselor within the public school system?
  
  i know a girl that completed her masters in this area of study and is now working in the high school in which she graduated from! but she loves it. from what she tells me, the positions are hard to obtain, but worth the wait. just an idea. good luck in choosing.