"The path with a heart" dilemma

[legilimens]

I am currently a college student. Not long ago, I realized that my life purpose was to help others in need, so now I want to change my major from sociology to social work, as this will best help me live in alignment with my purpose. As a sociology major, I can't get a job that directly involves helping others. This can only be done with a degree in social work.

The problem is that I will have to remain in college an extra year if I do change my major and I don't have enough funds for an extra year.

If I decide to remain a sociology major, I will graduate but will have an unfulfilling career. Moreover, entry-level jobs have low wages and long hours.

If I change my major, I won't graduate and the tens of thousands of dollars my mom spent for my college education will have gone to waste. But it is the path with a heart. I suppose I could save up for twenty years by flipping burgers in a fast-food restaurant and then continue my education, but that's a grim thought and I don't want to go there.

This issue has consumed my thoughts for weeks and I was just wondering if anyone could offer their two cents. Thanks for reading.

[ScorpioMinistry]

Of course remember Jesus. Sociology I thought emblumed a large field. As a sociologist, could you not create a position that can lobby for social change?

[legilimens]

Thanks for your reply. However, lobbying for social change is not something I'm particularly in to. It is definitely something worthwhile, but not something I'm passionate about doing.

My ideal career would make use of values such as love and compassion that come naturally to me and that I constantly feel very strongly. It has to involve direct contact with others in need.

[ScorpioMinistry]

Legil,

I think you would get something out of reading "A Course In Miracles", it's free to print online.

You don't have to get paid to bring about change in the world, in fact everything you teach the world just by being you is what your aiming for. Your quandary shouldn't give you anxiety, if it's a feeling of "not following fate" that's bothering you. I say complete sociology, you can be asset in that field just by your idiology alone.

[davidchung]

A path is nothing more than paved dirt.

The path itself has no purpose, until someone is there to travel it.

The path itself has no meaning, until someone is there to utilize it and give it meaning.

The path does not give the traveler a destination. The traveler has his destination in mind, and in using the path to reach his destination, he then gives the path a purpose.

And if the determined traveler finds there is no path that reaches his destination, he simply makes one.

The path itself has no compassion. It has no love. It has no understanding. It is simply a path.

The path cannot put the heart in you. You are the one who must put your heart into the path.

[Holistic Star]

Just a quick question because I don't have experience of the education system you are part of so don't know how swopping courses works.

Have you had practical experience of what it is like to be a social worker?
I've got friends who have worked as social workers and it is a tough, demanding and often thankless job.

I'm not trying to put you off what is a very worthy career. But before you make any changes, make sure you know exactly what you are getting into. I say this as someone who spent 4 years training as a teacher, before finding out that it wasn't the right career for me. That while there was bits I loved about the career and I had quite a romantic view of, there were huge amounts that made it wrong for me.

Now you may have already done this due diligence - and if so I apologise, I just didn't pick that up from your post.

Before you make any changes, think about what 'directly helping others' means. Yes social work is a path, but there are a lot of other paths that would fulfil this need for you. If it is going to cost you so much in time, money and resources to change, just be really sure that you're not jumping into something that you don't have a really clear picture of what the job involves.

[rei]

Holistic Star is right. i'm finishing up school to be a social worker. you should not expect really high pay, and maybe should not even be expected to be compensated based on the quality or volume of positive work you do - most social workers i know of are involved in a ton of projects, are not really congratulated for all they do, and they have trouble saying no when others ask them to put something else on the overflowing plate. because they have such big hearts ^_^

also, many social workers are paid through grants and that is not the same as getting a salary - it means there is always a chance you don't have that job anymore if the grant isn't recertified with more funding. so, situations like that are best suited to individuals who are comfortable with that uncertainty, and who are involved in enough other projects that they know they can pay the bills if the grant isn't approved again.

it is demanding work, but as these things go, it's quite rewarding as well.

right now i am dealing more with the demanding side of things... last week i called about one hundred landlords to find out if they had any one-bedroom units available with reasonable rent. i got quite frustrated with hearing there was nothing available, and half the people i talked to had negative attitudes that made it that much harder to continue trying to meet a need when the resources aren't there.

BUT. it's also really rewarding to see individuals overcome the odds, to know you have a hand in it, to see them empowered to make a positive change. at the moment the demanding stuff is stronger in my mind, but i'm still glad i felt called to go into this profession. i feel like it's what i am "meant" or "born to do." and even though my professional time has been more demanding, i decompress by helping others in a rewarding way in my personal time (i also assert myself if i don't feel like i have the resources to do something, i am capable of saying no and not feeling guilty - i rarely refuse to help, but if i need to practice self-care or recharge i don't hesitate to honor that need) - this helps me cope and keep a sense of balance and optimism... in an area like housing, it's important to be proactive in maintaining that optimism. because there are perpetually not enough resources to meet the need, which would be really crushing for me if i didn't consciously find ways to renew myself.

there are other jobs and situations that will allow you to help others. you could start a blog that is empowering and inspiring, you could continue with sociology and pick a job with reasonable hours so you can volunteer in your spare time. you could also look into other helping professions, but it would all require some schooling if you want to be licensed.

you say you don't have enough funds, but you should be able to get student loans to cover the basic expenses - so you would technically be able to afford it i think. there are even programs where they provide loan forgiveness if you do social work in certain areas or with certain populations. but i would imagine those particular jobs are even more demanding, frankly.

oh, also, it sounds like you are an undergraduate, is that right? if so, you should probably know the level of help you will be able to provide *might* be fairly limited at the Bachelor's level. the Master of Social Work is the terminal degree, so most of the direct service stuff is more likely to fall to an MSW. not always true, depends on demand and how many MSWs apply for a job. but usually, those who are helping clients directly, one-on-one or in groups, have an MSW. the BSW individuals tend to offer more supportive assistance, meaning they do the work that supports the MSW so the MSW can devote more time to direct service. i would imagine Child Services may have more direct work for BSWs, but in my experience that is often a toxic work environment.

i bring up this side of things so you will realize that, generally speaking, most of the direct professional helping is done by those who go to grad school for social work (that's what i'm doing). if you are at the undergrad level, you may want to explore the options and what you can reasonably expect to be doing as a BSW. and, you could also finish up the sociology degree and attend an MSW program anyway. my undergrad degree is in English, and i went for an MFA before i settled on social work.

anyway, i feel like i went all over the place here. i did my best to provide the type of info i thought would help you. i hope it does help.

[ellie]

I'm a bit like holistic star, I thought I wanted to be a primary or kinder teacher, but rather investing in further education initially (already done a degree in another discipline), I decided to test the water in an actual workplace. With no experience I asked for a job in a kinder and I worked in it up until now.

I found out that teaching children is not my passion and I am so glad I did not waste money or a year of training on something that wasn't my true calling. And I also got it out of my system. I would of always wondered if I hadn't tried it.

So could you not work or volunteer or find a job in the area you're interested in? That way you can test the waters so to speak

My friend is a social worker, very rewarding but draining at the same time and you need to be tough as well.

[Dharma]

My gut says finish sociology. You have no idea what the future holds.

[Margarita888]

There's a statistic that states that only 30% of college graduates actually end up in the field they majored in. Your degree will not dictate how the rest of your life will be without your consent. Do you really need a degree in Social Work to get into that line of work or to be able to help people in need? I think most people's life purpose involves helping others in need--just in varying degrees.

You're young. It's good that you've started your 'awakening' early. But don't let that discovery create an unnecessary burden on you. Apply the principle of Authority and allow yourself to make mistakes. If having chosen the wrong major was one, then so be it. But don't let your life end there.

Just know that you WILL live & carry out your life purpose as long as you choose to and don't let your circumstances (or your major) rule your life.

[rei]

Originally Posted by Margarita888

There's a statistic that states that only 30% of college graduates actually end up in the field they majored in. Your degree will not dictate how the rest of your life will be without your consent. Do you really need a degree in Social Work to get into that line of work or to be able to help people in need? I think most people's life purpose involves helping others in need--just in varying degrees.

You're young. It's good that you've started your 'awakening' early. But don't let that discovery create an unnecessary burden on you. Apply the principle of Authority and allow yourself to make mistakes. If having chosen the wrong major was one, then so be it. But don't let your life end there.

Just know that you WILL live & carry out your life purpose as long as you choose to and don't let your circumstances (or your major) rule your life.

well, the OP would need a degree in social work to be licensed to do the work. but i definitely agree that there are lots of other professions and choices that allow you to help others.

[ellie]

He could volunteer with an organisation that has a social worker in it.

[moonrambler]

Originally Posted by rei

oh, also, it sounds like you are an undergraduate, is that right? if so, you should probably know the level of help you will be able to provide *might* be fairly limited at the Bachelor's level. the Master of Social Work is the terminal degree, so most of the direct service stuff is more likely to fall to an MSW.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I assumed a social worker would need an MSW. So I thought: finish the sociology degree and then get an MSW.

[rei]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

This is exactly what I was thinking. I assumed a social worker would need an MSW. So I thought: finish the sociology degree and then get an MSW.

well, it depends on how much you want to do.
technically, you can be a social worker, an LSW, with just a Bachelor's.
but most of what we think of social workers doing is the MSW level (LMSW license).

if you want to help directly, one-on-one or in a group setting, you're most likely going to need the grad degree. if you're content to help with a bit of distance between you and the people you help, then you could switch to social work as an undergrad.

and you could always do some volunteer work to be sure you really would feel like this is a good fit. if there is no doubt in your mind, but you want to help more directly, i agree with moonrambler.

[jphaas]

Congratulations on figuring out your life purpose!! However you end up making the decision about your major, at least from the 100,000 ft view you've got things figured out a lot more than many people -- personally I'm a little envious of you because I don't know as clearly how I want to contribute as it sounds like you do (which is one of the reasons I just joined the forum).

My two cents would be that the "path with a heart" for you is finding a way to help people via direct service, not majoring in social work: the major you pick is just the tactics you use to get there. It sounds like it's not a trade-off between the right path and the easy path, it's that you don't see the path: either major you pick you don't get the degree you need. So you don't have an ethical dilemma, you just have a tactical dilemma. You could solve it by either figuring out a way to help people via direct service without having the degree, or by figuring out how to get enough money to get the degree -- either path is fine, whichever is easier. I'm sure if you want it enough, ask for help, and work hard, you'll figure out a solution.