Public Perception of SW & Venting/Negatively on this Sub

Please do this SWer a courtesy and read this to it's conclusion. Please respond whether you agree or disagree, as I am in dire need of input and am not sure if I'm on the right path. This is something I've needed to get off my chest for a long time. I know this has come up before, but I felt I needed to mention it on my own terms. I suspect there are some of you out there who feel the same way, so please let me know if any of you relate, or if I'm really off base on this. FYI I'm male.

As most of you know, social work is an extremely misunderstood field. In fact, I would argue it is the most misunderstood field. Most people don't understand how much variability is in the field, and what is often portrayed in the media is a caseworker with too many clients, too much workload to be effective, too little compensation, and who are often in a constant state of burnout. Even though I plan on continuing down a clinical path, no one seems to understand the difference, nor do they seem to care.

I wish I could say all those aforementioned stereotypes were completely false, but realistically we know that they do describe many social workers, many of which post in this sub.

When I explain my career to my friends and family, they feel sorry that I went down this path. And no, I'm not surmising that; they have clearly told me I can do better. They say that the burnout rate to compensation rate is not even close to worth it (again, while I belive that to be incorrect, it certainly is a prevalent, even amongst social workers).

What's worse, a woman I cared about deeply, and who cared about me (obviously not as deeply!), explicitly told me that I could have chosen a better life's path, and that because I chose to make SW my life's work, that she couldnt see herself being with me. She said that had I gone into psychology that I'd have been the one. I'll conclude that anecdote by letting you know that I understand her hang up with SW was unreasonable, but it doesn't sting any less.

Subsequently I noticed that anytime I mention my profession to anyone, especially prospective partners, there is an immediate and palpable judgement and disinterest. Again, I'm not projecting; I've been told 10ish times that social work does not attract women, as it's not considered prestigious or lucrative, regardless of whether those are fallicies or not.

I am not sure what to do about all of this, because I have yet to find a way to discuss my profession that leaves people with a sense of respect and prestige for my profession and for myself. I considered telling people I'm a counselor, or that I practice psychotherapy, CBT, MI, DBT, etc., but as I'm still inexperienced in these areas, I feel it would be disingenuous and unethical to describe my profession like that.

My final, unrelated point: I get this sub attracts people who want to vent, and that's fine, but I see so many burnout and negative posts its started to make me feel shitty.

I come to this forum because I love social work deeply in principal, but what I mostly find is people venting, talking about burnout, and talking about how unempowered they feel, and how its crushing them. Lately I find that when I see posts from this Sub in my feed, I instantly get anxious and I feel compelled to skip over most posts, because I know that it will really bum me out to read about how unhappy people are in the field.

I don't know what to do. The horror stories make me want to unsubscribe. The public's skewed understanding of social work has made me ashamed at times to tell people what I do. *I * think what I do is prestigious. *I * think what I do deserves respect, but unfortunately for me it matters how others perceive my profession. If I disclose to a woman that I'm a social worker they will loose interest quickly. When I leave that detail out I'm usually adored. How can get past these hang ups? Should the sub be split into negative venting vs positive or neural posts? I think when fledgling social workers read the negative horror stories I've read, we will lose them in droves.

Give it to me straight!

Edit: I feel like it's easier to give you a general response here instead of individually though I may respond to some.

First of all, Thank you. Even some of the harsher comments. While I may have found some comments brusk and off the mark, most were the kind of comments I needed to hear. It reminded me that this is really a support community at heart.

My initial complaint was an amalgam of a few frustrations, and I don't think I expressed them optimally. I have one mode of communication, and that is speaking from my heart, which can sound intense.

That being said, social work is who I am. I would never abandon it, because I think it's too important, and I love helping people who need help the most. It bums me out that those qualities aren't valued as much as they should be. Sure, everyone will say those qualities are highly valued, but in practice they are most certainly not.

Now most of the posts were referring to the woman I told you about who rebuked me because of Social Work. That was one of my lesser points, but just to be clear, since so many people mentioned it, we truly had a great relationship until that got mentioned and she very clearly told me she could not seriously be with a social worker. This wasn't a case of infatuation, or me misreading her interest. According to her, she didn't realize how serious I was about it, and assumed I'd go back to school for a PhD in psych, or possibly psychiatry. I thought I had been clear that those were off the table long ago, but once she realized it was not, she left. Normally I wouldn't assume she left for such a petty reason, and would assume the problem was with me, but you'll just have to take my word on it that we had a very candid discussion whereby she explicitly told me it was the social work. But as I said, that's really on her.

Regarding the anxiety about reading negative posts, I get that's 100 percent on me, not the community. The only reason I suggested the notion of separating venting from everything else is because I figured if it stresses me out, and makes me wonder when I'll burn out, it may be stressing others out. As a few have said, many people here are just getting into it, and I feel like if it's off putting to me, it could be off putting to them. And I'd hate to see a younger generation turn away from social work when more seasoned people complain about being over worked for low pay for emotionally difficult jobs. That's where my sentiment came from. My edit has been very long, so I'll just conclude with this. I love social work, and I think this Sub is critically important. I posted to vent (I see the irony), to bare my soul a bit, and to connect with others who felt some of the things I discussed. I was surprised that so few felt like they could relate to all of my points, but that just tells me that this is less of systemic problem and more of a me problem. I thank you all nonetheless.