Why I Chose the BU MSW Program
Hello!
My name is Sam and I am a first-year, part-time student at Boston University School of Social Work in the On-Campus MSW Program.
Why did I decide to pursue a Master of Social Work degree? Mainly because I wanted a mix of policy training and one-on-one interaction with clients.
For the past two years, I have worked as a peer specialist (someone with a mental health diagnosis who helps other individuals with mental health diagnoses on their path to recovery) both in clinical and macro settings at the Boston Municipal Courts system. It is the best job I’ve ever had. However, there were too many times that I felt shut out of high-level conversations about clients because I didn’t have an advanced degree in the field. My social work colleagues used language and terminologies that I didn’t understand.
I want to “get my foot in the door” in these important conversations, and to do that I knew I needed to better understand the language of the field and develop my social work “tool set” so I can be as useful as possible to clients. Since students at BUSSW are trained in the clinical skills needed to interact one-on-one with individuals, as well as the macro skills needed to advocate for change, I decided that the Master of Social Work program at BU was the right one for me.
In my opinion, one of the best parts of the MSW degree at BUSSW is its versatility. A degree in social work qualifies you for a wide array of career options. From working directly with vulnerable populations to advocating for those populations on a local, state, or national level, social workers can do it all.
As time passes, more and more individuals, groups, and organizations have recognized the mixture of knowledge, skills and compassion that social workers bring to the table. As a result, new career options are opening up to social workers all the time. In fact, the field of social work currently has more career growth than the average job sector.
Political advocacy and policy work are both passions of mine. In 2017, I was elected to the board of directors of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI Mass); though I had never worked on policy issues at the organizational level before joining the NAMI board, I realized the area holds great interest for me. I graduated from law school in 2018 and all of my favorite classes had to do with governmental policy. In time, I realized that I didn’t want to practice law. Nevertheless, my interest in public policy didn’t wane, and I found that there are ways to incorporate my interest in policy within my MSW education and future career as a social worker.
Although social work is not the most lucrative field, it is a personally rewarding career option that allows you to positively impact people and the systems they live in. Upon graduation there are many ways to obtain a good income, including obtaining professional licensure, joining professional organizations, and keeping up with the latest trainings. BU School of Social Work even offers professional education programs for those seeking additional training post-graduation.
Since I still work as a peer specialist, and because my partner and I had a child at the beginning of 2020, I am matriculating part-time at the School of Social Work.
I took three classes during the Fall 2020 semester: Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Welfare Policy I, and Introduction to Social Work Research I. Human Behavior largely concerns the treatment of individuals, families, and other small groups, whereas Social Welfare mostly addresses systemic/social issues. I am enjoying all of my courses and have not yet made the decision whether to pursue the macro track or the clinical track with a macro minor. However, since I am a part-time student, I have time to make up my minnd. This is the type of flexibility I so appreciate; not all programs offer it.
Ultimately, whether or not to pursue an MSW is a question only you can answer. It has been highly enjoyable and productive for me but, undeniably, everyone is different. I was helped in my decision-making process by attending several information sessions at BUSSW, and I recommend attending at least one to learn about the options available to you. I hope that you consider joining the social work field to help individuals, families, and groups navigate our world and their role in it, as well as fight for the rights of the vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed.