I am graduating in a couple of weeks with a BA in Spanish and Chinese. My initial plan was to get a Masters in teaching and become a high school language teacher. But starting about two years ago, I started thinking about studying public policy, which kind of evolved into thinking about social work. So what I did was apply to a variety of graduate programs in a variety of place in each of these fields.
The problem, it turns out, has become one of having too many choices! I have been accepted into a few schools and have the chance to pursue whichever of these careers I decide. I kind of thought in applying for a bit of this and that (and thinking that I'd honestly enjoy any of the careers that these fields of study will lead to) that I'd leave it to the fates. But the fates aren't having it; they've thrown all the options right back in my face, and now I have to choose!
So if you are a teacher or a social worker (or if you work in public policy!)...can you tell me ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING about your job? What you love, what you hate, myths to shatter, what kind of SALARY I can expect, benefits, how family-friendly the job is, what the job market is like, etc. etc.
PS-I realize that social work and public policy are very broad fields; fwiw I would like to do something working with immigrants--labor issues or women's issues, specifically.
The problem, it turns out, has become one of having too many choices! I have been accepted into a few schools and have the chance to pursue whichever of these careers I decide. I kind of thought in applying for a bit of this and that (and thinking that I'd honestly enjoy any of the careers that these fields of study will lead to) that I'd leave it to the fates. But the fates aren't having it; they've thrown all the options right back in my face, and now I have to choose!
So if you are a teacher or a social worker (or if you work in public policy!)...can you tell me ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING about your job? What you love, what you hate, myths to shatter, what kind of SALARY I can expect, benefits, how family-friendly the job is, what the job market is like, etc. etc.
PS-I realize that social work and public policy are very broad fields; fwiw I would like to do something working with immigrants--labor issues or women's issues, specifically.