When people are looking for potential career paths to go down, they have all sorts of different options. While some people are motivated by financial rewards, there are plenty more who are looking to make a genuine difference in the lives of others. For people who fall into the latter camp, social care could be the calling you are looking for. With many populations in the western world aging rapidly, this is also a career path that is always going to need new people involved in it. There are all sorts of reasons to work in social care, so let’s take a closer look at a few of the top ones right here and now.
Get Involved in Your Local Community
While many people think that they are involved in their communities, this often does not go particularly deep. Only when you take up a position like social care, do you realize your local area’s wealth and vibrancy. When you are at work in people’s houses, you have the opportunity to build up social connections that you may never have thought of making before. Not only do you build these connections with the patients themselves, but you also have the opportunity to do so with friends and family members. Plus, you can also do the same when you attend social events, and you can also connect with the carer community.
Make a Difference to the World
We have already alluded to this in the introductory paragraph but working in social care allows you to make a difference in the world. While some jobs have the appearance of toiling away without much genuine merit, this is certainly not the case when it comes to a career in care. When people are struggling with the effects of old age or ill health, it is often the smallest of actions that can prove incredibly significant. Every day, you will get to experience the joy of making a genuine improvement to a person’s life who is in need. This is something that cannot be said for every single job available in life.
Plenty of Employment Opportunities
Again, this is a point that was already mentioned at the start of the blog post, but it is worth talking about again. When you enter a career in care, you are likely to have the opportunity to extend it for as long as you like. As people continue to live for longer, they have a more complex range of health issues that need to be addressed directly. While you could work in general care, you could also specialize in a particular type of care that you are particularly passionate about. By specializing, you may be able to open up your employment opportunities even further. You could choose to work in the community, in a care home, or even a hospital, once you have the qualifications that you need, there are so many options open to you.
Gain Useful Qualifications
Closely connected to the employment opportunities that we have already discussed in the section above; you can also gain useful qualifications. This is easier than ever in the modern world, thanks to the increasing popularity of online programs. The world of social care is becoming increasingly regulated like many other industries in our society. Therefore, obtaining these qualifications may be a necessary step that ensures your successful entry into the field and helps you progress up to the next level. Make sure to reach out to a reputable provider for the best education.
Build Your Confidence
Social care is the kind of career path that requires constant interaction, thoughtfulness, and resourcefulness. These are all areas that can play a significant role in building up your confidence – even if you did not have bags of it in the past. You will also be faced with a wide range of situations daily. While many of these will be mundane, there will also be plenty more that require you to make serious decisions that can impact a person’s health and wellbeing. The experience you build up while you are working can become transferrable skills that you bring into other areas of life. Not only could this prove to be a boon to your family, but it could also help out your community as a whole.
Variable Days
With some jobs, you can pretty much predict what you are going to expect from one day to the next. However, social care is the kind of path that defies these predictions. You will find yourself taking care of a wide range of different people – each with their own set of health needs and personality too. This pair of facts alone mean that your days will continue to vary as well. While some people thrive on a sense of predictability, there are plenty more who want a job with an ever-changing nature. If you are in the latter camp, it may be the case that social care is the right job option for you.
Overcome Adversity
Sure, there is no pretending that social care is going to be all plain sailing. However, overcoming adversity is another area in which you are likely to excel when you get into social care. You are bound to have some very hard days, but if you keep coming back time and time again, you will build up the kind of resilience that will see you not only survive in this field – but also thrive as well.
If you have read this diverse list of reasons and they have appealed to you, there is every chance that a career in social care could be on your horizon. There are plenty of qualifications that can help open up doors and a range of job opportunities available to you. So, it is worth taking your first tentative steps into the industry to see where they could end up leading you in the near- and long-term future. You never know – you could have ended up finding a calling that gives your life an entirely new sense of purpose.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
