How to move from social work practice to policy
June 26, 2017 3:34 PM Subscribe
I posted a general career question some time back. This one is more specific. The meat of it is, as it says on the tin: how do I go from being a social worker who has done direct practice of one sort or another for a dozen years to being in a more policy-oriented job without, say, getting another damn degree?
I graduated in 2004, spent a short time in therapy/casework jobs, a decade in a semi-clinical job working with people facing incarceration, and now (after an awful year in nonprofit marketing) my work for the last half a year has dealt with elder abuse.
In social work school they said "in ten years, most of you will be in administration." This did not happen for me. There was nowhere to move up in most of my jobs and now I'd have to be a supervisor which is kind of a bad compromise (mostly about assigning and closing cases. Not interesting work.)
I have tried to broaden my resume to be considered to jobs that feel like a step up in the world. I was on a board. I took the job outside of social work. It doesn't feel like these have moved me in a direction. Part of the problem is I don't have a very specific notion of what I want to do next. (Here I will admit that my motivations are vague: I just feel ready for something on a higher level. I'm smart enough to do more and doing direct practice for the rest of my adult life sounds stultifying.)
I have a vague idea that there are some broad skills I should be working on getting, but even with the ones I've identified as broadly useful (making a budget) it's hard to see how I'd get the experience without having the job that requires it.
Any pointers, especially from someone who has made such a leap, would be welcome.
I graduated in 2004, spent a short time in therapy/casework jobs, a decade in a semi-clinical job working with people facing incarceration, and now (after an awful year in nonprofit marketing) my work for the last half a year has dealt with elder abuse.
In social work school they said "in ten years, most of you will be in administration." This did not happen for me. There was nowhere to move up in most of my jobs and now I'd have to be a supervisor which is kind of a bad compromise (mostly about assigning and closing cases. Not interesting work.)
I have tried to broaden my resume to be considered to jobs that feel like a step up in the world. I was on a board. I took the job outside of social work. It doesn't feel like these have moved me in a direction. Part of the problem is I don't have a very specific notion of what I want to do next. (Here I will admit that my motivations are vague: I just feel ready for something on a higher level. I'm smart enough to do more and doing direct practice for the rest of my adult life sounds stultifying.)
I have a vague idea that there are some broad skills I should be working on getting, but even with the ones I've identified as broadly useful (making a budget) it's hard to see how I'd get the experience without having the job that requires it.
Any pointers, especially from someone who has made such a leap, would be welcome.
Do you have a sense of what kind of policy work you'd prefer? Legislative, implementation, research? I think figuring that out will help you determine what experience you need to be attractive to employer without having any direct policy experience.
I do policy research and work with a number of people with MSWs, so a research track would likely be a viable option for you. If you do decide on research, I would suggest beefing up your analysis skills by taking a short web course or two. I like this one from Coursera, which is a nice primer across methods and analysis programs. Do you have any chance to do analysis in your current work? Seek out any analysis opportunities in your current job. Ask if they'd be amenable to you participating in any evaluation that currently underway. This will be a good opportunity to practice the skills you've learned in any web course you take. Also look for opportunities to create writing samples that you can show off when you get to the interview phase. Analysis and writing are two of the foundational skills for policy work.
After that, know that a lot of policy work IS social work: collaboration, providing support and resources, addressing the whims of stakeholders, dealing with difficult people... Definitely play up how a career in social work has given you fantastic people skills in stressful situations.
posted by scantee at 5:14 PM on June 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I do policy research and work with a number of people with MSWs, so a research track would likely be a viable option for you. If you do decide on research, I would suggest beefing up your analysis skills by taking a short web course or two. I like this one from Coursera, which is a nice primer across methods and analysis programs. Do you have any chance to do analysis in your current work? Seek out any analysis opportunities in your current job. Ask if they'd be amenable to you participating in any evaluation that currently underway. This will be a good opportunity to practice the skills you've learned in any web course you take. Also look for opportunities to create writing samples that you can show off when you get to the interview phase. Analysis and writing are two of the foundational skills for policy work.
After that, know that a lot of policy work IS social work: collaboration, providing support and resources, addressing the whims of stakeholders, dealing with difficult people... Definitely play up how a career in social work has given you fantastic people skills in stressful situations.
posted by scantee at 5:14 PM on June 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am not a social worker, but I have several friends who are and have moved into senior administration - I also work in the non-profit sector as a senior manager.
Why are you opposed to supervising others? I know that lower-level management can suck in a lot of ways, but at the right organization/agency, it can be a good way to start to operate at a higher level and participate in more long-term/strategic decision-making. I think the key is to find a managerial role where you're not solely supervising staff, but also managing a program. You're more likely to find this at a smaller org/agency.
If you are really not interested in staff management, then the other way to go that I've seen in the non-profit/public sector is to develop deep expertise in a particular subject area and parlay that into a program management or research/policy development role. It seems like you do have deep expertise in two different areas (criminal justice and elder care) - are you applying for jobs in those areas? In my experience, you can cast a fairly wide net from from the actual work you did - so if you see a program management role in, say, recidivism for ex-cons, you should definitely apply for that. For instance, I have a social worker friend who went from working for a program that serves homeless youth, to running training programs for schools in suicide prevention, to administering state grants for childhood health programs, in the space of about 5 years (she had other experience before that, but so do you).
Two other things:
- If you don't know what you are interested in, figuring it out will help a lot. Maybe your alumni network can be helpful? Find some alum who have jobs that sound vaguely interesting, and take them out for coffee and ask about what they do, and how they got there.
- I would say if you're really just trying to break out of your rut, go for any opportunities that seem like a good next step up, even if it's a supervisory role that doesn't sound amazing. You will certainly learn more, you'll be operating on a higher level, and it will show employers that you are interested in taking a step up. You don't have to do the job forever, just long enough to learn some new skills and learn a bit more about what you like and don't like.
posted by lunasol at 5:19 PM on June 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Why are you opposed to supervising others? I know that lower-level management can suck in a lot of ways, but at the right organization/agency, it can be a good way to start to operate at a higher level and participate in more long-term/strategic decision-making. I think the key is to find a managerial role where you're not solely supervising staff, but also managing a program. You're more likely to find this at a smaller org/agency.
If you are really not interested in staff management, then the other way to go that I've seen in the non-profit/public sector is to develop deep expertise in a particular subject area and parlay that into a program management or research/policy development role. It seems like you do have deep expertise in two different areas (criminal justice and elder care) - are you applying for jobs in those areas? In my experience, you can cast a fairly wide net from from the actual work you did - so if you see a program management role in, say, recidivism for ex-cons, you should definitely apply for that. For instance, I have a social worker friend who went from working for a program that serves homeless youth, to running training programs for schools in suicide prevention, to administering state grants for childhood health programs, in the space of about 5 years (she had other experience before that, but so do you).
Two other things:
- If you don't know what you are interested in, figuring it out will help a lot. Maybe your alumni network can be helpful? Find some alum who have jobs that sound vaguely interesting, and take them out for coffee and ask about what they do, and how they got there.
- I would say if you're really just trying to break out of your rut, go for any opportunities that seem like a good next step up, even if it's a supervisory role that doesn't sound amazing. You will certainly learn more, you'll be operating on a higher level, and it will show employers that you are interested in taking a step up. You don't have to do the job forever, just long enough to learn some new skills and learn a bit more about what you like and don't like.
posted by lunasol at 5:19 PM on June 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is not my area of expertise, but you sound able but not qualified. If you don't want another degree, can you get a post-grad certification? Thomas Edison, which is the State of NJ's online university, offers a bunch of graduate certificates. I don't think there's one directly relevant to policy without getting a full graduate degree, but it sounds like you need to find a similar program that is relevant.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:34 PM on June 26, 2017
posted by DarlingBri at 7:34 PM on June 26, 2017
I did this! I have a social work degree, did a bunch of direct service work, and have moved into policy-focused work in public health. It's possible to do!
My trajectory was like this: got a job at an agency that primarily did direct service but was very involved in policy advocacy on behalf of clients and programs. Moved up into middle management and asked/volunteered for every possible chance to get involved in the advocacy work. Did enough bill analysis/public speaking/ testimony-giving that I was qualified (after a few years) for a different job that focused on law and policy but also required direct service skills. Work after that has moved more toward policy and training and more toward public health, and here I am being the token MSW in a local health department.
A few pieces of advice:
> Most agencies that provide direct service do some kind of policy work, if only just to maintain their funding. Find out who's in charge of that and make yourself available to get involved.
> Even if you can't do this, get familiar with the policies that are relevant to your clients and your work. Pay attention to where advocacy orgs working on relevant issues are putting their energy. Read their legislative agendas and position papers if you can find them. Talk about what you learn with colleagues.
> Does the place you work sit on any government agency workgroups or local coalitions? Do your finders? See how you can get involved in those meetings. There's often an opportunity to do this, especially if whoever does it is overscheduled and wants to pass the baton.
> Look for opportunities to get your clients involved in policy advocacy. This was a huge builder of relationships for me and helped with the move into more policy work. Look for lobby days, constituent trainings on communicating with elected officials, opportunities for accompanying clients to in-district office visits, chances to help clients give public testimony at municipal government meetings, etc.
> check out the work of the Building Movement Project, which builds nonprofits' capacity to contribute to progressive social change. They have a lot of tools for reframing direct service as part of social justice work. Can it be useful to your workplace's leadership?
> Put all of this on your resume, even if it's not the central part of your job.
Feel free to send me a message if you want to talk more about this! And good luck!
posted by centrifugal at 9:57 AM on June 27, 2017
My trajectory was like this: got a job at an agency that primarily did direct service but was very involved in policy advocacy on behalf of clients and programs. Moved up into middle management and asked/volunteered for every possible chance to get involved in the advocacy work. Did enough bill analysis/public speaking/ testimony-giving that I was qualified (after a few years) for a different job that focused on law and policy but also required direct service skills. Work after that has moved more toward policy and training and more toward public health, and here I am being the token MSW in a local health department.
A few pieces of advice:
> Most agencies that provide direct service do some kind of policy work, if only just to maintain their funding. Find out who's in charge of that and make yourself available to get involved.
> Even if you can't do this, get familiar with the policies that are relevant to your clients and your work. Pay attention to where advocacy orgs working on relevant issues are putting their energy. Read their legislative agendas and position papers if you can find them. Talk about what you learn with colleagues.
> Does the place you work sit on any government agency workgroups or local coalitions? Do your finders? See how you can get involved in those meetings. There's often an opportunity to do this, especially if whoever does it is overscheduled and wants to pass the baton.
> Look for opportunities to get your clients involved in policy advocacy. This was a huge builder of relationships for me and helped with the move into more policy work. Look for lobby days, constituent trainings on communicating with elected officials, opportunities for accompanying clients to in-district office visits, chances to help clients give public testimony at municipal government meetings, etc.
> check out the work of the Building Movement Project, which builds nonprofits' capacity to contribute to progressive social change. They have a lot of tools for reframing direct service as part of social justice work. Can it be useful to your workplace's leadership?
> Put all of this on your resume, even if it's not the central part of your job.
Feel free to send me a message if you want to talk more about this! And good luck!
posted by centrifugal at 9:57 AM on June 27, 2017
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posted by metasarah at 4:32 PM on June 26, 2017 [2 favorites]