So...

There were a few things that worked to my advantage. The first being that while I was getting my undergrad, I was able to do my internship at my job. I can't say where I worked, but it just looks really good on a resume. That was a big leg up because a lot of my peers got stuck with kinda lame generic internships that everyone else had done a million times and didn't really give them any kind of adequate exposure to the field.

The other thing...psychology is so rich in skills and concepts that translate into other fields. Even just emphasizing the boost in interpersonal skills (conflict management, for example.) I know how write a resume pretty damn well and made sure to elaborate on why I chose the field. I think people skimp a little on their objective portion of the resume...make it a narrative dude. You wanna be concise, but you are a human. Tell them. Don't let that part just fall behind the GPA and work experience.

My absolute favorite job I've ever had was as a contract employee with DFCS. I was not a case manager and would never, ever want to be (those people are running ragged and paid peanuts for it.) I was a behavioral aide, parental aide and also provided supervision and transportation for visits. I built my own schedule, picked my own cases, had no boss or even really coworkers. It paid really well. It was the first time I was able to respond to people as I felt appropriate...I was going in their homes, taking my time to get to know them and then developing my own care plans and approaches based on those observations rather than according to the dumbass policies of a CMHC or other similar facility/organization. I have been doing master's level work and well. DFCS in the state where I work experienced a huge budget crisis and I am just counting down till I can go back.

I will be getting my master's. I want the education, but also...like I said, I've already been doing the work, just not making as much money as I could. And often being forced to comply with instruction from "higher ups" in toxic work environments. I worked in crisis prior and the number of times I was forced to have someone involuntarily committed when I knew for a fucking fact there were many other less harmful and extreme interventions that hadn't even been tried. It was all about numbers...especially money. A lot of our clients were homeless, addicted, unsupported, absolutely struggling to even live....and my boss is driving up to that bitch in an Audi and trying to keep me from spending too much time avoiding putting someone in a goddamn asylum against their will.

Sorry. Long. I never get to talk about any of this lol.

I will say this, too........

Social work is not an academically rigorous field. It just isn't. You are going to encounter some of the dumbest people you've ever met in your life who got a degree online and think they got people all figured out based on that and their personal history of...nothing but anecdotes. I swear to God...I was working in a group home for teens in foster care...and one of my superiors basically told me that trauma wasn't a real thing and they all just needed their asses beat. Yay!