Mathematics is a very crucial subject everywhere in our day-to-day activities. Mathematics is applicable in all careers, with some, like engineering requiring extensive and complex formulas while others, like social work, involve simpler formulas.
Social work involves providing social support to the community. Social workers are responsible for assessing the social needs of people and aiding them to use their skills and resources to solve social problems. Social workers play a vital role in safeguarding vulnerable members of society, children, and adults inclusive, acting as their guides and advocates. Part of their day-to-day tasks that are aimed at achieving their major duty of providing support is interviewing individuals, families, or groups to determine the nature and extent of their problems, maintaining contacts with clients to aid in monitoring their progress, keeping organized records on their clients and representing their clients in court if necessary as explained by Collins (26).
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The core programs involved in training social workers are human behavior and ethics, social welfare policy, and exposure and experience to clinical settings provided by training institutions. The academic requirements for admission into training institutions for the cause vary from one university to another, but a high pass in English and Social Sciences is a must. Most institutions require a minimum grade of C in Mathematics. Students aspiring social workers are advised to concentrate on statistics as it equips them with analytic skills. Some of the most outstanding social work training institutions in the United States are the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Chicago, and Washington University in St Louis, as illustrated by Bowie, Chery, and Wooding (3).
Collins (29) says that social workers work in various settings, including schools, foster homes, hospitals, voluntary organizations, and the premise of other public sectors. Research indicates that the demand for social workers is increasing with the mushrooming of social problems like drug and alcohol additions that require appropriate support to stem, thus having several employment opportunities. For instance, in my community, there is a need for social workers to support and help needy children advocating the improvement in their living conditions and provision of necessities.
Social work is emotionally draining and demanding and requires the development or possession of certain characteristics to be competent. These traits include courage, coordination skills, persuasion, organization, flexibility, empathy, cooperation (being able to negotiate and compromise), active listening, relaxation, and decomposition, as outlined by Bowie, Chery, and Wooding (4).
Social workers’ job is office based but entails regular visits to clients. In some cases, they work as a group, each assigned to a specific group or individual to support. Some work alongside other professionals like nurses and other social care workers. The average working hours for most workers is approximately 37 weekly, except for those working with children, as they need to check in even during weekends. Social workers’ salaries vary from organization to organization; in some organizations, it is approximately $41368 yearly, as stated by Collins (32).
The statistical part of mathematics is essential in social work. In social work, there is a lot of data collection on the events of their cases and analysis that aid in gauging the extent of the impact of a particular social problem in a specified region. Therefore, social workers ought to know the mean, median, mode, and other statistical components for analysis and making inferences, as stated by Bowie, Chery, and Wooding (6).
In conclusion, social work is a rewarding but demanding career that deals with supporting people in the community that involves inside and outside jobs. The demand for more expertise in the field is shooting due to increased social problems. Social work does require adequate training in the field of handling people and possession of different innate and nurtured traits for competence. The field does not involve much mathematical calculation, but basic statistics background is essential.
Works Cited
Bowie, Stan, Donna Chery, and Leigh H. Wooding. “African American MSW Students: Personal Influences on Social Work Careers and Factors in Graduate Schools Selection.” Social Work Education (2005): n. pag. Print.
Collins, Suzan. Supporting Positive Behavior: A Workbook for Social Care Workers. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2010. Print.
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