r/socialworkcanada

I have been accepted to a post degree BSW program for this fall. I already have a bachelors from a Canadian uni in health studies and an accredited addictions and mental health graduate certificate from a college where I focussed on indigenous populations for the majority of my projects. When I finish my BSW in a couple years, where will I have the most competitive edge for work? Hospitals? Community programs? CAS? Group homes? Indigenous reserves? Anything else I haven’t thought of? Also, what are wages like for popular positions? For context: I’m in Ontario in the GTHA.

Hi everyone,

I’m deciding between the MSW programs at University of Toronto and York University (and possibly Windsor), and I’d love to hear from graduates or current students about actual career outcomes.

A few things I’m trying to understand:

• If you went to U of T or York for your MSW, what are you doing now?
• How long after graduating did it take you to get your first role?
• What was your starting salary, and what are you making now (if you’re comfortable sharing a range)?
• If you wanted to get into clinical work/therapy/hospital social work, did your school make that easier or harder?
• For York grads: did you find it harder to secure clinical placements compared to U of T students?
• For U of T grads: did the “pathways” actually make a difference in getting jobs?
• Do you feel the extra cost of U of T was worth it compared with York?
• If your focus became management, leadership, administration, policy, etc., did your school matter much?
• If you could choose again, would you pick the same school?

For context: I don’t have a BSW, so I’d be entering the 2-year MSW route. I care a lot about long-term earning potential, flexibility, and keeping options open (clinical, leadership, healthcare admin, etc.), not just therapy.

Appreciate any honest experiences!

Since our own sub for CYWS is dead I’ll ask here. Are there any CYW jobs that offer adequate work/life balance? And are true to their job descriptions? I’ve accepted and then declined jobs because they’re dishonest in their job postings (ex. Offering a company vehicle for client transportation but then requiring you to transport clients in your personal vehicle)

I’m thankfully part time in my role at a live in treatment centre, but I’ve done my fair share of being asked to stay late (3am is the latest). This is NOTHING compared to the full time staff here. I’ve seen them work 15-20 hour shifts due to being short staffed or not being caught up on their work. How does this get better? DOES it get better? My mental capacity is not at all ready to go full time in this field. I tried, and had to leave the field for a whole year before returning.

I hate working late nights on the weekends, I don’t know how I could ever start a family being a CYW, and I don’t know where to go from here. There’s always school / day treatments but they’re so competitive. I’m just not sure what to do, or if my short time in the field is coming to an end.

Anyone else in a similar boat or just need to vent? I’m curious to hear what others think, or if anyone has encouraging words

I’m a first year BSW student with an appointment for a lip piercing tomorrow. My Dad, of course, is very opposed because a) he hates the look, and b) he is concerned it’s going to affect my career, especially if I want to climb the ladder in government.

Have you gotten the vibe that face piercings have affected the way you are perceived by clients and coworkers?m

edit: just got it done. i can always take it out. thank you to everyone who responded!

Hi hi again!

I’m graduating from my MSW from Western University and I’ve been job searching as I’m wrapping up, but there’s like virtually nothing available for a decent pay around here! Has anyone had any luck finding jobs in London or surrounding areas for 70K+ ? I’m starting to think it’s unrealistic to aim for that, but at the same time, this is my third degree and it’s a masters. I feel like it should not be this difficult or too high of an ask? Idk, I might be deluded.

Anyway, any suggestions would be appreciated!! The only thing I know 100% I don’t want to do is counselling (at least not full time). I’m worried about high acuity crisis work outside of a hospital and substance abuse treatment only because I don’t have much experience there and worry about causing more harm than good. Otherwise, I’m just desperate for employment.

TYIA!!

Hi there!

I’m looking for advice on how to prepare for a social worker interview for a psychotherapy position with neurodivergent adult and youth (specifically those on the Autism spectrum).

I don’t have psychotherapy experience but I work in a group home with neurodiverse individuals so I have some exposure.

The job posting mentioned knowledge of CBT, DBT, EMDR approaches. I have basic knowledge of them but not how to specifically cater them to the neurodivergent population.

Any tips would help!

I just was offered a community placement on the spot in my town in Ontario for my MSW.

It's with what seems like a fantastic organization that is able to offer a lot to the broader community with many branches to it. I thought I was interviewing for a position for an individual counselling role, as they have a branch of the company that offers free and reduced fee psychotherapy. Instead I interviewed for a group faciliation and community service navigator focused placement. It sounds like I might get to co-faciliate a DBT group, do some programming at the local library, and put my foot in a lot of other areas of the community work they do. I clarified and would NOT be able to do any individual counselling as they already have their students for that area, but I could potentially do informational interviews with the therapists who work in that branch.

The organization is also hiring pretty consistsently at rates that make sense to me as a potential new grad, so it would be great to get my foot in somewhere that may be hiring when I finish school.

My goal in the field is to work in palliative care, hospice, and down the line in private practice as a psychotherapist but I expect to work in frontline for a long while (5-10 years) before I get all the certifications I need to practice psychotherapy the way I'd want to.

I am thinking about pursing this placement and accepting it. My resume is in the cue to be reviewed by my local hospitals but there's no guarantee they'll be interviewing me. My local hospices have also already taken on students, they have a relationship with the university closest to me and not the more metropolitan one I go to.

I'm a bit nervous about my future in the field pursing what I want if I don't get the "perfect" placement. Does anyone have any advice on how to move foward? Part of me thinks if I make the best of this placement there are always opportunities to move into different parts of the field as long as I'm committed to continuing my learning journey post grad school. Thoughts?

I’m currently entering my third year of a BSc Hons. in Psychology in Alberta and hope to pursue a career in counselling/social work in the future.
I’ve recently looked into applying to MSW programs after my undergrad through the non-BSW route, however I know that obtaining social work employment is a requirement to apply.

I’m just a bit lost on where to start looking for these opportunities as a non-bsw student. Could anyone who was in the same/similar position share what they did to gain experience?

Hello everyone,

I'm a recent graduate of Social Work and Social Administration in Uganda, and believe you me, there are not many professional Social Work jobs. If you believe the job market is horrible in a first world country like the USA, it's worse than hell here! Though there are a plethora of issues in this country that need urgent Social Work intervention, there is little to no political will or funding from the government. In the private sector, what passes for Social Work is remedial rather than developmental and this exacerbates the unemployment as little to no input from local social workers is ever considered as these large NGOS just roll out their board approved "programmes" that just hire social workers on a short term basis to collect data from refugee camps and impoverished communities, but never offer full time SW jobs and the jobs that exist are mostly Minimum wage. With no funds to study a masters' degree to improve my employment prospects, I may just give up on the profession entirely.

For a profession that was not founded with the intention to make money but to enact social change, it gets rather stressing that you are left jobless for about 11 months.

Any form of advice is welcome, thanks.

thoughts on this? its starting to make me regret my decision of committing to a BSW :(

Hello everyone!

I’m going to be graduating from my SSW diploma program this August (I also have a joint BA in psychology and sociology) and from my placement, I have learned that I really want to do case management. However, I also noticed that all the case managers are driving everywhere and I don’t have my driver’s license yet (no G1/Learners either, but working on it).

What are some other jobs like case manager that don’t require driving? Or is it possible to get a position as a case manager where driving isn’t required?

Thanks in advance!

I am a soon-to-be graduate of a BSW program in Toronto, ON.

Due to my two practicums being policy / research oriented, I have not had alot of direct service experience. I was rejected from Osgoode Hall Law School for this fall, so I will be hoping to gain some meaningful experience within the field until I can reapply for JD and MSW programs.

I have a preliminary interest in end-of-life and grief care, as well as disability.

However, I was curious if there are any specific niches within our field that many do not consider? If so, what steps did you take to get there?

I know we can work in so many places with so many different populations, I'd love to hear about things I have not yet considered 😄

I am open to further training / certifications etc.

Looking to transition from an engineering career to social work.

Please share any advice on getting into Canadian MSW programs (primarily in BC or online options).

Also interested to know:
- experiences of those who have gone from a technical background to social services.
- registering as both an RCSW and RCC for private practice.

Thank you!

I’m new to BC and recently moved from Ontario. I’m a PR holder with an MSW and 5+ years of social work experience from India. I’m registered with the BCCSW and also have valid First Aid/CPR certification and a driver’s license.

Since I don’t yet have Canadian experience, I’d appreciate advice on where to start my job search in BC and organizations that may be open to internationally educated social workers.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice on how to move forward career-wise and academically.

I applied to the Fall 2026 BSW programs at UBC and NVIT but unfortunately did not get in. I want to stay in the Lower Mainland, so those were my main options. (UBC I am guessing is because of my GPA and NVIT said something about not having enough transferrable credits, but could also be GPA related)

I already have a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from SFU, but I wasn’t able to find work related to my degree and have wanted to transition into social work for quite a while now. I also struggled academically during my undergrad due to undiagnosed ADHD, which impacted my GPA significantly so applying to masters is not an option. Since graduating, I’ve taken additional courses to try to improve it, but I guess it still wasn’t competitive enough.

At the moment, I have around 600 volunteer hours and plan to continue gaining more experience before reapplying next cycle.

The main issue I’m running into with getting experience in the field is that many entry-level jobs require either related education or work experience, so it has been difficult to get started professionally.

Right now, I’m considering doing the Social Work Certificate at TRU because it includes a placement component at the end and could help me gain practical experience and possibly qualify for related work while I reapply. My concern is that the certificate courses do not transfer toward UBC GPA calculations, so it may not help much academically for admissions purposes.

I’m 26 and have spent a long time in school already, so I’m trying to make a practical decision that gives me both career stability and a realistic path into social work.

I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

I graduated from my SSW program a year ago and I’m currently entering my final year of my BSW while looking for frontline work. I’m not sure if it makes sense to register with the College right now. I’ve heard that if you register before the new entry-to-practice exam requirements take effect in 2027, you may not need to complete the exam.

Additionally, almost every job posting I’ve seen requires a vulnerable sector check, but from what I understand, police services require a reference letter from an employer or organization to process one, which the College can provide... that seems like the only benefit of paying the fee right now...

New grad (ish) MSW here. I have been in two jobs since finishing that degree and have found both so difficult because of my managers, and occasionally colleagues.

The gossip, backstabbing, favouritism, politics and unethical decision making have all been driving me nuts as someone who really cares about ethics.

I care about the populations I support, ethics, College rules, union guidelines, and policies but I feel so alone in that!

I am not used to conflict with women (I am a woman) and this field is mostly women. I’m not even blunt or rude but am trying so hard to navigate these issues without being an asshole. I never realized we could be so mean to each other! All these weird underhanded slights, mean emails, looping people out of stuff they should be included in & setting people up for failure. I don’t understand!!

Should I retrain? My MSW started in 2023 and since then, I have been stressed, horribly anxious and worried about pissing someone off. My MSW was a bad time. I am so passionate about social justice and equality but I am just not able to handle the way we do social work in my province (BC).

I LIKE working with women but what is going on? Shouldn’t we be supporting each other?

I am aware I am the common denominator in my bad experiences here - I am a passionate person who always assumes good intentions. I also care more about outcomes than processes (eg, it’s more important to me if someone gets housing than if their CLBC worker is looped in, I obviously always do my best to keep people updated but the individual’s safety is a priority). I am also realistic and understand that sometimes supported people may not behave/make decisions in a way that aligns with agency goals, which is fully within their rights.

The sheer volume of missed communication, unclear priorities, contradictory emails and weird secretive practices is making it hard to do my job. I want to be sure every involved professional knows what is happening, but I need several levels of approval to even cc people in emails. I follow up all the time but rarely get responses!! I understand that leadership is always busy but GOD.

If this is the state of social work here, I need to book a Botox appointment because my forehead is going to look like unironed linen soon.

This was partly a vent, but I would like input from senior social workers here!!

Im located in Toronto Ontario and looking for a career change after working 2 decades in advertising and marketing. I’ve always had a passion for psychotherapy and counselling and my work as a strategist has been surrounded about understanding people’s mindsets and behaviours (obviously in a very different context). But I want to move to something more fulfilling. I’ve been looking into programs like Yorkville University because they offer the flexibility but have also heard of Athabasca and CityUCanada and OISE UofT programs. I currently do freelance work at a full time capacity. I do have flexibility over my schedule but do need to work. And I have two young children and I graduated over 20 years ago from Communications and English Literature degree. Would love any thoughts on programs I should consider that would be doable both from admissions and with flexibility

I've been feeling a bit defeated as I have a goal of completing my MSW, either through direct admission to an MSW program or completing my BSW first. I unfortunately have been rejected by every school I have applied to for both BSW and MSW programs. Calgary, Victoria, Wilfried Laurier, Dalhousie.

I recognize that the rejections are very likely due to my low GPA. Without going into too much detail, I was not a good post-secondary student and unfortunately am now feeling the impacts by not getting accepted into any programs.

I completed my Child and Youth Care Certificate and Diploma and have a three year B.A. with a Psych major. I worked as a Child and Youth Care Worker for around 2 years, I worked in Child and Adolescent Mental Health for nearly 9 years, and now have worked in Child Welfare for 3+ years. I am coming up on 15 years of what I believe to be relevant experience, which I hoped would outweigh the low GPA.

I was looking to see if anyone has been in a similar situation and was accepted into either BSW or MSW programs, and any advice for my particular situation. Given that I work full-time and have a 2 year old, I have been applying to online programs. I did acknowledge my low GPA in my applications and provided the reasoning for it - then followed up with the fact that I have demonstrated the ability to maintain employment, have excellent references and advance my career.

I am 37 years old and am starting to feel like it is getting to the point where I am unlikely to get accepted as I don't believe a few more years of experience in addition to what I already have would make a significant difference.

If anyone has any advice / suggestions that they feel may be helpful, that would be appreciated.