Money Guru Suze Orman Offers Social Workers Advice, Social Work Month Message
Financial advice whiz Suze Orman says it is too bad the public and policy makers do not value social workers and pay them more.
Orman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, said social workers are “vital to the fabric of the United States of America.”
Still Orman, who just released her 10th financial advice book “The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream” ($26, Spiegel & Grau), is not too sympathetic when social workers complain about low salaries and high student loans.
She said those who enter the profession knew about the pay. So social workers need to “stand in their power.” That means learning to live well below their means, being resourceful and smart about money, and realizing what you earn does not equal what you contribute to society.
“You just have to be one of those that seriously live below your means,” said Orman, who was on a book tour and talked to SocialWorkersSpeak.org and the National Association of Social Workers News by telephone from the Intercontinental Hotel in Kansas City. “It may mean you rent for the rest of your life. But who cares? So does all of America right now.”
“You have to get your pride out of who you are and what you do for others,” she continued.
Still Orman has helped some social workers get out of debt. She set up a scholarship for master’s degree social work students at the University of Illinois. Twice a year the dean of the school picks a student to receive the scholarship, which pays off the recipient’s student loans.
Orman, who has her own financial advice show on CNBC and has made regular appearances on the Oprah Show and Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), decided to write “The Money Class” to give people advice in these economically perilous time. People need to abandon the old, more materialistic American Dream and adopt a more frugal, realistic standard of living to match these tight economic times.
But she doesn’t think Americans have learned from the recent recession and will change their lifestyle the way their parents and grandparents did after the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“It didn’t hit everybody,” Orman said of the current economic downturn. “During the Depression period it hit absolutely every, single person. You literally had people in the streets begging.”
After graduating college Orman, 59, worked as a waitress making $400 a month before landing a job at Merrill Lynch. She went on to rise up the ladder at Prudential Bache Securities before launching her own company.
Although she never practiced social work Orman said her social work degree has helped her become the financial advice superstar she is today. That is because her studies have helped her understand how people think and feel about money and enabled her to talk about money on a personal level.
“You have to understand people to understand money,” she explained. “People have to go out and earn money. It’s people who spend it.”
In honor of Social Work Month Orman sent social workers this message:
“The amount of money you make never determines the wealth that you are able to create.
Over the 30 years I have been doing this now I have come to realize that people who make less money can end up with more when they live below their means and live a respectful life.
I have counseled people who make tons of money and they have absolutely nothing left at the end because why? Their habits and expenses eat up everything they have even if it’s millions of dollars.
Those people who make lesser amounts, once they learn about their money, can make more out of less any day of any month if they decide to do so.
If you social workers have what it takes to deal with some of the most serious problems in the United States of America between families, children, elder abuse and so on you have what it takes to take care of your financial children as well — the bills, bucks and pennies that are all in your life.
And the bottom line is this: you will never be powerful in life until you are powerful over your own money –how you think about it, how you feel about it and how you invest it.
Do not hide behind the excuse that you don’t make enough money so therefore you’ll never have any money. You can do anything. You just have to know how.”
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Suze is my hero. And, she is so right. We can not help empower our clients until we learn to empower ourselves. It is not about how much $ we make but how we use it and how we feel about it and ourselves. Tell it Suze.
I never felt poor as a social worker. I have my own personal challenges to work through, but I know if I do what I love finances will follow.
I did not know that Ms. Orman has a SW degree. Just more proof.
Thank you for educating individuals that social work is so much more than case management . We are everywhere and can work anywhere!
Sorry Suzie and fans, but my education as a social worker is as an advocate not a victim. I refuse to believe that we are powerless over our incomes and just have to suck it up and live like we have not attended six years of college, and done two more years of supervised training to attain a professional license to practice independently. What are you thinking?
We need to take action collectively as a group to improve our situation. There is power in numbers and in collaboration.
I own a multi-facility medical practice that employs 27 healthcare providers, and fight for payments every day. We need to get together. Social workers are the largest group of mental health providers in the country and we act like it’s o.k. for everyone to walk all over us.
Please visit me on changetheworldforgood to discuss how we can solve these problems.
As a working social worker who has put in blood swear and tears for over 10 years, at first I was happy to see this article. After reading it, seeing that though she has a BSW, has NEVER worked in the profession, she has NO basis to give advice about what it feels like. A true social worker would never tell any human being to suck it up (aka “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”). Especially someone in her public position, she should be TRUELY advocating with the money big wigs and politicians to put social work salaries where they should be.
I’m so glad to read this. I’m switching from six-figure income to the field of social work (with prospects of making $32K per year with a Masters degree) because I was miserable in that job and absolutely love social work. It’s been a very tough choice and I know financially it doesn’t make any sense at all. I was wishing for advice from Suze and I guess I have it now.
Really the only major positive thing out of this whole economic downturn has been a reality check for the out-of-control consumerism and spending in the U.S. Not only is it bad for your bank accounts but it’s bad emotionally and for our planet/environment. I hope we can continue to keep it more in check and live more green and within our means!
Thank you Suze! I have been researching an intervention in Los Angeles County that seeks out justice for victims of elder financial exploitation. It was great to have you acknowledge that social workers are working to prevent elder abuse. I think you could make a significant impact increasing awareness of heirs that seem to think money is there’s before the elder has finished using it for their own needs.
Best regards,
Adria
I agree with Marie, I am also switching from a high paying career to go into social work. It is not about the money, it is about the fullfillment that you get from helping others. The stress to make money when you are in the business world is just not worth it. I can live on 32K per year and be happy, more happy than living on 100K+. I have learned how to save money on groceries, my education and household expenses and it is actually fun. I hope I can help others live a rich life without having to be highly compensated. I am working on a paper on how to live better on less.
Tell it Suzie!
Social Workers empower others and themselves when they work toward change and with change. I agree, many people haven’t learned anything from the most recent economical collapse, however, those who have will benefit greatly!
Value yourself first as Suzie says! This really means be happy, healthy and all the rest of what life is about will follow. Do what you can do and leave the rest.
I have been a social worker the past 12 years. As Suzie pointed out, I did not decide to be a social worker to get rich. I knew at core I am a social worker and to fulfill my life purpose I must be of service.
Put myself through college starting at age 40, have no student loans to pay off, no credit debt and live very simply on $1,480 unemployment check right now. Thank goodness I have a savings and no debt! When I find work again the amount I am spending on Cobra goes straight back into savings each month.
Social workers must learn to advocate for themselves the same as they ask their clients to do.
Thanks for getting good advice out there Suzie, we need more people like you!
I am thrilled to see this article by one of my heros–I love Suzie Orman!
I’ve made this point in other threads, but it is important to reiterate it: MANY SOCIAL WORKERS ARE MAKING LUCRATIVE SALARIES! After a few years of work experience, you can start making more money; you DON’T have to take a vow of poverty to do social work–just think outside of the box a little. We are only limited by our thinking!
Besides having decent paying day jobs, I have MSW colleagues who have started small businesses (some do it full-time while others only one day a week) and are making money as:
1) Life Coaches & Executive Coaches
2) Independent therapists
3) Adjunct Professors
4) Mediators
5) Focus group Facilitators (there’s a lot of $$ in market research)
6) Grant Writers
Respectfully, the people who claim poverty, after years in the field, are the individuals who either lack entrepreneurial ability or have internalized a victim mentality. Personally, I reject the idea that I have to be poor to do good work in the world!
Here is to living comfortably AND being a social worker!!
From “Women and Money” by our beloved fellow social worker, Ms. Orman:
“When I arrived, I met with a guidance counselor who asked me what I wanted to study. I told him that I wanted to become a brain surgeon. He looked at my grades and said, “I don’t think so. You
don’t have what it takes. Why not try something easier?†I did a little investigation and found
out that the easiest major was social work, so I signed up for that. Why not take the easy way out? Why try harder?”
Ms. Orman, I have been “boycotting” you (and your tragic-at-best wardrobe) since I first read those vile words. How dare you even associate yourself with this field, not to mention the ranks of legitimate professional social workers who have dedicated their lives to creating social change and advocating for those who are disenfranchised, marginalized, or exploited.
I was quite excited when I saw that Suze Orman was being highlighted in a social work article…assuming it was going expose her as perpetuating a harmful conception of this noble and long-standing profession. Now that I know that we are lauding her, I am livid and appalled (not to mention nauseated).
Social work has value in this society and anyone who even utters the words “I didn’t go into social work to get rich” should be ashamed of themselves. It is this attitude, and this drone-like acceptance that we are going to earn a fraction of what other graduate degreed professional earn, that keeps social workers from getting paid what we are really worth. Yes, pay scales are often low and unfair, but that is primarily because of the myths and misconceptions about our credentials, professional capabilities and strong academic presence. We can either align ourselves with this bad reputation (that is further supported by Ms. Orman) or combat it through educating our community and advocating for ourselves and our profession.
You may have fooled some people, Ms. Orman, but there are many of us who are wise to the fact that your identification as a “social worker” is only meant to further your own agenda by duping social workers into thinking you are one of us, thus influencing us to purchase your materials, watch your programs and just generally enhance your obscene and unjustified wealth.
Mary Richmond is turning in her grave.
Disappointed to read Suzie’s advice to social workers. Let’s talk about the divide in this country between the rich and the poor and the outrageous salaries going to thousands of people who are doing nothing to change this cycle of greed. Our country is at the beginning of major structural changes that demand balance be restored so that no one dominates over another. Rather than just focus on social workers leaving the low paying jobs which are usually with those in our society who have been marginalized; let’s organize to advocate for for higher wages in this profession. We are a strong and powerful group, and I would like to hear if there is an organized effort in place. Too often social workers leave their profession to be coaches, private therapists, etc because they cannot support themselves (or burn out), and they do not have wealthy partners to supplement their income (hmmm, since sw is primarily a female profession does our society assume and expect this?). It is evident that women in the workforce are still paid lower wages; and being a woman and a social worker is a double hit in a society that continues to discriminate against women and obviously against the helping profession when it comes to equal pay.
I guess a college educated and licenced Social Worker (who chooses not to spend more money for advanced degrees to earn more money) should eat cornbread and beans, not have children and hope she does not get sick. I am disappointed to read Suzie’s advice. I happen to like what I do seven days a week. Social work is more than a “job”. It is a lifestyle of contributing to society. I just should be paid fairly for the “job” I do. I am not burned out but feeling burned by being part of the working poor….
Like many who have already commented, I was initially pleased to see an icon of financial pop culture commenting and encouraging the field of social work. After reading Ms. Orman’s article and “advice” to a profession she is not even an honorary member of, I am appalled and disappointed that NASW would even post this insulting piece. Supporting these types of opinions is EXACTLY what is wrong with the profession of social work!
I am proud to be a highly educated and highly competent social worker and have practiced a fair amount of self-advocacy that is (for some reason?) only acceptable in fields like business, medicine and law. No–we don’t enter the field of social work to live in Trump Tower but why do we advocate for others daily and disregard our own basic needs??
Although Ms. Orman may be well-meaning in her commentary, I don’t appreciate her tone of condescension when she has pursued shameless self-promotion that has lead to over $25 million in net worth. How do you get a job at Merrill Lynch with a BSW anyway?
I can only hope that my NASW dues did not support honorarium for Ms. Orman–and hope further that perhaps she did a “pro bono” piece on behalf of the field of social work.
I read Suzie’s remarks and I also found her comments extremely condescending. What was NASW thinking when they designated her as a spokesperson. Yes, I did understand when I went to social work school that I was not going to be a millionaire. However, all of us who work in this very important field deserve to make the best salaries that we are able to command. Our salaries are as important as the work we do as if we are to prevent burnout and social workers leaving the field to pursue other fields. What does she mean “live below our means”. Should we be grateful that we are getting a salary at all, maybe we should martyr ourselves and work for free which is not a good way to present our profession. I am very grateful to be a social worker and I klnow that I have made a difference in the lives of the people I serve. Social workers should be more proactive in terms of promoting ourselves so that they can command salaries commensurate with the services they provide. Didn’t Suzie do that in the books that she has written???
Shame on you Suze Orman! I am shocked.
Would she say the same thing if this field was comprised of mostly men! Because the field is overwhelmingly female, is this economic situation that we deserve just because we knew this going into the profession?
Mindfulness is not acquiescence. I think part of our problem is that we are mostly very kind women and we do not demand more economically. When possible, we need to strive to be promoted to the higher paying positions and do more politically. But we are not victims.
To The NASW : Let us hear from you regarding Suze’s comments.
I really can’t stand Ms. Orman’s attitude. She is forever trying to tell people how to spend their money, and a lot of the time it is in unrealistic ways that people who don’t have much – invest, or save, or whatever. I don’t know about you, but at the end of the pay week, I don’t have anything left to save. And while I’m treating someone’s teenage child (someone with money) for prescription pain med abuse for pennies, I’m expected to just get over it and do it and don’t complain about what we’re not gettnig paid. We should’ve known better she says. Booooooo! Ms. Orman! Go back to giving financial advice to the peope that have money. This whole country is getting ridiculous around money. We can’t pay our teachers or social workers or pilots or police officers or those that really matter enough money and then the country wants to complain about us wanting all the same things they want…a house, a car, to put food on our own children’s plates. When I see Ms. Orman I just turn the channel, she doesn’t speak for me…AT ALL! I’m supposed to accept that I might be renting forever because EVERYONE else is? Let me make sure I know what School of Social Work she went to so I know to steer people away from there. Oh yeah, and how am I supposed to save when I have to pay top dollar for a supposed education that is bogus. Again, I don’t know about you, but school and school books were NOT cheap. OOoops, I’m complaining again, tsk, tsk, how dare me. Get outta here….
This leaves me almost speechless. After reading this, I find it disheartening that someone even slightly associated with Social Work (and I do call a nonpracticing BSW this) is so condescending towards us in the front lines. Why should social workers not try for the American dream? Are we supposed to settle for the status quo? Are we just supposed to sit around, thanking those that send us table scraps while others can sit at the dining room table? This makes me so angry that someone who NEVER practiced in our profession lectures us on what she thinks we deserve to make. Everyone should have access to the American Dream, no matter their profession. Shame on NASW for even giving this nut a forum to espouse her condescending views
At first I was pleased to see a message from Suze Orman, thinking she would have the common sense to know the value of Social Work. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I finished reading her comments. Her attitude is exactly why Social Workers are in need of strong advocacy. I thought that was why I pay dues to NASW. I feel NASW needs to respond appropriately to this condescending message that they allowed to be posted on their website. What were they thinking when they even promoted her book so that Suze could make more money? I was a fan of Suze Orman’s until I read this article. Not any longer. NASW, as I find it harder to make ends meet, I will strongly be reconsidering my membership when it comes due. Just living below my means.
Suze:
My comment is certainly late. I have read some of the comments & I must agree with Ms. Linder (March 25). I do NOT believe that as a social worker I (or any social worker)should have to “suck it up” and accept meager earnings.
One should be able to do what one loves AND be well compensated financially. Social workers work in a variety of settings. I have known (and know) social workers who own businesses and private practices, social workers who teach and consult, social workers in directorships and management positions . . . there are ways and places where social work can be lucrative.
I understand that overall social work salaries are lower than they should be. However, I hate to think that a potential social worker or social work student may be discouraged by reading a social worker may have to “rent” instead of own . . . etc.
I currently work 9 1/2 months per year in a school setting. The social workers in my setting earn between $40,000 – $69,999 per year (depending on years of experience) – I am in North Carolina (so i know our salaries are lower than many states but the cost of living is also lower – WELL<)
YES, we must do more to increase our incomes & raise awareness about the profession- but it is not all doom & gloom. My belief is one can be in the great profession AND have some of the "extras" that life offers.
Thank you for your interest in social work. I am glad to learn that you are passionate about SW and hold a social work degree. BUT please do not imply to my colleagues that social workers should simply accept a life without $$$.
I have now read the other comments & am glad to see that most people felt the same way I felt about Suze’s comments.
Suze, I do thank you for spotlighting social work but I can’t say enough about how hurtful it is to have someone say (or imply) “you chose the field of social work, knew it did not pay well so stop complaining – suck it up and accept” The answer to that is NO, NO, NO!
I love the profession of social work. I enjoy meeting and helping others but I expect to live the American Dream. I trained for 6 years (BSW & MSW) then worked 2 (clinically – PAYING for clinical supervision) then sat for the licensure exam (paid for that, too) – then became licensed (paid for that) (Have liability insurance, NASW membership, pay every other year to maintain my LCSW and pay for various workshops and conferences to earn CEUS) The profession is costly
So I DO deserve (like other licensed professionals) and expect to be well compensated. To my fellow social workers: KEEP COMPLAINING . . . perhaps not “complaining” but KEEP advocating for increased salaries for social work!
Peace
To NASW – shame on you for endorsing this way of thinking! If NASW agrees that we should just accept poor salaries – then I think NASW should perhaps accept lower membership fees> NASW should be adovocating for the profession of social work ( that includes educating the public on social work AND advocating for higher salaries.)
I am shocked at the antiquated and sexist response that Susie Orman gave. I would not expect this kind of a comment to be made to a doctor or teacher! Should I be punished for enjoying my work ?Should I accept less because I am a female? Should I accept less beca use I serve? Shame on you! I love my work and would do nothing else am I to be punished with disdain and a low salary for this as well? Shame on you and your cohorts in and out of the proffession for this- Their is a reason we join NASW – because we need the insurance. Your policy of advocating for everyone but your membership is wrong we will never be truely effective untill we advocate for ourselves first-
Nurses and teachers have learned this valueable leson when will we?
Thank you
Suzie, its easy for you to tell us real Social Workers to suck it because you’ve never worked in this stressful field. We are highly educated yet gravely unpaid and treated poorly by medical professionals. As a public figure, you can fight and lobby for increased salaries as so many did for nurses. It seems that you don’t care because you’re rich and busy giving advice and writing books. While working stressful jobs and can barely take care of our families. I agree with all the above comments from my fellow Social Workers. We need to stand up and fight for fair wages and better working conditions.
No one would ever make comments like these to an MD or JD. Ms. Orman panders to the flavor of the month financially and makes her fortune selling books and going on the lecture circuit.
I was offered $14 an hour as a clinical therapist, 2nd shift, in a residential rehab. that is an insult to me personally and our profession. I did not accept that position as my time is much more valuable. I make plenty of money in my private practice.
Now it is time to write a book and make some Orman type cash. Maybe I’ll tell people how to prepare for the zombie day, seems to be a winner.
First of all, I absolutely adore Suzie Orman and grew up watching her show and managed to save every penny I had living in a lower middle-class family growing up (enough to put a down payment on my condo when i was merely 24 years old). However, at the same time, I received my masters in social work, began working for 37k, and recently got married. I thought I could afford living in a 700 sq ft. condo on a SWer and teacher’s salaries, which might have been possible. However, I was soon laid off, unemployed for about 6 months, had a 2-month contract position earning $25/hr, but was laid off again with another 4 months out of work until my current job making about 12k/yr. YES, 12k per year!! It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked, and I love what I do, but Suzie, NO ONE can live on 12K near a big city such as the one I live in. Financial well-being is a part of one’s overall well-being which includes mental and physical health. Try actually working in the SW field and not taking in any secondary trauma or stress AND earning below minimum wage (which is actually legal if you are a professional!!!). I am back to the same place I have been over and over again in this field: now what? do I find another job? do I change fields? do I continue to self-advocate for higher pay and have the field bite in the butt again?
Sorry I cannot be more positive about Suzie’s argument. I do love the work I do. I enjoy the most challenging clients, and have been told I am an asset to my employer and my clients tell me everyday that they have experienced more change with me than with years of therapy with other therapists. How do I continue my good work? I take comments like that in and continue trucking along. HOWEVER, my financial well being is sinking fast after the two or so years since graduating and I still do not yet have my clinical license despite my all my hard work because of the time in between jobs. I must make a very big decision soon whether staying in this field and being “vital to the fabric of society” is a good enough excuse to continue or realize that I cannot enjoy life as I would like to unless I leave this field. I did NOT go into the field signing a vow of poverty as Orman would have people believe. On the contrary, I was told that recent grads were making between 43 and 47k from my exact program no more than 3-6 months out. That’s laughable to me now. Oh Suzie! How I would love some of your net worth! I would be doing SW forever!!
If I hear another person saying bend over and take it I am going to scream. I guess Suze’s days as a social worker are so far away she does not remember how it felt to struggle, however, to tell us to accept the status quo is to speak from a position of powerlessness and I will not accept this as it is exactly the mentality that has kept us in a standstill position. Suze, like many other people, professional and otherwise, continue to feed the lie that social workers cannot expect more than a pat on the back, maybe the fanny, for all we do. I know that I and all the social workers I know deserve a lot more. For Suze to sink us in such a public manner is disgraceful. Suze, stop spitting on the face of social workers.
I think this is crap…..so we go to school forever and do tons of work for pennies! Social Workers need to ban together and work towards increased wages…it’s a crime that social workers with a master degree get’s paid less then 40,000 anywhere.. Yes we like to help people, and yes we should be paid much better then most places offer us. You add in health insurance increases and the numbers get even more disgusting!
This article is one stupid insult after another!
Interesting, so many “practicing social workers” seem to enjoy attacking Suze Orman. I am not a big fan of her show, although I do enjoy her message. My take away, social workers (and other occupations) need to put on big girl/boy pants and get on with it. The free market will determine the worth of a job, as it always has. We are not entitled to anything in this life, other than what the market will will pay when services are delivered.
Want to increase your salary, choose a company that does not proudly proclaim a non-profit status. For each and every one of them someone had to create a product or service for a profit. We cannot print/borrow our way to prosperity, which has always been one of Suze’s key points. As some have mentioned, obtain a skill, provide a service or create a niche that no one else is. Social work is the act of helping others reach their potential, remove barriers. Their are clients with check books that have issues that will pay you as well. The idea that the social work profession only has one definition that it never evolves is insane. It also may be why the public perception is what it is, the NASW needs a new marketing plan.
Finally, this attack on Suze is even more interesting knowing that she is part of a marginalized population we serve, LGBT. It’s good to know that the profession is filled with so many open minded women. I am Looking forward to working in the field very soon and experiencing this. But thus far, my experience in higher education has found more professionals teaching open minded theories, practicing little.
Really, I have an MSW from Tulane University, requiring 60 graduate hours, 330 hours of internship work, and a very involved thesis. I won’t even mention what that cost! Then, there is the three years of supervision at 75 bucks a week and a state licensing test that was harder than any test I ever took as an undergraduate chemistry major! I feel very fortunate that I get the privilege of impacting the healing of people’s soul and life. However, we should advocate for ourselves, as we do for others. Suze, you could be a great influence in getting government and insurance companies to realize that our compensation should reflect our education and value. Don’t ask us to accept the status quo just because we perform a “social service.” How messed up is society that this is supposed to equal low pay?
I’m not impressed with some of the responses in this article. The live below your means is just upsetting. Instead of the NASW advocating for social workers to receive reasonable pay they are saying deal with it. Now, even minimum wage workers are petitioning for descent wages. 4-6 years of schooling & massive tuition expenses and this is how we’re treated. A lot of jobs I worked for expected me to work for free on weekends & wear expensive clothes and being short pay to have my clothes professionally hemmed. One company I worked for even took away my mileage reimbursement & expected me to pay to rent a car. Now with working free on weekends whom watches my kids something I have to pay for a sitter; not cheap. These expenses aren’t living in your means. So being told to live within your means is insulting. Also when I went to college I was told I would make a suitable living not have an overpriced education, being offered only salaried positions at a minimum wage 8.75 an hour rate & work a lot of free hours on top of that. Being told your not going to make a lot is one thing but making minimum wage is another.
Yeah, I have to say, this was very annoying to read!!! Social Workers are not asking to be rich nor want a pity party. We want to have a decent wage and pay off our debt before we are 80! We knew it was a lower paying job but for a lot of us we made that decision when we were in our early 20’s….(money was still an abstract concept to me at that time). I love what I do and I should also be paid based on my skills and experience. How dare you shame social workers for advocating for our needs. Who is going to care for us when we have nothing left to give? We have to live by the words we tell clients. You would not tell a client to just deal with their income… you would empower them and encourage them to advocate for their needs. Live below our means? Easy for you to say, are you making under 50,000 and raising kids? It’s taking me over 10 years to make $40,000. Rent forever? HA HA wow, so empathetic!
“You just have to be one of those that seriously live below your means”.
Why should that be? It is a serious injustice that those in this field are expected to be paid nothing. Shame on anyone who proliferates this idea.
If you don’t feel what your are doing is worth being paid well then neither will anyone else.
Interestingly enough, I realize this article was written a number of years ago and still the profession has experienced barely a modicum of change. It is disconcerting that I work in a hospital and have had similar experiences with being unfairly treated in terms of respect, salary and advancement opportunities as compared with the nurses performing the exact same functions. I wrote to the NASW Florida chapter to which I got no response. So I decided to take it upon myself to organize a group of social workers who would speak with the supervisor to address 3 main objectives: equal pay, advancement opportunities to manager positions and presence at administrative meetings to share our views. Out of perhaps 12 social workers in the dept, only 3 others aside from myself agreed to participate. The others feared they would lose their job for speaking up. What a disgrace! So of course our concerns were not heard. We should look back to the nursing profession that also started as a helping profession and advanced to be the end all be all of healthcare just within the past few decades! Why were they able to be their own advocates? Part of the problem is we keep preparing ourselves to make no money! Well in that case the colleges need to stop charging upwards of $50,000 for a master’s so at least we won’t be buried under a mountain of debt. There is NO justification for an educated person to be skirting the poverty line and not being able to ever buy a house. None whatsoever!