Becoming a Social Worker

Masters at Work

by Alex Abramovich, Tasha Blaine

A revealing guide to a career as a social worker based on the real-life experiences of three distinguished social workers—required reading for anyone considering a path to this profession.

Becoming a Social Worker takes you behind the scenes to find out what it’s really like, and what it really takes, to become a social worker. Acclaimed authors Alex Abramovich and Tasha Blaine shadow three distinguished social work professionals to reveal how this compassionate field changes lives. Discover what it’s like to tirelessly advocate for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking, investigate accidental drug overdose deaths in New York City, and assist clients in a full-time private practice. Gain insight from these social workers paths as they offer wisdom and insight from their years of service. Social workers have a common mission to serve people in need—here is how this life-changing job is actually practiced at the highest levels.

Genres: Social Work, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

Alex Abramovich is the author of Bullies: A Friendship. He writes for the London Review of Books, teaches at Columbia University, and lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humane, accessible, and informative portraits of three social workers' professional journeys. This book gave me a clear picture of a few different ways social work practice can look, and shared insights and wisdom that I will keep in mind as I apply for a master's in social work.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The very first story jumped out at me and I ended up reading the book in one sitting. Through three narratives of social workers it really covers a broad range of reasons to go in to social work, ways to help, how these social workers grew in their understanding and experience, and how a pandemic plays in to all of this. For a short book, it left me with lots of ideas of which areas most interest me and a hope to make a difference.

[Becca]

The entire time I worked in social services I wished there was a way that we could know/learn about how other offices worked. I'm not at that job any more but I'm glad I read this.

[Rosario · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covered the basics of what social work is. It was nice to read about other social workers and their experience in the field, especially during the epidemic. I felt that Chapter 3 was my personal favorite only because I felt more attune to Wendy and what she went through. It was a short read, but I'm not complaining. I still enjoyed it overall.

[Ray Mathew-Santhosham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for anyone going into the helping field honestly! I loved that they elucidated the impacts of COVID on burn-out in social work practitioners and the ability to protect clients. I only gave it three stars because even though the narrative/journalistic was novel for me in terms of social work literature, I had heard many of these concepts before.

[Jamey Yadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable introduction to the social work profession! It's three stories of social workers that tell a lot about the nature and challenges of the work

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both inspiring and extremely practical