will someone who is a counselor, social worker or psychologist please answer these questions for me?

Question

I couldnt find someone to interview in my surrounding area..

What is a typical day in your line of work?

How did you get started in this field?

What is your specific background and experience?

What entry-level jobs are best for learning as much as possible in this field?

What salary can one expect at entry level? After 5 years?

What is the typical career path for advancement? And how much education is required to enter the field?

What training, education, skills do I need to enter into the field?

What do you like best about your work? Least?

How many hours a week do you usually work?

What other occupations are closely related to this one?

What type of changes are occurring in the field?

What is the employment outlook in this field in the future?

How would they describe the working environment/culture?

What general advice would you have for someone considering this field of work?

Answer 1

Typical day: Team treatment meeting, 2-hour evaluation of new patient seeking treatment, 50-minute therapy sessions with 3 or 4 patients, documentation of all of the above, checking and responding to e-mails.

How I got started: Applied to the MSW program after undergrad.

Background and experience: Doesn't matter, but mine was business, as well as considerable volunteer experience

-You learn more about the field in an academic program than anywhere else

Salary: depends upon your track. Master's level social workers can expect 35-45k starting, and just a little more after 5 years.

You need a graduate education to get into counseling/therapy/clinical work. Advancement depends on the quality of internships in your program, and fellowships after it.

Direct therapy is what I like best. Documentation is what I like least.

Hours/week = 40-50

Clinical psychology, psychiatry, clinical social work, and counseling psychology are "related" to each other.

Changes in the field: A move toward "best practice" treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, etc.

Future outlook for job security looks pretty good, depending on the quality of your education and starting points.

The work environment depends entirely on where you are. It could be anything.

Advice: Keep your grades up. Volunteer. Read. Apply.