Photographer as a career tracked because I had the gear and have always been creative. Fine art and justice-oriented photography could work...but the job instability really made me nervous. Next was nursing: as a child I thought being in medicine and healing people would be cool, and I'd be great at it. Problem: I didn't pursue any science or math since grade 11 (more than 12 years ago, ugh), so that would be a steep curve.

 

   My final option was social work. A lot of things made this seem possible. First, my (social worker) therapist gave me a stamp of approval. She said I was committed to "the work", had a lot of life experience, and was simply willing and able to just...sit with people in the darkness. Then, when I proposed the idea to friends and family, a lot of them could see it too. Not many people said they could see me as a nurse, and many said photography would work. Here is where social work had its ultimate advantage: job security.

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   Now let me say this about job security, because we will talk about why people should go into social work: job security is very geographically bound and intersectional. In Ontario there is high need and space for social workers, particularly in certain fields (like child welfare) and for those who share marginalized identities (ex: disabled, Black, Indigenous, etc.). As a gay man with first and second hand experience in addictions, I was told there would be job opportunities for me. This was also based on the fact that there are not enough men in social work, and the industry is starving for them.

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   Still, to confirm this choice, I did career informational interviews. Looking back at my notes, I interviewed 8 different social workers from all kinds of backgrounds to check if this was the career for me. Long story short: it felt right, and every one of them got to know me and encouraged me to do it too. 

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   Then came the schooling. To practice most forms of social work in Ontario you need education, and at the time I had nothing formal. I decided to not go for the SSW because it was too entry level with not enough job prospects, and because I couldn't just skip to the MSW I decided to apply for my BSW. Gathering all the paperwork, transcripts, references, writing personal statements, coordinating fees was a punch in the gut. But, I am happy to report I got in to every school I applied to (TMU, York, Laurier). Ultimately, I decided to go to Laurier. 

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   Once I got into school, I started reflecting on what kinds of social work I'd want to do, and I realized I wasn't picking easy paths, so I started my school with guns a'blazing. To make the most of school and have a shot at a good job or MSW out of my BSW (which is incredibly rare and difficult) I entered school kicking and screaming to get ahead. I started getting involved, I networked, and I knocked down the door of every researcher in an effort to get a research job and I studied hard. I got a job as a research assistant with a social work researcher, I studied and got top grades (I'm currently at an A+ average thank you very much) and I got to know my profs. I started a business related to mental health and I focused my social media on social work and mental health (which thank goodness it took off). I've also started taking courses with community service learning opportunities, where I get credit for different things in the community related to my career goals. For me this has so far involved job shadowing a social worker and developing a resource on autism supports for adult newcomers to the Kitchener-Waterloo region. 

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   That's where I'm at now at the time of writing (June 2025). My future plans involve

• Volunteering and continuing to take courses with community service learning opportunities, 

• Potentially writing a fourth year thesis, 

• Launching and delivering mental health trainings for organizations, 

• Getting paid work in human and social services, 

and frankly anything else that makes the world a better place and secures a spot in an MSW program.