|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
|
 Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 6:22 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| Senior wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| Social workers produce a service. |
They are more like a band aid. A band aid for a wound that was originally (for the most part) inflicted by govt policies. For instance welfare dependency, unemployment, economic depressions, All these things lead to despondency and dissatisfaction with one's life which leads to the need for social workers in the first place.
So, yes. They do produce a service. But only in the sense that if I went out and smashed a heap of windows, I would be producing work for glaziers, but I wouldn't be improving the over all welfare of society. |
Yes because with no government there would be no unemployment or economic depressions, nor would there be any need for a social safety net of any sort. We would all enjoy full employment at $3/hr plus benefits. Except, of course, for The Elect, who it seems have all been exiled to South Korea to teach English.. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Zulethe
Joined: 04 Jul 2008
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 3:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| reactionary wrote: |
| Senior wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| Social workers produce a service. |
They are more like a band aid. A band aid for a wound that was originally (for the most part) inflicted by govt policies. For instance welfare dependency, unemployment, economic depressions, All these things lead to despondency and dissatisfaction with one's life which leads to the need for social workers in the first place.
So, yes. They do produce a service. But only in the sense that if I went out and smashed a heap of windows, I would be producing work for glaziers, but I wouldn't be improving the over all welfare of society. |
Yes because with no government there would be no unemployment or economic depressions, nor would there be any need for a social safety net of any sort. We would all enjoy full employment at $3/hr plus benefits. Except, of course, for The Elect, who it seems have all been exiled to South Korea to teach English.. |
Not to get too off topic but social work is a vast field. There are hospital social workers working with families going through all types of trauma and grief...There are school social workers helping students set goals for the future.
Social worker work in human resource departments, the government etc...
One relegating social work to helping the poor and downtrodden of society shows how little one knows about the field.
I personally am going to counsel veterans suffering from PTSD from this shit of a war. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 5:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| reactionary wrote: |
| Senior wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| Social workers produce a service. |
They are more like a band aid. A band aid for a wound that was originally (for the most part) inflicted by govt policies. For instance welfare dependency, unemployment, economic depressions, All these things lead to despondency and dissatisfaction with one's life which leads to the need for social workers in the first place.
So, yes. They do produce a service. But only in the sense that if I went out and smashed a heap of windows, I would be producing work for glaziers, but I wouldn't be improving the over all welfare of society. |
Yes because with no government there would be no unemployment or economic depressions, nor would there be any need for a social safety net of any sort. We would all enjoy full employment at $3/hr plus benefits. Except, of course, for The Elect, who it seems have all been exiled to South Korea to teach English.. |
Long and deep depressions like the one in the 30s and today are a govt invention, pure and simple.
The very notion of unemployment is absurd. There is more work to be done in the world than could ever be imagined. How does unemployment exist? The short answer is taxes and regulation. The long answer isn't coverable here.
You have no notion of what money is. $3 an hour was a good wage 100 years ago. Inflation eroded the value of the dollar. What is inflation? It's an expansion of the money supply. More money chasing the same a mount of goods and services. Who expands the money supply? The Fed/central bank. Therefore who causes inflation? Government.
I would happily take $3 an hour in an economy where the market was allowed to function. Everywhere the market is left as unencumbered as possible, prices tend towards zero. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 5:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Zulethe wrote: |
| reactionary wrote: |
| Senior wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| Social workers produce a service. |
They are more like a band aid. A band aid for a wound that was originally (for the most part) inflicted by govt policies. For instance welfare dependency, unemployment, economic depressions, All these things lead to despondency and dissatisfaction with one's life which leads to the need for social workers in the first place.
So, yes. They do produce a service. But only in the sense that if I went out and smashed a heap of windows, I would be producing work for glaziers, but I wouldn't be improving the over all welfare of society. |
Yes because with no government there would be no unemployment or economic depressions, nor would there be any need for a social safety net of any sort. We would all enjoy full employment at $3/hr plus benefits. Except, of course, for The Elect, who it seems have all been exiled to South Korea to teach English.. |
Not to get too off topic but social work is a vast field. There are hospital social workers working with families going through all types of trauma and grief...There are school social workers helping students set goals for the future.
Social worker work in human resource departments, the government etc...
One relegating social work to helping the poor and downtrodden of society shows how little one knows about the field.
I personally am going to counsel veterans suffering from PTSD from this shit of a war. |
Fair enough.
Though once again, war vets with PTSD are another problem caused by govt actions. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Moldy Rutabaga
Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Location: Ansan, Korea
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 6:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Though once again, war vets with PTSD are another problem caused by govt actions. |
That may be so. I think we need to establish that government action is wrong, then. Are we saying that governments should not run wars, and that they should be privately run and financed? I realize Iraq was in some ways an unnecessary war, but I am speaking in principle.
These are awfully hard-hearted statements. If a child is being beaten by a parent, we shouldn't have social workers because if government worked differently, this situation wouldn't happen?
The problem overall with these statistics is that they only calculate wages for people who actually have jobs. I have a graduate degree in English. Statistically, university professors are fairly decently paid. In actuality, I would have been better off at 18 buying lottery tickets rather than trying to get a living, breathing job as one in north America. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 7:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Wishmaster wrote: |
| A college degree in the 70's meant something. Today, it doesn't mean squat. Too many student loan companies and banks making money for it to end anytime soon. Oh, and the infinite mantra of "a college degree is the only way to success" continues to fleece new generations of students. A vicious cycle. What are Bachelor degrees equal to today? High school diplomas, only a more expensive version. |
Only 27% of Americans have a bachelor's degree or higher. So, it really DOES mean a lot.
The difference in salary between a Bachelor's degree holder and someone with just a high school diploma is pretty significant.
A master's degree doesn't mean squat. Going from a high school diploma to bachelor's there is a large increase in median salary. Going form bachelor's to masters is a small increase. Going from Masters to Doctorate is a huge increase in median salary. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 8:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Moldy Rutabaga wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Though once again, war vets with PTSD are another problem caused by govt actions. |
That may be so. I think we need to establish that government action is wrong, then. Are we saying that governments should not run wars, and that they should be privately run and financed? I realize Iraq was in some ways an unnecessary war, but I am speaking in principle. |
War is an unnecessary waste. It NEVER needs to occur. Most wars happen between govts. Weak govts can't wage war as they don't have the finances.
| Quote: |
| These are awfully hard-hearted statements. If a child is being beaten by a parent, we shouldn't have social workers because if government worked differently, this situation wouldn't happen? |
The child must have aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends, teachers. A simple call to the police from one of those people would solve much of the problem.
Even with a massive "social work" bureaucracy, we still have bad stuff happening to kids. Part of the reason is people are more and more relying on the govt to take care of that stuff.
| Quote: |
| The problem overall with these statistics is that they only calculate wages for people who actually have jobs. I have a graduate degree in English. Statistically, university professors are fairly decently paid. In actuality, I would have been better off at 18 buying lottery tickets rather than trying to get a living, breathing job as one in north America. |
Or how about MA or PHDs working at Starbucks or BK? Or in South Korea? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
SeoulnPepe
Joined: 13 Sep 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 11:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Connections, networking, and who you know are how you can move into better paying or more rewarding jobs...that or go on your own (but that's not for everyone). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 12:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
| SeoulnPepe wrote: |
| Connections, networking, and who you know are how you can move into better paying or more rewarding jobs...that or go on your own (but that's not for everyone). |
You forgot about working hard.
As Jeremy Clarkson said:
"One thing I�ve noticed over the years is that if you drive into London at 6am, half of the cars on the roads are Porsches and Astons. Whereas if you go in at ten to nine, they�re all Renaults. Simple solution, then. You want a nice car? Get up earlier and do more work." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Dysupes
Joined: 24 May 2005
|
| Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 5:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm not gonna knock the social work field nor am I going to downplay the good it does however I would like to give a word of warning to those who would like to go into it.
Having both parents as social workers has shown me that the work is DRAINING and VERY stressful. Both parents have said repeatedly that they wished in the long run they had chosen different careers. My mother has already in fact stopped working due to a long term stress disorder caused at least in part by her job and having to cope with the pressures involved in "helping" more and more people with less and less funds and resources. My father works in mental health services and he too has often described the pitfalls of the social work field.
If you are working with PTSD with returning soldiers, I wish you much good luck. I would also counsel you to very strongly consider your own mental well being when choosing which area to pursue. My father has counseled people with PTSD and has said that they are EXTREMELY difficult and stressful cases.
Good luck! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lionman
Joined: 13 Jul 2009
|
| Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 6:08 am Post subject: useless/ful degrees |
|
|
Native English speaker with English Major in the US = less than $30,000/yr
The same said person with English Major in Korea = Ka-ching!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 10:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
As someone who made about $35K/year in America and 1.9 million won/month back in the day in Korea (2002-03), I can say that making that 1.9 million won is MUCH better than that $35K. Or it was when I was making that. Why?
1. Lose less to tax, S. Security, medicare, etc
2. Don't have to pay rent. That's over $10K right there (assuming you live in a major city here in the USA)
3. Don't have to pay for car maintenance, insurance, etc. That's at least another couple grand.
4. Lower cost of living. Ok, I haven't lived in Korea for awhile now, but back in the day you could get a decent meal for 4-5,000 won. Here in the states? Good luck (even then).
Basically I figured the equivalent to what I was making in Korea would have been around $45-50K in my hometown (SF Bay Area), even though on paper I was making half that. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
| Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 10:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
My degree is in writing (fiction, copy and feature writing, memoir). After I graduated I was making just over 900 dollars a week before taxes -- about 45k a year.
I was also working 60 hours per week operating a printing press. And I was the only person there with a degree.
While my degree got me a sought-after job (in this area that is very good money for a lad in his mid 20s) despite my lack of experience in anything print related, it wasn't exactly the reason I went to school.
There's a lot more out there than money. The accountants can keep their cubicles as far as I'm concerned. I think I'd rather pick potatoes than make the big bucks in an office building. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Zulethe
Joined: 04 Jul 2008
|
| Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 4:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Dysupes wrote: |
I'm not gonna knock the social work field nor am I going to downplay the good it does however I would like to give a word of warning to those who would like to go into it.
Having both parents as social workers has shown me that the work is DRAINING and VERY stressful. Both parents have said repeatedly that they wished in the long run they had chosen different careers. My mother has already in fact stopped working due to a long term stress disorder caused at least in part by her job and having to cope with the pressures involved in "helping" more and more people with less and less funds and resources. My father works in mental health services and he too has often described the pitfalls of the social work field.
If you are working with PTSD with returning soldiers, I wish you much good luck. I would also counsel you to very strongly consider your own mental well being when choosing which area to pursue. My father has counseled people with PTSD and has said that they are EXTREMELY difficult and stressful cases.
Good luck! |
Good post and you are right. Except that all people are not affected by others people's pain in the same way. I sympathize and empathize, but I don't take it home.
I can say this from experience. I worked as an investigator for CPS and worked some of the sickest cases imaginable.
I never took it home and when I went home, those cases disappeared from my mind.
Like I've said before, it takes great mental fortitude and lots of practice. I've become the master of this.
I've been in two wars, almost died three different times, lost a great job, wife and all of my belongings in the span of one month.
When you've been through hell, other people's problems don't quite affect you so much.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
