Let's not beat around the bush here guys, 90 percent of us have pointless jobs. Hey, woah, before you get all defensive there, tough guy, I'm not excluding myself from that 90 percent. If anything I'm swimming around like a big useless fish in the vast blue waters of that pointless 90 percent, perhaps every now and again leaping into the air like a dolphin to let the world see another article I've written about the top 10 ways the English breakfast is better than any meal on earth, or how Arsenal F.C are a good side but, like, not Premier League winning good.
And it's not just me having all the pointless fun. Hey, that recruitment sales job you have? No one cares. That marketing job for that radiator company you're slaving over? Sorry, pretty meaningless.
So, what about those 10 percent? Those people who have jobs that actually contribute to society, rather than those stuck in a pointless, endless month to month cycle, only briefly pausing every now and then to go on holiday. I'm joking, I'm joking, most of us can't even afford to go on holiday!
When a hero comes along...
When thinking of worthwhile professions, doctors, nurses, and firefighters are the obvious answers that spring to mind. However, with severe cuts to local council funding and benefits for families and the disabled being slashed by the Department for Work and Pensions, social work is becoming an increasingly important and valuable profession. By helping vulnerable children and their families who are struggling with problems that many of us are lucky enough not to have to face at all, let alone week in, week out, these lads and lasses are performing a task that's truly heroic.
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One such social worker is Andy Winfield, 25, who gives support to children and families in a south London borough. Andy used to be a teacher until one day he tried to break up a fight in one of his classes. He explains:
"When I had to break up a fight between two pupils - a 14-year-old homeless boy and a pregnant girl - I realised I was trying to tackle their behaviour without dealing with the root cause of the problem. I was trying to tell this girl how important a BTEC in science was going to be to her life when I suddenly realised that it really wasn't important to her. That's when I realised if I was going to help I'd need to be involved in the home life as well, as a social worker."
Andy is now a fully qualified social worker in a local authority after completing the first year of a two year 'earn as you learn' graduate programme with Frontline, a charity that is dedicated to recruiting high potential people and turning them into the best children's social workers.
Demanding certainly seems like an accurate description. Sure, all jobs have their own unique demands - I mean, sometimes I have to write two articles in a day. Before lunch! But social work comes with challenges beyond comprehension for some of us.
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There's something incredibly inspiring about hearing how people like Andy deal with these circumstances; to the point where you sort of think 'I wish I could have such a positive impact in my day-to-day'.
"The tough times are when families don't agree with you and don't listen to what you say. A lot of parents will say 'You are not a parent, don't tell me what to do', and that can make you question yourself," Andy says.
"Like there was one case of a teenager who'd been in and out of hospital through repeated self harming. I tried everything I could but the dad told me they didn't want my help which really felt like a personal rejection.
It's not all doom and gloom.
"Eventually we had to close the case. We then received an email saying the child had self harmed again and was in hospital, which was quite tough to take, because you always feel like you could've done more, or that maybe someone different could've done something better."
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If it sounds like it is tough work, that's because it is. Although similar to a teacher training course in that you are paid to learn on the job, social work is a lot more emotionally involving than even a job as close quarters as teaching and, as a result, it can be quite hard to find a balance psychologically.
"It is hard to detach yourself emotionally, it's hard to not get caught up in what's going on in people's lives," Andy admits. "But you have to achieve a balance between feeling empathy and also being able to think objectively about the situations."
But then when you are trying to change people's lives for the better it isn't always going to be easy. There will naturally be times when you doubt yourself, but that is why Frontline are looking not just for people that are looking to go straight into social work, but career changers, people who have studied law, psychology or politics, people that can bring something different to a situation. Andy recalls one such time that he made a difference:
Helping children be themselves again.
"One of the families, the mum had suffered quite severe domestic violence, with horrible bruising from regular beatings. I was worried that being a man was going to make it harder for her to open up to me, let alone the fact that I'd never been through her situation in my life.
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"Then I think what happened was that she saw me as a man that was different, who wouldn't abuse her like she had been used to all her life, and that really helped her see things differently. "In the end, I'd managed to get the family rehoused, so they could have a fresh start without any of the bad memories lingering in their lives and they really turned their lives around."
If it all sounds doom and gloom, from speaking to Andy you really get the impression that it isn't. Sure, he deals with tough situations, things happening in society that aren't always the easiest to handle and require a lot of thought and hard work, but ultimately it sounds like a rewarding and fulfilling job that seems to actually make a change.
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"I get a massive satisfaction out of it. Even the smallest change in a family can give you such a kick. It's a massive cliché but no two days are the same, and I've only been doing this for two years but I've learnt so much. It can be challenging but what you always remember is that you are genuinely affecting people's lives, and that you're making a difference."
You can't really ask for more than that from a job really. So maybe if you're getting tired of marketing for that radiator company or trying to recruit bewildered graduates into sales jobs you knew they'd hate, why not give Frontline a look, it could be your chance to actually do something worthwhile and get paid for it, too. For more information on the Frontline programme - available across the country - and to sign up for an invitation to apply follow this link.
Words by @williamwasteman
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