I'm in my mid 30s and I would like to start studying in 2023.
The problem is, I'm quite lost at where to begin. I have no certificates/qualifications, just a lot of customer service experience from two decades of working in retail.
I know my goals though.
I want to do a bachelor of social work. Preferably by online learning. Is it possible to get accepted as a mature age student, or would I need a cert 3 in a relevant course to be accepted?
Who do I even ask for help/advice. I'm constantly told that universities and Tafes are just trying to sell their courses so don't rely on them for help... any experiences or knowledge shared is appreciated.
Career advice. Bachelor of Social work
Career advice. Bachelor of Social work
Posted in:
Life Lessons, Self Care, Education, IM's In Business
5 Replies
Universities have more applicants than people applying. So you can trust the info they give you. They know there entrance requirements.
There are no guarantees of acceptance. There are multiple pathways. To suit your needs. Even doing online it can be handy to be fairly local to the uni you choose. So I’d start with the unis closest to you. All the info is online these days.
There used to be a number of options, from sitting a test, doing bridging courses etc.
I started my bachelor of social work in 2019 - part time at the moment while I have young children. I’m studying through unisa. The majority of subjects are online however some subjects require you to be on campus for 2 day workshops and there are also 500 hours of placement which for my course is done in 2 blocks.
I got in on my year 12 results from 15 years earlier. There are a lot of different pathways and I would absolutely recommend getting in contact. They are really helpful and not just trying to sell you a course
Go to courseseeker and find the courses available. They tell you which uni, which delivery, how long, if they’re help courses, and also what job prospects you have with each different course. They also tell you prerequisites - what you need to get in. There are many different pathways, I wouldn’t waste time on tafe unless you’re absolutely sure there’s no other way.
I think whoever has told you that universities/providers just want to sell was pretty misguided. Also the prerequisites change once you're mature age and have life-experience. However, what the universities especially might recommend is that you engage in a preparation course covering skills you may need for success in studying. Keeping on top of schedules, academic writing styles, researching and referencing for assignments etc. The benefit that those fresh out of school have is that's all stuff they've been doing recently.
Look into a couple of unis who offer online study and see what they're like. I had plans and was accepted at Swinburne pre-covid and they were wonderful at advising what to do, what to apply for and how to go about getting it sorted.
I completed my bachelor of social work in 2019. I didn’t complete grade 12 and really sucked at school, although enjoyed English a lot. I started by doing a duel diploma in counselling and community service and when completed used that to get into uni. It helped set me up for more success with study and took about half a year off my study load at uni.
I don’t think I would have been good doing uni on line, I’m a terrible procrastinator and some subjects being harder I didn’t grasp as well without the lecturers support especially that first year and learning how to properly reference text.
I had to do 1000hrs of placement, 2 lots of 500hrs. This was challenging around small kids but the university was supportive and allowed me to do shorter days over a slightly longer period to get the 500hrs done.
I don’t think they try and ‘sell the courses’ to you, I found them very helpful without being pushy to make me enrol and unlike my diplomas the ability to pass or fail sat with me doing the hard work (the diplomas were made so simple even people that hardly attended passed without much effort).
I was only mid 30’s when I started my degree and although I’m not working in the Social work field right now (child with complex disability). Social workers are in high demand and I’ll be able to start this work soon now that things have been sorted with my child.