Wow, almost four months have passed since my last post! Seems like so much time has passed that even Blogger has changed its interface... I've definitely been doing a bad job at blogging. Between work, sitting in traffic several hours a day, trying to exercise, and trying to relax after a long day, I really don't have time for much.
I've been thinking about the format of my blogs and what to do with them. Since I don't blog frequently enough, one option is to recombine them into a single blog again. I suppose I could also keep them separate and find a way to connect them into a bigger site at some point. My blogs will always be works in progress, so expect changes in the future!
Quick life update: Still working the same jobs, living at home, and not having much luck with the Bay Area housing market. Seriously, who wants to pay $1000/month to live in a room in a house? Doesn't help than my parents expect me to live at home until I either get married or buy a house. Given my home situation, I wonder if I would have a better life if I did go to medical/law/engineering school. Then I realize that my doctor friends have debt in the six figure range (and make less than expected after malpractice insurance/taxes/overhead), my lawyer friends are mostly unemployed and in six figure debt , and my engineering friends only make slightly more than I do. I suppose it's sad times for everyone right now.
The positive thing about all of this is having extra money to do a little traveling. It's quite addicting and a motivating factor in finding a career that lets me travel all over the place. I'll talk about my trips at some point.
Well, that's all for now. I'll also be updating Cheap Social Worker, so please feel free to check that out too!
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak
This morning, I found this promising article that reported that women "only" make 2% less than men in the field of social work. While initially encouraging, I was reminded of some articles I've read in the past that stated otherwise.
After some searching, I found an old NASW press release and Social Workers Speak article that criticized the fact that Payscale only collected data from bachelors of social work majors. They referred readers to the National Association of Social Workers Compensation and Benefits Study, which provided a more accurate picture of social worker salaries since it included data from masters of social work graduates.
Unfortunately, this NASW study shows that the median salary of female social workers is $11,000 lower than male social workers ($53,000 and $64,000, respectively). This difference is significantly higher than 2%. One can only speculate why the gender pay disparity increases so much between bachelors and masters graduates. However, we do know that much work still needs to be done within the profession to reduce and ultimately eliminate this inequality.
Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak
After some searching, I found an old NASW press release and Social Workers Speak article that criticized the fact that Payscale only collected data from bachelors of social work majors. They referred readers to the National Association of Social Workers Compensation and Benefits Study, which provided a more accurate picture of social worker salaries since it included data from masters of social work graduates.
Unfortunately, this NASW study shows that the median salary of female social workers is $11,000 lower than male social workers ($53,000 and $64,000, respectively). This difference is significantly higher than 2%. One can only speculate why the gender pay disparity increases so much between bachelors and masters graduates. However, we do know that much work still needs to be done within the profession to reduce and ultimately eliminate this inequality.
Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling
Here is an excellent post from Becoming a Counselor that talks about addiction. My favorite parts of this post are the pictures, which would make great educational handouts during individual or group counseling sessions. Definitely worth the read, especially for people like me who don't do much drug counseling.
Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling: Quite some time ago after attending a few weekend courses related to addiction I became interested in working with this population of peopl...
Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling: Quite some time ago after attending a few weekend courses related to addiction I became interested in working with this population of peopl...
Going Mobile
I've created mobile versions of my blogs for fellow social workers with smartphones. Hopefully they're much easier to view than the old non-mobile format! Check them out using your cell phone:
Cheap Social Worker
Cheap Social Worker Adventures
Enjoy!
Cheap Social Worker
Cheap Social Worker Adventures
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Proposition 8 Ruled Unconstitutional
Great news coming from California today! A U.S. appeals court ruled 2-1 against Proposition 8, a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in California. While the ban will still be in effect until the Supreme Court rules on the case, this is certainly a step in the positive direction.
To quote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."
I come from a Catholic family, with a number of family members who don't believe in same-sex marriage. Most of them voted yes on Proposition 8. Arguments I've heard from my family members against same-sex marriage include them not liking gays and lesbians personally, questions about how same-sex couples can biologically give birth and raise families without "mothers" or "fathers", homosexuality being against Catholic teaching, and not wanting sex-sex couples to get married in a Catholic church. As a social worker, I know that I am supposed to respect these perspectives, as most of them are ingrained through culture and upbringings in a country that doesn't respect diversity as much as the United States. Similarly, I have family members who only believe I should date within my religion and race, and spurn any argument made otherwise.
Trying to be the understanding one can be frustrating, as these arguments against sex-sex couples are not reasons to deprive an entire group of legal rights. However, cultural beliefs are extremely powerful and hard to change. I know the best I can do for now is to continue to be understanding and try to educate.
Change is slow, but this ruling in California gives me hope that the oppression of LGBTs will end someday. I can only imagine what it's like being in their shoes right now. Thank you, US. appeals court!
To quote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."
I come from a Catholic family, with a number of family members who don't believe in same-sex marriage. Most of them voted yes on Proposition 8. Arguments I've heard from my family members against same-sex marriage include them not liking gays and lesbians personally, questions about how same-sex couples can biologically give birth and raise families without "mothers" or "fathers", homosexuality being against Catholic teaching, and not wanting sex-sex couples to get married in a Catholic church. As a social worker, I know that I am supposed to respect these perspectives, as most of them are ingrained through culture and upbringings in a country that doesn't respect diversity as much as the United States. Similarly, I have family members who only believe I should date within my religion and race, and spurn any argument made otherwise.
Trying to be the understanding one can be frustrating, as these arguments against sex-sex couples are not reasons to deprive an entire group of legal rights. However, cultural beliefs are extremely powerful and hard to change. I know the best I can do for now is to continue to be understanding and try to educate.
Change is slow, but this ruling in California gives me hope that the oppression of LGBTs will end someday. I can only imagine what it's like being in their shoes right now. Thank you, US. appeals court!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I finally created a facebook page! I figured it would be another way to keep people updated on my posts and other news. Please add me here: Cheap Social Worker
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I Signed Up For a Twitter Account!
I finally decided to sign up for a twitter account! I thought it would be a great way to keep everyone updated on my latest posts and other happenings! Please feel free to add me here: Follow me on Twitter!
Friday, March 11, 2011
8.9 Japan Earthquake
I've spent this evening watching news coverage of the earthquake in Japan and texting family in nearby countries to get to higher ground. Events like these are absolutely horrifying and a stern reminder that natural disasters can strike without warning.
While listening to the news, I decided that I needed to have an emergency kit in my room. Grabbing a backpack from my closet, I stuffed it with clothes, first aid tools, a flashlight, batteries, and a bottle of Gatorade. I don't really have much at home, so I might invest in a real disaster kit sometime soon. Since I live in an earthquake prone area, it's probably wise to have basic necessities in a bag so I could just grab it and go.
Apparently the entire West Cost is on tsunami alert. My hope is that this is only a safety precaution. Be safe, everyone!
While listening to the news, I decided that I needed to have an emergency kit in my room. Grabbing a backpack from my closet, I stuffed it with clothes, first aid tools, a flashlight, batteries, and a bottle of Gatorade. I don't really have much at home, so I might invest in a real disaster kit sometime soon. Since I live in an earthquake prone area, it's probably wise to have basic necessities in a bag so I could just grab it and go.
Apparently the entire West Cost is on tsunami alert. My hope is that this is only a safety precaution. Be safe, everyone!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
New Look
I spent the majority of today messing around with Blogger's different templates. As much as I enjoyed the polka dots, I feel that the new templates give my blogs a cleaner and fresher look. Maybe someday I'll learn CSS and design something really awesome involving polka dots.
I have work tomorrow, so that means I should probably go to bed early instead of playing around with my blogs. In the meantime, check out my latest article on my Cheap Social Worker blog, which gives advice on balancing becoming a social worker career with addressing financial wants and needs. Have a great evening everyone!
I have work tomorrow, so that means I should probably go to bed early instead of playing around with my blogs. In the meantime, check out my latest article on my Cheap Social Worker blog, which gives advice on balancing becoming a social worker career with addressing financial wants and needs. Have a great evening everyone!
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