"the Confident", "the Pausing" and "the Ambivalent"-Three Types of Social Work Graduates on the Verge of Their Professional Career

Background and Purpose: The transition of social work graduates into the workplace has garnered increasing attention in recent years, drawing perspectives from social work educators, employers, and the graduates themselves. While this literature addresses the question of the graduates' preparedness to enter the profession as social workers and navigate the early stages of their careers, less is known about graduating students' decision to pursue or abstain from a career in social work post-graduation, and the various factors influencing this choice.

Methods: This study sought to examine the perceived intentions of BSW graduated, that are on the verge of starting their professional career, towards working in the social work profession. The research was conducted using a phenomenological qualitative design. Data were collected via a content analysis of written reflective assignments submitted by third-year BSW students (N=23), in which they were asked to reflect on their choice to study social work, and on their plans for their professional future. The written assignments were thematically analyzed using a six-phase reflexive approach.

Results: The thematic analysis revealed that in this junction point at the end of their academic studies and on the verge of their early career, there are three main types of social work graduates that emerged from the data: 1- The confident graduate (13/23)- participants who intend to start working as social workers directly after finishing their degree. Their confidence was related to three main sub-themes: sense of professional fit, professional self-competence, and anticipation for the professional future.

2- The pausing graduate (5/23)- participants who expressed a need for time off between the end of their studies, and the start of their professional career, mainly due to feelings of burnout and fatigue.

3- The ambivalent graduate (5/23)- participants who expressed conflicting emotions towards the profession, which they related to external factors- low salary, low professional status and high working load.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings indicate that the choice to study social work, is not necessarily equivalent to the choice to pursue a career as a professional social worker. Interestingly, participants who expressed ambivalence regarding a career in social work, related their ambivalence to external factors, and not to internal factors such as lack of skills or low occupational fit. This indicates that social work graduates are required to negotiate between their personal traits and skills which initially led them to choose to study social work, and the unfavorable external conditions of the profession, including low salary and high work load. The findings emphasize the necessity to improve working conditions and professional status of the social work profession, to reduce occupational turnover of early career social workers.