Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Recruit, retain and manage the volunteer department.

I attend college campuses and job fairs all over the city looking to hire volunteers and staff. I complete a schedule for 130 volunteers on a weekly basis and innovate new programs for our agency. I maintain a few satellite websites about our work. I hire students for our work-study program and maintain communications with community organizations regrading volunteer opportunities. I drink too much coffee.

I like working with people, problem solving and helping people in crisis.

Securing funding is always a challenge, you are dependent on government grants and donations for a paycheck. The pay grade is pretty low and sometimes upward mobility is an issue in grassroots organizations.

I like crisis work! Smaller non-profits are easier to pivot and our work covers a broad spectrum of social issues.

Computer skills (Excel, web development), people skills, diplomacy, flexibility, problem solving and management). Being able to work independently and on a team is important, as well as putting out any fires that pop up daily.

ABQ Police Department- Homicide Division- 1 year as intern
Domestic Violence Resource Center - 2 years as advocate
National Runaway Safeline- 5 years as crisis center supervisor and volunteer coordinator

I'm planning on returning to get my Masters degree in counselling as I'd like to work more closely with teens.

Learn a second language fluently (in the US Spanish is the main one), and take a few coding classes. Learning both of those would have given me a HUGE leg up over the competition if I had to do it all over again.

I make 35k after almost a decade in the field. It's emotionally rewarding work, but going into social work or psychology should be a fair warning to students considering this field that you'll never make 6 figures. Helping people can be its own reward, but there's a hidden cost with choosing this field.