Career in social work
Social workers help people with personal, social and environmental problems that cause emotional and social distress. The help may take the form of counselling, advice and information, and referrals to other services, resources or facilitating bodies. This sector is perhaps not very popular in Malaysia.

To help improve the lives of people, you would need to empower, educate and support them and by working towards a change in their social environment.

You deal with people from diverse backgrounds facing universal problems like marriage, unemployment, illness or drug abuse. You can help refer these people to appropriate specialist professionals or community agencies.

Tasks include working with long-term problems to bring about a change in your clients and providing crisis-counselling.

You work in specialised areas usually of your choice, such as with adolescents, people with substance abuse issues, the homeless and victims of crime or opression.

Social workers should be:

• mature, balanced and emotionally stable
  
• able to empathise with others, often in stressful situations
  
• clear thinking and able to view problems in a wide context
  
• energetic, and posses stamina, as long hours may be involved

Team work and organisation are essential. You will liaise with other caring personnel (doctors, public health nurses, home helps etc) to plan an integrated approach to care. You will also be in contact with voluntary agencies with vested interests in different areas of social work.