# 1st hand experience of Australian Social Workers in the US?



## sanlovesdrpepper (Jun 6, 2014)

Hi everyone,

Ever since travelling around North America for over a year, meeting many amazing people, establishing many new friendships and dispelling many myths about American people that are unfairly placed upon them, I've now come back to Australia feeling like I left a big part of me back in the US and that I don't belong in Australia.

So I've decided that I need to do whatever it takes to live and work in the US. My plan is to find a way to work as a Social Worker in the US. But already I feel like I've already hit a road block because from what I have been able to gather, Social Work is not a profession where employers are inclined to employ outside of the country. An issue that is further complicated by the fact that each state has their own licensing requirements so professional qualification is not something easily attained and the fact that Social Work is such a low paid job. In addition, being able to find out about Australian's with first hand experience in Social Work has been extremely difficult to say the least.

Within this context, I am hoping that some Australian Social Workers will step forward and share their first hand experience even if they were not successful.

More specifically I'm keen to find out:

* What were the main hurdles for you and how did you overcome them or what would you do differently in hindsight?

* Whether Social Work falls under "specialty occupation" for E3 visa? From what I have been able to gather, it is because Social Work specifically requires a Bachelor Degree or higher in Social Work?

* Whether it is correct that the E3 visa is no extra cost to employers? I've read that there are only forms that need to be filled out but this is something I can do to make it easier for them?

*What alternatives to E3 are there? For example internships, volunteer then change to paid?

*What fields in Social Work are they in dire need of workers?

*Are there any expat forums/Facebook pages specifically catered to Social Workers? 

Thank you for reading.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I suspect you're going to find that social work is a difficult field for an expat to get into - certainly in the US. The state by state licensing is one potential obstacle, but that is most likely related to the fact that, as a social worker in the US, you do need to have a pretty good understanding of the legal environment - and that does vary from state to state.

This site might be your best starting point: National Association of Social Workers
Cheers,
Bev


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