Why I Went Back to School

On getting an MSW later in life

I decided to go back to school in my mid 30s. I wanted/want to become a therapist/social worker. Although I recognize how amazing this opportunity is, there are still draining days that make me wish I were still schlepping to the Valley to do open mics and unleash my neuroses on others.

Or, you know, sometimes I wish I could just live a stultifying existence and enjoy watching Netflix and listening to an array of comedy podcasts while reminding under-qualified coworkers who got an English degree in 1988 how to widen an Excel column every other day.

Alas, I am grateful for this journey. Not a day goes by that I don’t praise the universal life force for guiding the way. You see, I chose the MSW program for a reason. Specifically, I chose the path of MSW because I wanted to be a therapist who works with people experiencing substance-use disorder (SUD). That is my path to purpose.

This decision came years after obtaining an expensive master’s degree in public policy– even with a half scholarship, it still subjected me to a comfortable form of debt bondage in which I could still enjoy lunching at Lemonade and buying Pellegrino in bulk at Costco while being crushed by federalized debt continually compounding with interest.

Really, I chose to pursue a master’s in public policy because I figured I had to do something in life other than work a part-time job and scribble poetry/errata, and why not get a master’s degree that could help you change the world potentially and blah blah blah. I won’t mention my bachelor’s in journalism, OK? DON’T ASK.

My pursuit of an MSW, then, represented the first time that I pursued a degree with the intention of committing to a specific profession. Seriously. Most of my other career or even personal decisions had been inarticulate at best, and roulette-wheel emotional at worst. This time, though, I looked deep in my soul and questioned it as though it were Pythia at the Oracle at Delphi.

I thought about my family and the addictions that plagued us. I thought about my good friend Craig, whose body succumbed to alcoholism at just 33 years of age. He left a daughter behind. He left a lot behind. I also talked to people to decide on whether they believed that I had it in me to be a healer. I talked to people who wouldn’t BS me. I got my answers, and after months of thinking and informal interviews, I decided to pursue a degree that would help me become a therapist.

But why an MSW? Why not, say, an MFT? I chose the route of MSW over MFT for a few reasons. First off, I felt as though the degree was clinical enough to allow me to learn how to do actual therapy, and yet broad enough that it would reinforce policy and advocacy skills I had forgotten or never learned along the way. Then, there was the accessibility of online programs.

Plus, there just weren’t many MFT programs out there that offered relatively affordable, part-time instruction that made it viable for a full-time member of the proletariat. Most of my decisions on this front were based on that most American of criteria– convenience.

So, I chose a specific MSW program that offered coursework online and in-person internships. Indeed, I say I chose this program because it was the only program to which I applied. The specific program (private message me for details) was a 2.5/3 year, part-time program marketed to people who work full time. Since I worked full time, I thought it was perfect.

And many of the professors were practitioners themselves, having worked for various public agencies but also in private practice in addition to their academic work. The program consists of course work and two 500-hour internships (about 8 months each).

It’s been grueling, but I finally feel like I’m living the life I was meant to live. Here’s to the experience.