Why did I choose this line of work when I am obviously not suited?

[Harmony]

I chose Social Work as I have been through a lot and thought I could help others. The thing that held me back was shyness. You have to deal with people day in and day out and I am an introvert. I did not know what it was all about until I did it. I do not feel at all comfortable so have not used my qualifications and I feel like an idiot. It is also very stressful challenging and demanding. I would not recommend it to anyone unless they like abuse, bullying, and being around people 24/7.

[Christine]

You're right that social work is all about being a bigger bully than the people you are supposed to help. Those in need often learn to manipulate, lie, and coerce others, so they aren't going to be honest with you or cooperative if it doesn't get them free food, free shelter, or whatever else they want without working an honest job for it. You might try working with a younger set of people, like in a school counselor setting, where they are more likely to respect you and listen to you. Career counselor? You should ask yourself what you would like to do for a career, outside of social services. Then go pursue it. Nothing says you have to spend your life working at one "career" with only one college degree. There are grants out there for women who want to go back to college. Find something you are passionate about, and then test the waters by getting a job doing something like that, at an entry level position. See if the people who work that kind of job are kind and have moral integrity. What kind of clients arae you going to have to deal with? (customer service rep is just as bad as social services worker). You might enjoy being a residential real estate broker. You can see what others are looking for and then match them up with houses on the market. Your knowledge of social services-type psychology skills can be an asset there. There are courses at colleges you can take while working your present job.

[LotsaSpots]

Like most things in life...
... It seemed like a good idea at the time.

We learn much more from personal experience than from advice and text books.
We don't learn nearly as much from other people's mistakes as what is commonly believed and what people generally attempt to DRUM into our heads.
Heck,... we don't even learn much from our own mistakes. At best we learn not to make that same mistake again, but that doesn't mean we've now learned the 'correct' thing to do.

We don't learn much from learning that 7 times 8 is NOT 34, and learning that it is NOT 37 either, and it is not 42 either, etc etc.
Many people go through life jumping from one mistake to another simply because they haven't learned to do the *correct* thing in the first place. And you don't learn that from suffering the consequences of mistakes. You only learn that by practicing doing that 'right' thing.