Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Social Work Virtual Internships: Great Way to Learn

In this blog I often focus on personal and professional reinvention and following your dreams. Recently, through my work with my virtual intern I learned about a new website dedicated to placing individuals in virtual/cyber internships. I learned that individuals interested in exploring a myriad of new careers can serve as interns in the virtual world. While I have been supervising a virtual intern in my School of Social Work since November 2012, I never quite realized just how popular virtual internships are, and that some of these positions in the human services field are paid.

Virtual/Cyber internships can be a wonderful way to gain new experience in an untethered environment, and can be especially attractive to potential interns and employers as there are no restrictions geographically based on location.

I would like to strongly encourage any licensed (and insured) human service professional who is in need of staffing support to consider hiring a social work student as a virtual intern. Virtual interns can be secured by approaching accredited schools of social work and asking if they would be willing to place a student under your supervision. You will likely need a MSW degree, licensure in your state, and professional liability insurance. It should be noted very few schools of social work have  embraced the idea of virtual internships, but I believe the time is very near. As the social work field continues to grow, we must be willing to expand the way we view social work training and the delivery of services. Social Work virtual internships are a great way to learn.