在美国,社会工作有百年历史,想成为一名社会工作者并非易事,必须进高等学府接受社会工作学专业教育,毕业后再参加严格的资格考试,合格者才有机会从事这种工作。 社会工作的核心是帮助解决各种社会问题,其中包括帮助穷人和受不公正待遇者;帮助酗酒和吸毒者;保护妇女儿童;改善少数民族受压迫的状况等等。在美国社会工作者收入相对较低,同是硕士毕业,计算机等热门专业的年薪一般5～6万美金,社会工作专业仅3万美金左右。究其原因,社会福利机构多依靠国家拨款,并且社会工作者的“产品”不直接产生经济效益,只产生社会效益,难有很高的经济回报。社会工作是一种十分普通而平凡的工作,和其他职业相比,很少有出人头地的机会。但很多美国人非常倾心于此,选择该职业的人都很执著、自豪,极具爱心、责任心、使命感和奉献精神。 越洋留美的中国人在美国从事社会工作这本身就是一种独特的社会现象,本文讲述的就是这样的经历。 In the United States, social work has a history of one hundred years. It is no easy task to become a social worker. You must go to an institution of higher learning to receive a professional education in social work. After you graduate, you must undergo a strict qualification exam before you have a chance to do so. The core of social work is to help solve various social problems, including helping the poor and those unjustly treated; helping those who drink and drug addicts; protecting women and children; and improving the oppression of ethnic minorities. In the United States, social workers have relatively low incomes, and are also graduates of master’s programs. The annual salary of popular professions such as computers is generally between 50,000 and 60,000 U.S. dollars and that of social work professionals is only 30,000 U.S. dollars or so. The reason for this is that social welfare agencies rely more and more on state funding, and the “products” of social workers do not directly generate economic benefits, they only generate social benefits and hardly any high economic returns. Social work is a very ordinary and ordinary job, and compared with other occupations, few opportunities for success. But many Americans are very interested in this, people who choose this job are very persistent, proud, very caring, responsible, sense of mission and dedication. It is a unique social phenomenon that Chinese in the United States and abroad engaged in social work in the United States. What this article tells of is such an experience.