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Natalie
My name is Natalie, I started this blog as a Newly Qualified Social Worker working with adults. I have now progressed to a level 3 Social Worker and want to continue sharing my experiences.

End of ASYE

This is a weird one for me to write because I finish my ASYE tomorrow and this blog started from writing about my experiences as a NQSW which has been a part of my identity for a long time but presuming everything tomorrow goes well (fingers crossed) then I won't be that anymore. I will officially be a Level 2 Social Worker.

I feel a mix of emotions with this. I feel relieved because the paperwork is all done and handed in but I also feel a bit I don't know if sad is the right word. I started over 2 years ago because of maternity leave in the middle, I have done it both full time and part time. Before I was a parent and after so it has been a bit part of my life and although I am staying in my team so nothing changes day to day it is starting to feel different.

I feel the imposter syndrome I had more so when I started my ASYE rearing its ugly head again. I started that fresh out of university and that feels an entire lifetime ago. The people I started with have long since finished and been practising for well over a year now, they are thinking about what training they want to do next to progress further and I am a little left behind. Obviously my life has moved on in other areas and I absolutely wouldn't change that for the world but its a bizarre feeling.

I am not quite sure where I belong in all of this. I am currently a NQSW who has been graduated for 2.5 years. This should have been finished a long time ago so it feels nice to close the door on that chapter but in the same respect I do not know myself as a Level 2 yet. I have been through different stages of being a Social Worker, student to ASYE and now to Level 2. It is yet another change but also day to day not really a change at all.

I know I will work on harder cases, have more responsibility and will continue to gain knowledge through this but I still feel back in my student days in some respects. I know I am not the only one who has imposter syndrome or is waiting for someone to question why they are where they are or what they think they are doing.

I finished my degree in 2021 and I still haven't quite grasped that. I've “almost” finished my ASYE and it is crazy to me that I am at this point. I don't plan on stopping writing this blog but I am not sure how often new blog posts will happen. I am going to try for at least once a month but initially I promise nothing. A lot is changing at the moment in terms of the end of my ASYE but also personal changes that are time consuming. I know that people tell me they enjoy the blogs or find them helpful so it is definitely something I want to continue.

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