Choosing to become a social worker: motives, incentives, concerns and disincentives

Abstract This article compares factors affecting the choice(s) to become social workers made by students on two qualifying social work programmes in Canada and the UK. Quantitative data from an ongoing international research project provide an overview of students' choices in relation to their gender, age and ethnicity, while qualitative data from the same project illuminate the complexity of the decision making process. Our findings challenge some commonplace assumptions about the social work profession and the motivations and dilemmas that social work students encounter prior to and during their training. The implications for social work educating and training are potentially far-reaching.