The Transition to a Career in Social Work – Challenges and Conditions for Success

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2025

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The Transition to a Career in Social Work – Challenges and Conditions for Success

Farina Weldert

ABSTRACT:

The transition from university to professional life is a key biographical process that can shape a person’s career both structurally and subjectively. The convergence of individual, organizational, and societal demands makes entering the social work profession a central arena of negotiation between the orientation patterns of newcomers and the expectation structures of social organizations.
This ongoing doctoral project reconstructs the associated challenges and conditions for success, contributing to the theoretical foundation of career-related transition research in social work. Theoretically, it is grounded in subject-oriented transition research, conceptualizing transitions as dynamic, processual developments shaped by tensions between self-concepts and institutional expectations within a transformative society. The de-standardization of life courses expands agency but increases volatility. Subjective definitions of success and contextual support gain importance as key references for identity formation in career transitions and as objects of social negotiation (cf. Welzer 1993; Walther 2000; Wanka et al. 2020).
Methodologically, the project follows a qualitative-reconstructive design. Guideline-based expert interviews with young professionals as well as specialists and managers of social institutions enable a multi-perspective analysis of experiences, expectations, and empowering support. Data are evaluated through qualitative content analysis (cf. Kuckartz & Rädiker 2022; 2024) and iteratively integrated across reflection phases.
Currently in the evaluation and theoretical consolidation phase, the study develops a differentiated perspective on subject-oriented transition research by highlighting the relevance of career and work as components of professional identity formation within social work (cf. Stauber et al. 2007; Dewe 2011; Harmsen 2014). For this conference, the focus will be on methodological reflection and selected analytical insights.

Keywords: Career Transition, Social Work, Professionalization, Subject-Oriented Transition Research, Qualitative-Reconstructive Research Design