So what do you do?
There’s nothing like being in a room full of social workers and overhearing everyone else’s research interests, job experiences, or areas of specialization. I can’t think of any other situation where I could state my actual research without reservation, explanation, or tempering the terminology to make it seem less galling to the listener. Too many times I have been asked what I’m interested in studying (by non-social workers/non-public health workers), only to watch the person’s face crumple into a sort of confused sympathy before the all-too-familiar flicker behind their eyes indicating the unspoken question: “What the hell happened to you that you would want to study such a thing?”
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