Imagination vs. Reality
A common misconception is that youth workers have a quiet and relaxed job. That we just sit all day, have nothing to do and play with the kids. And in fact, I had also thought that I would mainly do educational leisure activities in the job. But I understood pretty quickly that these activities only serve to gain access to the young people. We talk to them to relieve them and to give them a hearing. But that is not as easy as one might imagine. You have to have strong nerves, because pubescents often don’t want to be told anything. I sometimes have the feeling that we learn more from the young people than they do from us.
How much does a youth worker earn?
It depends on what training you have done. Work experience also makes a difference. I get about 2000 euros gross per month.
How I can specifically help the young people
We talk about private matters or support them when they have to go to the office. Someone may say that he or she fights a lot with the parents. In this case we listen to them and try to offer de-escalating advice. However, it may also be the case that someone needs to be accompanied to court or need help filling in forms for the tax office. We try to relieve the young people. Many of them have a migration background and bear a lot of responsibility from an early age. For example, they have to fill out official forms or translate letters because the parents often do not speak German well. Here we try to support them as much as possible.