Words of advise from social worker Maureen Fung: Before you consider working for a non-profit organisation, ask yourself, “Am I prepared to take less money in exchange for a better quality of life?”

In her 50s, Ms Fung is a living testament to the fact that one can carve a career in social work. She has dedicated her life to it since she received her BA degree from the National University of Singapore in the 1970s. It was a quota course back then and only a few students got accepted into the course. These days, two more institutions are offering it: SIM University and Monash University. There is also a Singapore Association of Social Workers. Like banking, teaching and accounting, social working is a profession.

Ms Fung’s first job was a brief stint at the Ministry of Education. She has since worked with Samaritans of Singapore and the Housing Development Board. She is now group director at the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, a voluntary welfare organisation. “We have a very wide range of services, from the very young to the very old. We started off with the family services at Towner Road,” she explains.