In the above video, I share my excitement for getting a high-paying social work job, the bureaucracy I tolerated, and the lightbulb moment that signaled that it was time to leave a job I loved. Watch above, or if you'd prefer to read, the highlights are below.

Getting the Highest Paying MSW Job

When looking for an MSW job, most people aren't thinking about making lots of money as a social worker. Social workers are often incredibly underpaid, overworked, and underresourced. Social workers are indoctrinated with beliefs about working long, hard hours and doing it out of the goodness of your heart, serving those most in need. Researching "highest paying social work jobs" might happen, but it's probably done on a Sunday evening, searching incognito, keeping the secret to yourself that you actually want to earn money. (And if you are searching for high-paying jobs, you aren't alone. The search term "jobs similar to social work that pay more" is googled nearly 500x a month).

But I did it! After years of being in a low-paying social work job (a job where I adored my clients but was physically ill: I developed insomnia and was chronically getting colds because I was so burned out), an opportunity to work in a prestigious healthcare research institution presented itself.

This was a good social work job. The job came with good benefits, decent time off, fair pay, and the opportunity to collaborate and connect with some of the most cutting-edge minds in the field. My friends, family, and neighbors would applaud me for getting the job, constantly telling me how lucky I was to have it. I believed it too, that I was lucky and ought to hold on tightly to it because a good social work job was hard to find.

Salary Transparency in the Workplace

I'm pro salary transparency in the workplace. I believe having access to others' pay allows people--especially underpaid and marginalized folks--to advocate for themselves and ensure they are getting fair wages. In this prestigious social work job, my salary was used against me.

Early on in the job, someone asked me what I was paid. I told them my salary, knowing they could look it up if they wanted. In turn, they created a petition and distributed it to the thousands of employees. This petition didn't say, "I/we should earn more," it said that I should be paid less. This is an example of how indoctrinated we are in the field of social work. That instead of elevating the field and advocating for fair pay for emotionally and psychologically demanding work, we pay others less. I was mortified, humiliated, and didn't have the skills to advocate for myself and for others in the department.

If you are thinking that was my lightbulb moment, the moment I knew I had to leave, you'd be incorrect. I stayed at that job for four more years.

Bureaucracy In Social Work

In my social work job, the bureaucracy bled out all over the place. Not only was there traditional bureaucracy about who got the best office depending on their tenure and research, but stringent rules about who could do what. For example, you have to go to the purchasing department when your printer runs out of ink; they order the ink for the printer, then you had to schedule an appointment for someone in facilities to load the ink cartridge into the printer.

My lightbulb moment was literal. I was using the restroom in a single-toilet bathroom and noticed the light was burned out. Someone had dragged their desk lamp into the bathroom to provide the space with light. A colleague told me people were using their phone flashlights to go to the bathroom because we weren't allowed to change the lightbulb. It took me four years to realize I had to leave that good social work job, but the lightbulb did it. I put in my notice the next day.

When to Leave a Job You Love

Knowing when to leave a job you love comes with wrestling a lot of competing ideas. It's incredible what we will tolerate when we believe that a job we love is as good as it gets. For me, I thought that I'd never get another job that paid as well, had good benefits, or offered training opportunities in my social work job. And, to be clear, I did love my actual job. I loved my team, the research I was doing, the clients I worked with. But the overarching bureaucracy and constantly hearing "that's just the way it is" was a sign to me it was time to leave.

If you are considering leaving a job you love, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I staying here out of fear?
Are the things I dislike at the job likely to change?
What would have to happen to motivate me to quit sooner?

Quitting Social Work

Maybe quitting social work is the best choice for you. But perhaps you need a new environment. While I technically left the traditional social work field, I still consider myself a social worker and maintain all my licensure requirements. Many social work values align with mine, and I didn't want to resign from the field altogether, but I wanted to do it in a way that worked for me.

As a social worker in private practice, I'm thrilled to stay involved in the field of social work while practicing it in a way that's aligned with me. Yes, working for yourself is challenging. But the beauty of being self-employed in private practice is that there is no income ceiling, your vacation requests are always approved, and you can work with clients who are fully aligned, decreasing your risk of burnout. I hope my story about leaving a "good social work job" helps you consider what you are tolerating in your current job because you feel like you have to.

If you have an “on the side” private practice and are considering taking it full time, I have a 1-hour workshop you might like. I cover what you need to have in place financially, how to choose a marketing channel that works, and coping with the fears that you aren’t cut out for private practice. Check out the workshop “How to Take Your Private Practice Full Time” here.

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