- Dr. Kiki Ramsey chose a social work career because she wanted to help people.
- Being a social worker was physically and mentally exhausting, leading her to pivot careers.
- She now focuses on positive psychology, coaching organizations and women in leadership roles.
From higher caseloads to inadequate pay, many working in psychology professions are burned out. Among them are social workers, the majority of whom report feeling emotionally exhausted.
Dr. Kiki Ramsey used to be one of them.
She first became interested in psychology because of her upbringing: her mother struggled with addiction, something Ramsey was always trying to help her overcome.
"It ultimately led me into just wanting to help other women, wanting to learn what made people tick, what made people do the things that they do," Ramsey said.
Being in social work "was a beautiful life, but it was also difficult," Ramsey explained. She began her career in child welfare, working with teen moms. But after nine months, she was burned out. As important as the work felt, she was being pushed to an emotional brink that made it hard to make ends meet and spend enough time with her son.
Eventually, she reframed her career to focus on positive psychology. Now, as an executive coach and professor, Ramsey said she's "seen her emotional wellness skyrocket' because of how fulfilling her work is and how flexible her hours are.
She was emotionally drained as a social worker
Social work is often a more accessible way into the field of psychology. While a doctorate degree in psychology usually takes 5-7 years and costs $30,000-$50,000 per year, a master's in social work takes two years on average and the total tuition can be anywhere from $7,000 to $45,000.
Ramsey, who had her first son at 17, knew a PhD in psychology would be too big a time commitment while she was raising him. She got a bachelor's in child and family studies, then a master's in social work.
After graduating, Ramsey moved from Georgia to DC, became a director at a teen moms facility, and eventually worked at a hospital where she counseled pregnant women.
The schedule was grueling. "There just weren't enough social workers to go around for all the kids," Ramsey said. She had about 20 to 30 children on her caseload, and she felt like she couldn't give them all the attention she needed. Sometimes having to stay overnight with a child at a hospital, or picking up kids from unsafe homes. She missed her son, who was 8 at the time.
Ramsey's salary was $40,000, which made it difficult to pay her bills. "It was frustrating because I put so much effort into my job, and it didn't seem fair that my paycheck didn't reflect that hard work," she said. "I think social workers should be making six figures plus, but that is not the case." According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, social workers make around $58,000 a year on average, while psychologists are paid closer to $92,000.
The toughest part of her job was what she witnessed every day, which started to take a heavy toll on her.
"I would come home and just bawl about the situations that I would have to deal with on a daily basis," she said, such as seeing babies go through drug withdrawal.
Ramsey isn't the only social worker who felt underpaid and understaffed at her job: many have been quitting to pursue new careers. She still loved psychology and wanted to help uplift people, but she knew she needed a change.
Discovering business psychology
Ramsey quit her social work job and started her own company, where she would give inspirational talks at conferences, churches, and women's groups. Some women started asking her for one-on-one help, which got Ramsey interested in coaching.
She learned about positive psychology and found her calling. "Positive psychology is the study of what goes right with you, how to focus on your strengths," she said. It aligned with her desire to motivate people to improve their lives.
She attended Life University in Georgia and earned a master's in positive psychology in one year. Then, she studied for four years and received a PhD in business psychology from the Chicago School because she wanted to focus on helping women in leadership roles.
Going back to school wasn't an easy choice: both her degrees required Ramsey to pay out of pocket and take out student loans, which "was definitely a strain," she said. But she made a calculation that the time and money would pay off.
"For about five years, completing school took priority, and I couldn't fully engage in all the family activities I wanted to," she said.
Now, Ramsey leads a B2B coaching company, employing 20 coaches who teach organizations leadership skills and how to improve DEI initiatives. She also takes on individual clients, often women who feel stuck at their jobs or Black women in high leadership positions looking for support.
Better 'work-life harmony'
Overall, Ramsey said the career change has made her so much happier than when she was a social worker. She's now "fortunate to be a multi-six figure earner," meaning her salary is over $200,000 compared to the $40,000 she made as a social worker.
"It's not emotionally draining for me to deal with my clients," she said. While it's still challenging work, she focuses more on helping executives make tough business decisions or improve communication on their teams.
She also loves working remotely in Atlanta, Georgia and being in charge of her own schedule. "I call it work-life harmony, because balance doesn't exist," she said. If her son or daughter is going through something, she has the freedom and flexibility to prioritize her family's needs. And the pay is much better: " I make 3, 4, 5 times more than what I ever made as a social worker."
It doesn't mean that Ramsey doesn't sometimes experience exhaustion on the job. "People look at this as the glamorous life, but they don't realize I sometimes work from sun up to sundown," she said. It took her 15 years to build up clients on her own, which was especially stressful in the beginning.
"But those trade-offs are totally worth it," she said.