i thought i made a life change by starting school this year. it was a defining moment and i knew that it would be one that i would remember and base other things off of. i was so excited to start school and so excited to get started on a new career that would start about 5 years from the time i started school.
throughout the semester, you got to hear me bitch and moan about everything associated with school. while that wasn't very constructive, something did come out of that. i realized that i would have no passion for doing this career that i was in school for. i derived love for my job by counseling and having interaction with children...not by testing them and putting labels on them.
it also became apparent, that the cost of going to school, in most cases, would be offset by the money that i'd be making when i graduated with a PhD. not so in the case of school psychologists in colorado. do you know that when i graduated, i would be making only $1,000 more a YEAR than if i went to work in a school now with my masters in social work? in order to make a substantial amount more, I would need to go work in Cheyenne...where the majority of my time would be spent testing kids. there is such a need for school psychs there due to the high mobility rates of the families that work in the oil industry.
all this to say, i HAVE the tools to do my dream job. you may then ask why i haven't been doing it.
i was a school counselor in 2003 and loved it. i had taken over someone's maternity leave and then was able to job share with them when they came back to work. i then applied for her job when she decided that she was going to leave. i thought i'd be a natural fit, they loved me at the school. when i went into my interview, the principal mentioned something weird. she said that she was worried, only because of the fact that she had "heard" that i did crossword puzzles and read books for pleasure, at work. i was totally blindsided by this. i answered as best i could and said that while i don't know where she would have heard such a thing, that i did carry crosswords around with me in my purse while i was waiting in line for things, or something of that nature and yes, i did have a book in my purse as well...the title being something to the effect of "how to treat teens that bully". i never read it at work, but my co-worker had given it to me as a resource. i approached the person that i was job sharing with, after i didn't get the job, and yes, she had jumped to the conclusions that she had with no proof, and no thought to ask me what i had been doing. it turned out that another counselor in the district had threatened that if she wasn't transferred from her school that she was at to this other school, that she would leave the district.
it went from there into the most intensive process that i've been in. i then interviewed for her job at the other school....someone else in the district filled that job, i interviewed for that person's job, and so on and so forth. this went on for 10 times. yes, 10 times. the last job i didn't get was one that was filled by a person that moved out of state and had "experience".
i realize, however, now, that i dedicted all of my resources to that district. probably because i had loyalty to it...i had attended that district and felt like i should work there.
i think i sold myself short. and i realize this now. i also think that when i started this school psych journey, i really didn't give myself the adequate time that i needed to explore what the degree was about. there are many nuances to it and while it can be versitile, you also need to jump through the hoops that go with it, such as doing years worth of internships to get an extra accredidation.
all this to say, i think that i'm quitting school. i'm interested in continuing to work with my parents until they retire and i'm more interested in the meantime to also look into another career that i think i may look into.
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a life change
i thought i made a life change by starting school this year. it was a defining moment and i knew that it would be one that i would remember and base other things off of. i was so excited to start school and so excited to get started on a new career that would start about 5 years from the time i started school.
throughout the semester, you got to hear me bitch and moan about everything associated with school. while that wasn't very constructive, something did come out of that. i realized that i would have no passion for doing this career that i was in school for. i derived love for my job by counseling and having interaction with children...not by testing them and putting labels on them.
it also became apparent, that the cost of going to school, in most cases, would be offset by the money that i'd be making when i graduated with a PhD. not so in the case of school psychologists in colorado. do you know that when i graduated, i would be making only $1,000 more a YEAR than if i went to work in a school now with my masters in social work? in order to make a substantial amount more, I would need to go work in Cheyenne...where the majority of my time would be spent testing kids. there is such a need for school psychs there due to the high mobility rates of the families that work in the oil industry.
all this to say, i HAVE the tools to do my dream job. you may then ask why i haven't been doing it.
i was a school counselor in 2003 and loved it. i had taken over someone's maternity leave and then was able to job share with them when they came back to work. i then applied for her job when she decided that she was going to leave. i thought i'd be a natural fit, they loved me at the school. when i went into my interview, the principal mentioned something weird. she said that she was worried, only because of the fact that she had "heard" that i did crossword puzzles and read books for pleasure, at work. i was totally blindsided by this. i answered as best i could and said that while i don't know where she would have heard such a thing, that i did carry crosswords around with me in my purse while i was waiting in line for things, or something of that nature and yes, i did have a book in my purse as well...the title being something to the effect of "how to treat teens that bully". i never read it at work, but my co-worker had given it to me as a resource. i approached the person that i was job sharing with, after i didn't get the job, and yes, she had jumped to the conclusions that she had with no proof, and no thought to ask me what i had been doing. it turned out that another counselor in the district had threatened that if she wasn't transferred from her school that she was at to this other school, that she would leave the district.
it went from there into the most intensive process that i've been in. i then interviewed for her job at the other school....someone else in the district filled that job, i interviewed for that person's job, and so on and so forth. this went on for 10 times. yes, 10 times. the last job i didn't get was one that was filled by a person that moved out of state and had "experience".
i realize, however, now, that i dedicted all of my resources to that district. probably because i had loyalty to it...i had attended that district and felt like i should work there.
i think i sold myself short. and i realize this now. i also think that when i started this school psych journey, i really didn't give myself the adequate time that i needed to explore what the degree was about. there are many nuances to it and while it can be versitile, you also need to jump through the hoops that go with it, such as doing years worth of internships to get an extra accredidation.
all this to say, i think that i'm quitting school. i'm interested in continuing to work with my parents until they retire and i'm more interested in the meantime to also look into another career that i think i may look into.
throughout the semester, you got to hear me bitch and moan about everything associated with school. while that wasn't very constructive, something did come out of that. i realized that i would have no passion for doing this career that i was in school for. i derived love for my job by counseling and having interaction with children...not by testing them and putting labels on them.
it also became apparent, that the cost of going to school, in most cases, would be offset by the money that i'd be making when i graduated with a PhD. not so in the case of school psychologists in colorado. do you know that when i graduated, i would be making only $1,000 more a YEAR than if i went to work in a school now with my masters in social work? in order to make a substantial amount more, I would need to go work in Cheyenne...where the majority of my time would be spent testing kids. there is such a need for school psychs there due to the high mobility rates of the families that work in the oil industry.
all this to say, i HAVE the tools to do my dream job. you may then ask why i haven't been doing it.
i was a school counselor in 2003 and loved it. i had taken over someone's maternity leave and then was able to job share with them when they came back to work. i then applied for her job when she decided that she was going to leave. i thought i'd be a natural fit, they loved me at the school. when i went into my interview, the principal mentioned something weird. she said that she was worried, only because of the fact that she had "heard" that i did crossword puzzles and read books for pleasure, at work. i was totally blindsided by this. i answered as best i could and said that while i don't know where she would have heard such a thing, that i did carry crosswords around with me in my purse while i was waiting in line for things, or something of that nature and yes, i did have a book in my purse as well...the title being something to the effect of "how to treat teens that bully". i never read it at work, but my co-worker had given it to me as a resource. i approached the person that i was job sharing with, after i didn't get the job, and yes, she had jumped to the conclusions that she had with no proof, and no thought to ask me what i had been doing. it turned out that another counselor in the district had threatened that if she wasn't transferred from her school that she was at to this other school, that she would leave the district.
it went from there into the most intensive process that i've been in. i then interviewed for her job at the other school....someone else in the district filled that job, i interviewed for that person's job, and so on and so forth. this went on for 10 times. yes, 10 times. the last job i didn't get was one that was filled by a person that moved out of state and had "experience".
i realize, however, now, that i dedicted all of my resources to that district. probably because i had loyalty to it...i had attended that district and felt like i should work there.
i think i sold myself short. and i realize this now. i also think that when i started this school psych journey, i really didn't give myself the adequate time that i needed to explore what the degree was about. there are many nuances to it and while it can be versitile, you also need to jump through the hoops that go with it, such as doing years worth of internships to get an extra accredidation.
all this to say, i think that i'm quitting school. i'm interested in continuing to work with my parents until they retire and i'm more interested in the meantime to also look into another career that i think i may look into.
3 comments:
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I hear you. I really do. Whenever I think about my PhD, I think "Is that really what I want?" and "Will I really get to help people or will I be stuck in academia and research?" It's a thought that I don't like hasn't been answered yet. Good for you for knowing your answer.
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December 30, 2009 at 4:16 PM
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Yep. I wanted to be a psychologist. Had it all done in my head, where i'd go, what i'd do with it. (Wanted to get my PhD at Laramie.) Sometimes i'm still a bit sad that i didn't, but usually i'm ok with it. What i'm doing now fits me better.
Sometimes it is hard to give up those plans, but if they really don't fit you it is better that way.
I'm sure it will work out for you, however you go.
Thanks for your kind words at my blog. :) -
January 4, 2010 at 9:53 AM
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It's interesting to hear you work through this issue. I know a lot of people who'd rather work with people and help them *get better* rather than become some administrator (with possibly better pay). I say, follow your heart. If quitting school and continuing to work with children is what you want to do, then pursue it. You can always go back to school down the road should you decide that is your calling later in life.
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January 5, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Posts
3 comments:
I hear you. I really do. Whenever I think about my PhD, I think "Is that really what I want?" and "Will I really get to help people or will I be stuck in academia and research?" It's a thought that I don't like hasn't been answered yet. Good for you for knowing your answer.
Yep. I wanted to be a psychologist. Had it all done in my head, where i'd go, what i'd do with it. (Wanted to get my PhD at Laramie.) Sometimes i'm still a bit sad that i didn't, but usually i'm ok with it. What i'm doing now fits me better.
Sometimes it is hard to give up those plans, but if they really don't fit you it is better that way.
I'm sure it will work out for you, however you go.
Thanks for your kind words at my blog. :)
It's interesting to hear you work through this issue. I know a lot of people who'd rather work with people and help them *get better* rather than become some administrator (with possibly better pay). I say, follow your heart. If quitting school and continuing to work with children is what you want to do, then pursue it. You can always go back to school down the road should you decide that is your calling later in life.
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