<p>Hello parents!</p>
<p>It’s been a while and I’m finding myself in the summertime “lull”…thought I’d give a quick update on how things are going since you’ve all always been very supportive and helpful in my journeys!</p>
<p>Tomorrow is my last day of work at my NODA (National Orientation Directors’ Association) Internship at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA. Hopefully I’ll start packing tonight…(HA!)</p>
<p>I’m also taking two summer classes, which are the first online courses I’ve ever taken. Legal Issues in Educational Administration and the classroom component of our practicum experiences.</p>
<p>It’s been a good summer…we’ve had some issues, but it’s all a learning experience! It’s making me long for the days when I leave work at the end of the day and don’t have a mountain of school work to worry about.</p>
<p>On Monday I head home to California for a week…first time home since Christmas, and last time home until this coming Christmas! Then back to Indiana for my second (and last) year of grad school. Time really does fly! I’ve been on CC for almost 6 years…seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out where to do my Undergraduate work!</p>
<p>In the Spring I’ll be looking for my first “big kid” job. I’d like to end up either back on the West Coast (or the Pacific Northwest), or at least in a larger city. (Washington, DC has always been one of my favorites.) So if you know of any Universities that are hiring…
(kidding. Kind of.) I’m looking at jobs in Residential Life or Orientation, mainly. I’d also be open to Academic Advising…but I’ll go wherever I can get a job. I’m not going to be too picky and end up having to move back in with mom and dad…not that it would be awful to do that, but I’m ready to be on my own for real!</p>
<p>Hard to believe I’m over halfway done with grad school! Mom insists that I’ll end up going for a PhD at some point, but that’s waaaaaay down the road. I’ll have my Master’s at 23 and don’t really see a need to go get a PhD without getting some serious field experience first, especially in Student Affairs which is a very practice-based field most of the time.</p>
<p>I think that’s all for now. Thanks for all the continued support, encouragement and advice! :)</p>
<p>Oh, so wonderful to get this update.
The DC area is chock full of universities; I am sure some of them will have open positions when you are ready. (do keep us posted, would love to have you in the ‘neighborhood’).
A friend of my son just got a teaching position at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.</p>
<p>mominva, I’ll of course keep you posted! I spent this past weekend visiting a new graduate from our Master’s program at her new job at Georgetown. It’s absolutely possible. I think everyone but two people from this recent cohort (18ish grads) have jobs already, and most of them graduated with offers.</p>
<p>We’ll see! But I’m feeling ready to head closer to home. It’s been very difficult being so far away from all my family in Southern California; especially when family “things” happen, like my grandmother’s recent passing away.</p>
<p>Congratulations on finishing your 1st year! I’m interested in hearing about the job opportunities/acceptances from the 2nd years. I have a close relative in search mode right now having graduated in May from a school in the northeast. Res Life seems to have an abundance of jobs as there seems to be a high turnover in that area. Enjoy your time at home.</p>
<p>You are the same age as my oldest son so I enjoy hearing what you are doing since I went through it all vicariously yet simultaneously with my oldest son. He is working (and has been since graduation) at a “fun” job and is now thinking about starting a masters or at the very minimum getting a more “serious” job as he puts it.</p>
<p>So nice to hear your update!!</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>Bluejay–some of the high “turnover” in ResLife is due to the fact that a lot of these jobs are only contracted year-to-year, or for 3 years, etc. But this does mean that they’re almost always hiring as people cycle out and find other opportunities.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys–kudos to your S! I knew if I took time off before grad school I’d never go back. I’ve talked with a lot of my friends about how it seems like a Master’s for us is what a Bachelor’s is for our parents–it’s almost required at this point. We forget that only a very small percentage of people in the world have a Bachelor’s, let alone a Master’s. We forget the magnitude of what we’re doing (and for most of us–my entire cohort is 24 or younger, with me being the youngest at 22–at a very young age) because we’re surrounded by people with almost exactly the same accomplishments. It’s easy to make it seem like “no big deal” but it really is, as my mom reminds me whenever I get into one of my “why do I bother” kind of moods.</p>
<p>Hopefully I will know what building I’m managing in the next week or so!</p>
<p>Also, I got my evaluation from my summer supervisor today and it was absolutely glowing! Much better than I was expecting, but also very gratifying and humbling to have someone see your strengths after just 8 weeks of an internship. :)</p>
<p>^^It is a REALLY BIG DEAL! I keep reminding both my oldest and my second who will graduate in May with his BS that even finishing a BA/BS is a REALLY BIG DEAL. The masters is even more awe inspiring. I think this is finally occuring to my oldest as now in the working world he understands that not everybody (which is the high school thinking) finishes and gets a degree.</p>
<p>Some days we get it, other days we’re all just thinking, “But EVERYONE we know is doing this…so it can’t be THAT big of a deal…can it?”</p>
<p>Then I think of all my friends or acquaintances from high school who never went to college, dropped out, etc. and i’m like, “Hm…maybe it is a big deal…”</p>
<p>It’s a strange thing to wrap my head around for some reason.</p>
<p>What great news, HGFM. You graduated the same year as my younger son, who’s been working since his graduation. He knows he’ll need to get his master’s to be able to keep moving up in his profession, but, so far, doesn’t seem interested in going. He just got a promotion and a raise, which are great, but I think that he may now have maxed out his upward movement. </p>
<p>With your credentials and great evaluations, you should be well set for finding a job next year.</p>
<p>BTW, younger son lives in DC. Nice place, but expensive.</p>
<p>Thanks shellfell! 
My supervisor’s supervisor (I believe she’s the Assoc. Dean of Academic & Career Services) has offered to be a reference for me in the job search process which I’m VERY excited about.</p>
<p>And yes, unfortunately all the places I’m interested in (DC, bay area of California, SoCal, etc.) are very pricey. Thankfully if I stay in ResLife I’ll have at least paid housing which would help. And my classmates are making low-mid 30,000’s on average, so they’re doing okay (especially with no rent.) Hoping to pay off my student loans in about 5 years, but that’s being generous and I won’t be devastated if it doesn’t happen.</p>
<p>Yes, all those places are pricey, but, without having to pay rent, you should be fine. What a nice perk for someone just starting out.</p>
<p>Absolutely! It helps to make all the 3AM phone calls worth it. ;)</p>