Reaching the Finish Line

I feel like I have been running a marathon and I am nearing the finish line...but I am waiting for the adrenaline to kick in. I am sluggish and about to collapse. I wonder if the adrenaline will ever kick in, or if I will just become more and more weak, until I either hit the ground, or barely pass the finish line and then pass out. I have never actually run a marathon, so maybe there is no last minute energy to carry you through. I hope there is.

In my final quarter of grad school I am both excited and overwhelmed. I look forward to the future, yet I have to worry about all the details of getting there. I have to finish my portfolio and give my final case presentation. I have to stay present enough to pass my last few classes. Yet readings and papers seem so unimportant as I present my final case and search for jobs.

Ahh! Job searching! Writing curriculum vitaes and cover letters is stressful enough. The last paying job I applied for was a hair salon. Now I have to market myself as a professional, with a masters degree. The most stressful part is finding jobs to apply to. While I see job listings for therapists, they all want MHPs and Licensed therapists. That would be great in a year or two! What is more frustrating is that externships exist. People actually work for free after getting a masters degree just to get hours towards licensure. What the hell?! As if therapists are not underpaid and under appreciated enough, agencies are actually taking advantage of desperate grads to this degree. That is ridiculous. Maybe if you have a successful husband to pay the bills (including your student loans), but I am as single as can be.

Today we had career day and I got some good advice. One recent grad said he applied to all the jobs he thought he fit well with, even if he didn't meet the requirements. The worst they can say is no, or nothing at all. This gave me hope. I am going to ignore the MHP requirements and apply anyway. Why not? If someone from another counseling program only has to get 150 client contact hours to graduate, and I have to get 500, I would say I have more experience than them, even if they have been out of grad school for a year. Yes I am a MFT and SPU snob, but I think we work our asses off in our program, and employers are getting well prepared therapists.

So this weekend I am perfecting my CV, searching for job openings, and sending out all the cover letters and CVs I can. If I can just get interviews I will be pumped! I can sell myself (in a good way)...I just need to get my foot in the door.

Okay, now back to worrying about getting enough hours to graduate and paper writing:(