ugh.. you're very right.. waitressing is hard work, but the payoff is generally great.
As for school psychology.. all my life I've worked jobs related to that, and during the school year I intern at an elementary school three days a week and have my own caseload.
I didnt' know that you were interested in school psychology! thats very cool. I do like it alot.. mostly because I love psychology and I love kids so much. Anyways, there is actually a huge opening of school psychology positions in the US, which is partially why I decided to do that instead of clinical psychology etc. The majority of school psychologists in the US are retiring in the next five years, and now more and more schools are replacing guidance counselors with school psychologists because they can not only provide therapy, but also do assessments, so we are more cost effective I guess. haha.
you definitly do have to be choosey though, and the different regions of the US vary greatly in regards to what a school psychologist does. Basically, in the northeast we get paid the most, and have the smallest workloads. The average is one school psychologist per 500 kids, where in the central US its sometimes 1 psychologist to 3,000 kids. So basically, there are alot of openings for school psychologists but you have to be picky about the job you accept. Luckily, there are quite a few to choose from.
I know from my internship alone i've learned to be very picky. When I apply I want to be building based in one school, and to be able to do an equal amount of counseling as assessment (if not more). Thats what my practitioner has, so I know I'll be able to find it somewhere. But from studying I definitly know that you'll have a harder time finding that in an inner city, or in the middle of no where.. where they are mostly testers or have to work in 5 different schools all in one day.
I do think I made the right decision, because I love being a therapist, I love doing inteventions and prevention plans, and helping kids with reading, learning and behavioral disabilities.. plus the school year schedule is nice especially because I hope to get married and have my own kids someday, so that was a definite plus in my decision... and if things don't work as planned, I can still open a private practice with this degree, work in a hospital etc.
are you thinking about going back?
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Re: I waitressed once
