Over the two decades of this blog's existence there have been times when I've landed a new job. Sometimes, like the TV master control operator and the vocational instructor and the mental health peer support specialist, I've shared about here. Guess I couldn't resist holding back on the good news. Other jobs (like the part-time one I had recently that... nah, nevermind) were quietly not mentioned. That part-time job was mostly supplemental to being an artificial intelligence trainer: something I really enjoyed doing but the work had petered out more or less.
So for the past several months I've been hanging on by my fingernails.
But today, there is cause for rejoicing. There has been a change in fortune. God is being very good to me lately and I need to share that thankfulness. Today I started training for something that I think is going to be a real career.
What is it? I am now a behavior professional at a place that works with autistic young people. I'm going to be guiding them toward how to better communicate with others.
It's going to be a very challenging position. But also very rewarding, personally and otherwise. I'm going to get to use my training and experiences as a mental health professional, along with what I've gained along the way as a teacher, especially my training in college. It's the most technological job I'll have ever had. Among other things today at orientation they issued us each a new iPad. They're on lanyards to wear around our necks! I look like I'm wearing official Apple bling. But that iPad is going to see some heavy use, maybe even more than my personal iPad Pro.
I can't fully describe how wog-boggled I am by this. In a good way.
I may make a post every so often about it. I can't talk about much, given various regulations like HIPAA compliance. But a general sense of where I am and how far I'm going (hopefully far) will be befitting this blog's mission of chronicling the human condition, just as it has for the past more twenty-one years.
I'm so excited!! Things are really turning around. And I'll be able to continue writing too. Maybe at odder hours but that's okay. I don't think this job is going to be as draining as the past few I've had since leaving the mental health department over two years ago. Some of those nearly killed me.
This new job is going to be different. It's going to lift me up. It's going to be the kind of challenge that makes me a better person. And I am very thankful for that.
2 comments:
Best wishes with your new career!
Thanks Emily! I finished my first week of training yesterday. It's a bit intimidating. I'm having to learn and re-learn some things. This is definitely not the kind of teaching that I studied how to do when I was in college. It's going to be more of a challenge than I realized, but I've got good trainers who have assured me that I am going to do well. They've said that it took them several months to really "get it" to.
These are good kids that I'll be working with. They'll definitely keep me on my toes! A few days ago I raced a young student around the building, down hallways and up staircases. This kid was FAST but somehow I kept up with him. Not bad at all for a fifty-year-old... but then again I've been called a big kid by many people :-D
This seriously might turn into the long term career I've been hoping for. It lets me come home without feeling too tired to play with my dog and write. It also may afford me time etc. for other things, like a real relationship (if God brings that about). All of that and more, while doing what I discovered a few years ago is where I shine: helping other people.
Happy days are here again :-)
Post a Comment