I've got the social work salary blues.
Jun. 8th, 2004 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpI went to my interview this morning with The Home For Little Wanderers. The woman who interviewed me was a very hard read; she was quiet and somewhat passive, and displayed little emotion. She asked me questions that I flubbed answers to, questions about what sort of philosophical background controlled the OSU School of Social Work. I didn't really know how to explain to her that there was no one underlying theoretical method at OSU, but that there were some faculty members who were into existential therapy and others that were into solution-focused brief therapy, and the school itself tended toward a generalist practice. She wanted authors: what authors we'd read, whose work we mimicked. Once again I flubbed that our program wasn't geared that way. She did not seem impressed.
I gave her some of my experiences working with preschool children at the behavior clinic I interned at in 2001-2002. She seemed receptive to these experiences but I didn't feel like I was convincing her that I was qualified. After all, that internship was the most clinical position I've ever had, and that was 2 years ago and unpaid. All of my professional work has been significantly less clinical. I think I may even be less qualified that some new graduates, especially from around here since apparently the schools have strong theoretical backgrounds, mostly psychodynamic. How can I explain the beauty that was Jim Lantz, preacher of existential methods and one of the greatest men I've ever met? How can I compare Victor Frankl to what this woman had in mind? So frustrating.
At the end of the interview, she let me know that the starting salary for this position is $30,888/year. I almost threw up in my chair. Back in the car after a firm (but noncommittal) handshake, I had a veritable anxiety attack at the prospect of never being able to pay my bills and a lifetime of eating store-brand box macaroni and cheese. And never doing anything fun that costs money again.
Of course, all clouds have silver linings, and this cloud's came in the form of two recent emails for phone interviews - one on Friday and one early next week. The phone interview on Friday is for a position in a school here in Dot that pays significantly more and has four weeks paid vacation (it's part of a program run by Harvard). The phone interview on Tuesday is for an outreach position with homeless women that sounds dirty and exciting. Here's hoping!
I gave her some of my experiences working with preschool children at the behavior clinic I interned at in 2001-2002. She seemed receptive to these experiences but I didn't feel like I was convincing her that I was qualified. After all, that internship was the most clinical position I've ever had, and that was 2 years ago and unpaid. All of my professional work has been significantly less clinical. I think I may even be less qualified that some new graduates, especially from around here since apparently the schools have strong theoretical backgrounds, mostly psychodynamic. How can I explain the beauty that was Jim Lantz, preacher of existential methods and one of the greatest men I've ever met? How can I compare Victor Frankl to what this woman had in mind? So frustrating.
At the end of the interview, she let me know that the starting salary for this position is $30,888/year. I almost threw up in my chair. Back in the car after a firm (but noncommittal) handshake, I had a veritable anxiety attack at the prospect of never being able to pay my bills and a lifetime of eating store-brand box macaroni and cheese. And never doing anything fun that costs money again.
Of course, all clouds have silver linings, and this cloud's came in the form of two recent emails for phone interviews - one on Friday and one early next week. The phone interview on Friday is for a position in a school here in Dot that pays significantly more and has four weeks paid vacation (it's part of a program run by Harvard). The phone interview on Tuesday is for an outreach position with homeless women that sounds dirty and exciting. Here's hoping!
