A light at the end of my graduation tunnel!

I wanted to give you, fair reader, the scoop about my potential job opportunity in the golden state.  A lot of prayers and networking led to a connection to a man who runs seven counseling centers in California from the Bay to San Diego.  A contact of mine is receiving counseling from him (due to confidentiality reasons, said contact will remain anonymous) and told him about my aspirations to work in California as a professional therapist. His words were, "Let me tell you what, give her my number and I'll guide her in the right direction, give her some guidance, she could even work here." 

That is pretty much bomb.com if anything is.  Jesus took the wheel on this one for sure.  I've been doing my internships in substance abuse, addiction, and sexual offense.  I've kinda grumbled and moaned about this because it's not exactly the vision I had when I thought, "Hm, I want to change lives.." sex offenders aren't the first thing that popped into my head.  ALAS, the guy in Cali specializes in sexual addictions like pornography etc.  so it seems like everything is lining up and my training has been all part of God's grand scheme of things for me and Logan.

Although I don't have this job "nailed down" per se, the opportunity to network with a successful and prominent therapist in that region is huge.  The fact he owns 7 offices opens up a lot of opportunity for me, and an opportunity to meet colleagues in the area.

A few reasons working as a therapist in California verses Utah seems reasonable:

• The market in Utah is flooded with Mormons and Mormon therapists. Many people here actually look for therapist's who aren't of my faith to balance out the saturated culture.  This obviously works to my disadvantage... [Note, this isn't a real or huge issue, but I have had to refer clients because they didn't want a Mormon therapist]
• ...My point being I am way more marketable as a Mormon therapist in Cali verses being a Mormon therapist in Utah.  True, my religion is a heated topic for a lot of people I know back home; however, I think it would be helpful to Mormons in Cali to talk to someone who get's the culture and doesn't hate :).  The funny thing is I don't have many client's that are LDS... here in Utah!  Most of the client's I see for addiction, domestic violence, and sexual offenses aren't Morm's.  [Disclaimer, people of my faith struggle with said issues too].  So who is to say my faith will attract clientele with the same faith... It seems probable.  [Jeez, why do I feel like I have to be so careful with my words, deal with it, my blog is not a political forum]. [Disclaimer, I'm just telling you about a job I might get].
• Now, the celebrity factor.  I'm not opposed to teaching the Kardashian's how to act right.
• I would get paid way more to do something I love, and would do for way less. 
• People in California make more money so they actually seek counseling; they can afford it.
• I would make 16$ an hour with a Masters degree in Provo. I could say a lot about this.  Like how I'm 27 and have a higher education so I should probably make more than a secretary with a high school diploma.
• We charge 85$ an hour for counseling at my office in Orem.  In California I'd charge up to 150$ [True, the cost of living may balance that out a bit, but living by the ocean is probably worth it].
• I have 5 siblings in the area [which has a lot of perks, but I'll focus on career here].  They can provide referrals and help advertise my skills.

I graduate August 2011.  Logan will finish up with his general education this semester so it appears that transferring schools would work out smoothly this year.  I'll be a therapist, he'll be a teacher, we'll have 3 kids and a french mastiff, and we'll live happily forever eating organic food.