Today marks my last day of work, indefinitely. I will be officially entering the world of the millions unemployed and have bittersweet feelings about it. I am very excited about the changes that are about to come (Trav coming home, arrival of baby girl, moving) but in the same respect I am kind of hesitant as to what the future holds for me career-wise. Being a speech therapist has been a large part of defining who I am for the past 13 or so years.
Up until now, I have not had a problem finding a job anywhere I’ve lived. SLP’s are high in demand in most places and I have had the opportunity of working in a variety of settings (although mostly schools). The past ten months I’ve worked part-time in a private pediatric clinic. This setting is so different from the schools and in many ways, I prefer it more. First of all, I see the kids one-on-one versus group sessions. I also develop relationships with the parents and they respect me as a professional, not just as the “speech lady who plays games with their kids.” The pay also has the potential of being better (I stress potential).
In moving to Italy, the one big thing I hear over and over again is that there are NO jobs for spouses there! Now, don’t get me wrong… my plan for now is to enjoy being a SAHM and (as Susannah would put it) Domestic Goddess. As many mothers can attest to; it’s the most difficult and most rewarding job you’ll ever have. I’ve loved being with Brenden as much as I have but haven’t yet grasped what’s in store for me having two kiddos under two.
However, at some point in the future I would like to do something part-time. I love what I do and just can’t see taking a three plus year hiatus from it. Plus, I’ve still got oodles of student loans to pay off!
We’ll see, I may have a few options ahead of me. I could pursue accent-reduction but think my clientele is very limited. I’ve heard most of the locals don’t speak a lick of English hence no need to reduce any accents. There’s also the DOD schools but Aviano is a small base and I’m sure those jobs are very sparse and difficult to come by. I could also possibly, perhaps, maybe, potentially, set up a private practice. However, it’d be a lot of work and I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking into the international regulations for something like that. Maybe Trav can put his MBA into good use and run the business side of it. We’ve already kind of thrown this idea around for sometime in the far future.
Regardless, for now I’m just stoked about being a full-time mom and wife. I guess I can “speech” my own kids if I feel a need to brush up on my skills. Plus, seeing Brenden’s own speech and language develop is absolutely the coolest thing ever!! So much more rewarding than any of the hundreds of kids I’ve seen in the past.
