I’m currently an Academic Counselor at a somewhat small, private liberal arts institution. If you’ve been following me for more than a few minutes, you know where I work.

It’s not what I went to school (either time) to do, but this is probably the best job I’ve ever had. My day to day is pretty chill, my coworkers are awesome, and there’s lots of perks I get that just didn’t exist in “Corporate America.” 25 PTO days plus 7 university holidays? Oh, and they rollover? 37.5 hour workweeks? A personal laptop? Yeah, those things didn’t happen when I was at OSI or Progressive. Sure, I sometimes miss the paycheck that came with my old jobs, but I don’t miss the 60 hr workweeks or stress that came with them.

Working with the students on a daily basis can be pretty cool too, even if they all aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. Some of them don’t have their lives together, but at 19, I don’t think I did either.

As for what I’m looking to do next or what my goals are, those are TBD. If this economic downturn has taught me anything, it’s that even the best laid plans aren’t perfect. Life throws a lot of punches at you and you either have to be quick on your feet to dodge them or strong enough to withstand the flurry.