May 16th: A Magical Day in the Neighborhood

May 16, 2011 is a magical day. I'm finally full time at Career Services!!!! (insert celebration and hallelujah's...) At the beginning of the year I went through the application process for a job that I was head over heel's for. Career Services at the University of Utah was hiring for a Career Counselor and the job description was made for me: working with students, creating relationships on campus, giving presentations and workshops, event planning, advising, and engaging in my own professional development. In short, I wanted this job more than anything--and in February I got it! I was so excited to be starting in student affairs administration. Things got sticky fast, however. I was still teaching for the Department of Communication and because both offices are technically the same employer (the U of U), FTE became an issue. Originally, human resources told my director that I'd be able to work 20 hours per week at Career Services until the semester ended. I was okay with that, even if it pushed my benefits eligibility back a bit. However, after three weeks I was told by my office that HR changed their stance and Career Services could only pay me for 9.26 hours per week. At this point I had quit my job at the Spaghetti Factory and Becca had cut down to only one job as well. With the new salary we wouldn't have to work as much and were happy to be able to focus on school. Only problem? Now I was only working 9 hours a week! Things have been a bit tricky this semester based on that, but on May 16th at the end of the semester I was able to officially go full time at Career Services. Benefits are awesome, the pay is much better now that I'm full time (ha!), and I finally feel like I'm part of the team. It is hard to feel included when you are only there for a few hours a week. So, celebrate! May 16th is a magical day, indeed. Here's to full time work again.