Dear AMTA

Job Hunting

I just gave some advice to a new therapist about accepting that first job. I remember those days of angst - Do I really want to be a music therapist here? My parents pressuring me to get any job that paid me some money. The interrogations every evening about what I did, who I contacted, how many resumes did I send out during the day. The best advice I received was from my parents. "Find a job and then focus on your career." I spent a little over a year working near my profession, but not as a music therapist. It took me 14 months to find any music therapy job. In the waiting time, I was a recreation leader for children with emotional disorders and was a QMRP/Administrator for a group home company. When the call came for the music therapy job, I was petrified of failing as a therapist. My dad, who is my sounding board, sat me down and asked me several questions. The first was, "Do you want to be a music therapist?" I did not know how to answer - I had never been a music therapist. The second question was the one that cemented the answer for me, "Do you want to be a QMRP?" The answer was a resounding "NO!!!" I took the music therapy job the next day. Now, secure in my position with my school district, I am always half-looking for the next perfect job. I can afford to glance at job postings because I am fine with the job that I have. I do not need to find a better paying job unless one plops into my lap. This has happened before and I anticpate it will happen again someday. There is hope out there, ether. Keep looking.