She works hard for the money

Okay, I know that some of you will read this and think I am a whiner. I can live with that, I guess sometimes* I am.

A month ago, I graduated with my master's degree in Speech Language Pathology. The program was difficult, and I worked hard. All the time. I complained, and I worried--my commute, the workload, being a poor student. I thought my life was sooooo hard.

Hah.

Now that I have been welcomed back into the working world, I remember how much it, pardon the vulgarity, sucks. Here are just a few of the reasons why...

1. I have to go to work every single day. I can't skip if I am overtired, or have a headache, or it's raining. In school, I could just get someone to take notes for me. Sadly it doesn't work that way with a job.
   
2. I have to get up early on every single weekday. Not just when I have a class. That might not be so terrible if I could make myself go to bed earlier. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to force myself to go to bed at a "reasonable" hour.
3. I have to work all day long. I can't pace myself, take breaks at will, or run errands during the day like when I was a student.
4. Some days, by the time I get home, it's already dark. Uhm hello, no wonder people get seasonal affect disorder. This business of getting up when it's still dark out, working inside all day during the sunshine hours, then coming home after dark, is for the birds.
5. If I make mistakes, I could get fired. Or, the school district could get sued. In school if I messed up, I would just get a bad grade.
   

So, the question I pose to any worker bees out there who have been at it for a long time is, does it get better? Because as of now, I am fervently hoping that James and I will win the lottery so that I can retire to a life of leisure.


*including, but not limited to, today