Job update

So I had posted a while back about starting the job search and just wanted to provide you all with an update on how that is going. I applied to several schools and had two official interviews--one with a charter school and one with a catholic school. The charter school was a bust but I got a job offer from the catholic school. The salary that they offered me was too small for me to live off of so I told them what I would need and they said they could not meet my offer.
The school systems here are so different than what I was used to in Auburn. Here you have the public schools, recovery district schools, charter schools, private schools, and catholic schools. The public schools are unstable because of state budgets being cut. The recovery district is a mess. The charter schools are like boot camp for teachers and students--long hours, extremely rigid rules, extended school year, etc. And the catholic schools can't pay enough for me to live off of.
So, after going through this process I have decided to take the Graduate Assistant position at UNO for another semester. I will graduate in December and apply to work for Early Steps which is what I wanted to do anyways. My only hesitation about taking this position was that I will be an independent service provider working for the state so I will not have any benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc) but I will get paid $60/hour and I can decide how many hours/cases I want to work.