"With the job offer gone, I had to start from scratch. My first 'real' job after school was as staff assistant to the CEO of a nonprofit organization in the finance industry. I say 'real' because it was the first time I had health insurance since graduating; in those days, you got kicked off your parents' health insurance as soon as you were out of college. It took me one year and nine months to get that job. It wasn't really the one I wanted, but it was close enough — and again, health insurance! I stayed there for about three years and then went to graduate school to transition to my field."