How do you deal with state licensed careers?

courtneykalob

My husband will be leaving for boot-camp after the new year, and I'll graduate with my undergrad in May. Once we are permanently stationed, I plan on looking into graduate school. The problem is that with school counseling, everything is state licensed. How have you dealt with your careers while moving with your spouse? 

KarenKay11

Great question - Can anyone help?  I'm a CPA, how would this work with getting licensed in another state?  Could I be licensed in two states at once?

Sammy0709

I'm in the medical field. I don't know about other fields but I could hold a license in all 50 states at the same time if I wanted. I currently hold licenses in PA (where I used to work) and CA (where I was hoping to work but had no luck in my job search). Before I moved to CA, I found out what I needed to be licensed there and started acquiring those things. I needed to take an additional certification exam because I did not attend school in the state of CA so it took a bit longer. However, I have found that everyone's licensing requirements are different so make sure to do your research.

I'm leaving for basic in December. My husband gets orders this week. If I were not going to basic, I would start the licensing process about 3-6 months out from our PCS depending how in depth it seemed. That gives me enough time to make sure I'm licensed when I would start applying for jobs. Good luck

AlouetteBeans

I'm not going to lie, it can be a total pain in the A$$. I have an MA in counseling (LPC) (am now getting my pysd and working on joining the Air Force thought so I am not using it currently). 

The NCE works in all the states however some states have different cutoffs than others. Some states have different program credit hour requirements and basic class requirements, some states have different requirements for supervision hours, etc, etc, etc. When you get your independent license and have to move, some states require different amounts of time post licensure to get there. 

I got my degree in TX, then moved to NM. It was fairly painless, other than gathering a lot of paperwork from my prac experiences and the syllabi from all my "core" classes (core according to the NM licensing board). When I moved to NC, it was way more of a pain to get licensed. The board only met every so often, they totally effed up my application, told me I had everything when I missed some obscure form (they actually "had" me applying for something I wasn't applying for so it got way confusing, even when the application I filled out and turned in was the correct thing) and had to threaten people to get them to get their crap together so I could be approved at that meeting and not have to wait. It took me like several months when all was said and done (I started before I moved). So knowing what the states you are moving to need way ahead of time is the most helpful thing. 

My only other advice is to go to a school that is nationally accredited not just a regional accreditation (i.e. APA for psychology, CACREP for counseling, I am not sure if thats school counseling too or some other body accredits). That will be easier to transfer. 

courtneykalob

I haven't applied to any schools yet. I was looking around, but it was driving me crazy as there is so much that I just don't know at this point. Once he finds out where we will be stationed, I'll start looking in that area. I'm in no hurry to get started, simply because I can't be.

I know that I can hold multiple licenses in various states. I guess I'm curious if everyone feels like they are spending enough time in one state before they have to look into another state's license?