Drug Counselor job (job market, closing, law)

[Countrysue]

Got a friend who is graduating soon with a degree in criminal law plus extra courses in drug counseling. She will be looking for a job. The job market here in Louisiana is poor. What is the job market like in Tennessee for someone looking to work in the mental health field?

[Countrysue]

I goofed. The degree is an associate degree in criminal justice with drug counseling. Here is Louisiana, they are closing facilities and centralizing them. They want to centralize mental health services. Personally, I think this is a big mistake, but I am not in control.

We are looking at TN.GOV/dohr. Any other suggestions?

[jchometeam]

Maybe there would be a job opportunity in a non-profit group for at risk teenagers. In the Tri Cities area, there is a program called "Moral Kombat" that does such things. But really the job market is limited in CJ with an associates. A bachelors is most commonly required, and even at that there are more Criminal Justice graduates than jobs in most areas, so the competition is going to be tough and the pay is likely to be low.

[EVAunit1981]

Yeah, even with a Bachelors degree in that she will be hard pressed to find a good paying job outside of a major city. I'm in adult case management and I don't know of anyone at our agency that just has an associates.

I'd suggest she find some companies that do that sort of thing and just contact them. Even if they don't have any job openings posted. It can't hurt to send them a resume!