How A Stranger On A Plane Gave Me Hope For The Future
Sometimes an angel shows up just when you need him
My first “big girl” job was as an auditor for the State of California. Just out of grad school, I was honored to snag what I thought was a glamorous job as a forensic auditor, finding evidence of fraud and collusion, and catching bad guys.
The reality was far less appealing and mostly involved the review of bank statements, purchase requisitions, and travel records. The job was really just to make sure that public programs ran correctly and followed accounting rules. We did catch a few bad guys, but it wasn’t a regular thing and far less “Hollywood” than I had anticipated.
However, the job did have one exciting feature — travel. I got to go wherever a state office was located. During my tenure as an auditor I got to travel from one end of the state to the other, temporarily living in cities like San Diego and San Fransisco, meeting new people, eating new food, and generally having a good time. For a single girl in her twenties, it was perfect!
The only drawback was the required amount of air travel. Snagging a plum assignment in a distant city meant flying there from Sacramento on Monday morning, and flying back on Friday evening.
