Official Adjudicator?

Since starting my new job in November of last year, I've been training, learning, processing claims, and making many mistakes along the way, but as of today I'm finished with my training and if everything goes well, I'll be an offcial disability claims adjudicator for the state of Maryland, but is that what I want?

I remeber the day I interviewed for this job and how great it seemed. With it being a government job it would definitely pay way more than any job I had worked before and with the pay comes benefits and stability. I'd say the increase in $ and the ability to get out of the job I was currently working was definitely a nice incentive, but I wasn't sure what I was getting into. Also, I knew the drive would be a long one, but I wasn't aware of how much $ I've been investing in gas to get to and from work and how many times I'd be stuck in traffic.

In additon to all that, the work itself is not anything that I was use to. Before starting this job, I worked for a non-profit agency where it was my job to help disabled individuals find gainful employment in the community and do so hands on in a classroom setting/going out in public. With my new job, I'm at the other end of the spectrum where I'm work with individuals who allege a disability because they don't want to work or can't work and it is my job to gather the necessary medical information over the phone/computer and then determine if the individual is disabled and deserves $ from the government. Although I'm still new and there isn't any major expectations for me, it's my job to process each claim as quickly and acurately as possible as I'm constantly assigned new cases. It sounds easy enough, but with it being a goverment job there are so many rules/regulations/exceptions to keep track of that it can become mind numbing.

I know I seem a little stressed about this job, but I'm sure I'll be fine becuase I will admit I'm starting to learn some things and I was able to clear a case today with minimal assistance from my supervisor. I've been told by others who've worked there a while that the job gets easier with experience and that individuals who've been there for years are still learning how to do the job.

If for some reason I continue to have difficulty understanding or can't processing claims as fast as my peers. I know they can't afford to fire me (not that I'm doing that bad LOL). From what I was told they're extremely backed up with cases and for every two people who quit/retire they can only hire one person for replacement. Also, the myth about government jobs not firing people seems to be true (provided that I don't do anything really stupid, such as do drugs at work, steal, etc...)

All in all, maybe I'm my own worst critic when it comes to my preformance at this job or I'm just a little overwhelmed with everything this job involves, but I have to remember the reason why I wanted to do this job in the first place and that's to learn a skill, save some $, and then follow my REAL dream of cutting men's hair. I've just got to keep things in perspective.