More on What to Do?

Even after graduating from law school, passing the bar exam and not getting a job as an attorney, as you know, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my education.

Your local job service (or whatever it's called in your state) can be a source for job seeking help; they often have classes, which may be too simplistic for your needs as they're geared toward those with less education. Church groups often have networking groups; while there are many of these, look at the webpages and see what services they offer. In my area some host speakers, other have networking groups, others are combinations. One church has a 4-week class, offered several times a year with a great speaker. It's a lot of work and you have to be willing to answer all the questions and work through their exercises. Some churches offer networking contacts. Others send out lists of jobs they've heard about. It may be helpful to take advantage of several of these opportunities in combination to get the best of it. Everyone has different needs so what works for me might not be the best choice for you.

Another option, recently brought to my attention, is Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers; in my state, not only do they work with people who have mental health or substance abuse issues, they're a starting point for many other stress-related issues. I was surprised to learn that they have a CLE designed for attorneys who want to change careers or who are seeking their proper place in life.

One of my friends is attending this class soon, but I've completed my requirements for this reporting period. If she has a good experience, I'll consider attending, even though it costs $150.

Shifting Careers

The Shifting Careers Blog on the New York Times has a really great article about what you learn in your first job. Even if it isn't your ideal job, there's always something we can take away from a given job.

Don't Let Your Job Become Your Identity

In the US, we tend to self-identify by occupation so during times of unemployment or under-employment, we don't know how to behave.

OPI has published a book, among others, featuring it's top-selling color, I'm Not Really a Waitress. There's a reason this color resonates; so many people take jobs because they need to pay bills while they wait for their big break, whether that's in acting (a traditional career for waitstaff) or in some more mundane career. Waitstaff can make good money, so it's a great part-time job for those in-between times. I've had acquaintances who have spent years waiting tables or bartending while they went to school or sought the job of their dreams. You can make good money in these jobs, whether it's as a career move or survival mechanism. Others, who are tired of the daily office grind, fantasize about running off to work as a bartender in a vacation spot. This fantasy is particularly popular when people have issues with family.

It's important to know who you are, aside from your career. Elizabeth Roberts, of Tenacious Titans, reminds us that we shouldn't fall in love with a corporation because the corporation can't love us back, though it may appear to do so at first. Without a sense of self, corporate cutbacks can cause huge losses in self-esteem. Even if you're doing contract work because projects can last for a long time. I've known contractors who have worked for years on the same project.

I met someone at a networking group a few years ago and she had been offered a project that was supposed to last for a year and was her perfect situation. She turned it down. Why? Because she was looking for a permanent job and said she couldn't, in good conscience, take the job knowing she might leave before the end of the year. I told her that she shouldn't feel more committed than the corporation; if their needs changed, they'd have no qualms discontinuing her employment so she should have no qualms leaving if she found the perfect job before the end of the year. On her part, there was no immediate reason she couldn't work in that position for a year; it would be different if she already had fixed plans to go to school somewhere (and was admitted) or was moving too far away to work at that location.

One of the problems with contract work is that the contracting company wants committed workers; however, even if a corporation offers a 1-year contract, that doesn't guarantee work for one year. Things change frequently in corporate America, so your project could get canceled. I know a guy who started a project and a month or two later it was canceled and so was he. The person who had to let him go may have felt bad, but the corporation as a whole was focused on its bottom line. He's took advantage of the down time and planned a couple of trips. When he got back he was going to look for a new project.

There have been times when I've struggled with how to present myself; one of my colleagues just tells people she works at the big, giant corporation; while true, it's misleading, but avoids questioning and pity. I was at a political fundraiser, chatting with some guy. He asked what I did and when I said I was looking, he walked away. That was unimpressive.

What to do?

Someday soon I hope to figure out what I want to do with my life. Document review isn’t it; my project is ending in a few days anyway. I have no idea where my next paycheck will come from!

I really need to figure out what I want to do with my life and my degree. What can I do that will make use of my education and pay me enough to live somewhere, diminish my student loans and eventually buy a house?

So far all I know is what I don’t want to do, which includes a traditional law practice.

See more progress on: figure out what i want to do with my life

What Generation do you Belong to?

Take Penelope Trunk's Quiz!

I was surprised to find myself part of Generation X! I don't twitter, have just started blogging and as previously discussed, don't text or have a smart phone. My phone is plenty dumb and I like it that way.

Do what you love and find out if the money will follow...

Interesting blog on following your passion, and whether money will come with you.

I read "do what you love and the money will follow" many years ago. I still have a copy, not the original, which went to a friend who subsequently started a business, but a copy from a thrift store that I bought more recently. I had given the book away, along with a few similar, because I thought once I went to Law School my problems would be solved.

What I didn't realize is that once the original set of problems was taken care of, I had created another set of problems. Where I live, there's an absolute glut of attorneys. Several law schools pump out an aggregate of about a thousand each year. The vast majority of these graduates want jobs locally.

Unknown to me before law school, it's a pure numbers game. I'm one of many who was not in the top 10% of my class, took and passed the bar exam, have loans to pay and need an income. So I'm doing contract work.

There are several legal staffing agencies. Of these, I have worked for three. I think a new one starts up about every 6 mos. There are several facilities designed for document review projects, sometimes they're all full. Right now we're in a lull; I know of a few places that have continuing projects and got a call about a project starting this week. One of my friends actually got a tip from a staffer of one agency (who had no work) about a project another agency was staffing.

While the work isn't glamorous or fun, it's a paycheck. Right now, that's the important thing. Some people are remarkably positive in their outlook, others resent having to do such menial labor to make ends meet. I'm somewhere in between, but I'm on a good project and it's much easier to come to work here, in a positive environment than to some workplaces I have gone to.

I'm in a much less precarious financial situation now than I was two years ago when I started work as a contract attorney and am thankful for that. Now I need to focus on what to do with my degree. What makes sense for me? What makes use of my education? What am I passionate about? Where can I earn enough money to support myself and my student loans?