Career Decision Tree

Everyone says that the biggest hurdle upon graduation is landing that first job. For me, I had my first job out of law school set up by the end of my second year. I had landed a prestigious judicial clerkship at the state court appellate level. Theoretically, at least what they told us in law school, an appellate or higher clerkship was almost a guarantee to a good job.

Not so. From there I spent three months unemployed until I was lucky enough to get into a large, but not too large firm. This firm paid me a whopping $80k, but I hated the work, and the monotony. While it was the most salary I had made in my life, it was ridiculously boring and I hated every minute of it, from my backstabbing associates to my boss who was the biggest, albeit smartest, assh*le I'd ever met in my life. The work was dull and had the window opened on my 41st floor office, I would have jumped out. I was bored and miserable, albeit, rich. Hence, when an opportunity overseas came my way, I jumped at the chance. The pay cut was tremendous, but I could finally do what I wanted: international litigation. What a career! What an adventure. So, I took a pay hit, but recovered somewhat by passing the bar six months later and getting a raise.

Unfortunately, my time overseas was shortened by family requirements, so I returned. In fact, I came back to the U.S. last July, right before the sky fell out of the market. The rumblings were already happening, but then all the bailouts hit and the jobs went away.

At any rate, I have taken this time of unemployment to really assess what I want out of a career and life. I guess, I do what every other unemployed person does: try to generate hope through the propsect of change; pretending this unfortunate set of circumstances was "meant to happen." As if...

So, anyway, my conclusions about my life are pretty clear. I love traveling. I love living in foreign places. I like the adreneline high from the fear of getting lost, fumbling through unfamiliarity, negotiating difficult language barriers. I love the satisfaction of eventually becoming familiar with a hostile world, and calling it my own. If I could live and work in foreign places for the rest of my life, I think I would find fulfillment.

But that is not the case now. I have a house in the suburbs and living a typical American life minus the two kids. My ex boyfriend said to me once as we were breaking up (for the millionth time): "I just don't see you driving around two kids to soccer practice." He was never so right.

I figured out that geographic and upward mobility are very important to me. Hence, I am leaving the law practice. I hope the technological world provides the same intellectual stimulation as the law field. I know that this area is better in terms of geographic and financial mobility. Wish me luck...

In search of a new direction

I've always wanted to travel. I love being overseas and I hate being "stuck" somewhere for a long period of time. Some other careers I have contemplated, but have had little momentum to pursue as they are highly competitive are: (1) the foreign service; (2) becoming a travel writer; (3) working for one of the international organizations like the IMF, UN, or Red Cross.

Right now I'm applying to get into the Navy JAG. We'll see how that goes. It's very competitive generally, and I'm sure this year there are millions of unemployed lawyers like myself who are applying.

I've also contemplated moving into technology. There seems to be some growth in this area.

Life of an unemployed lawyer

Today is a typical day for me. I get up about 6 a.m. to see my husband off to work. I lounge around on the internet for the next three hours, look for jobs, send a couple of resumes to jobs that, in non-desperate times, I would never even bother applying too. Then I get bored. I play with my dogs and parrot and get ready for Big J to come home. At night I watch some teev and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

It seems kind of sad, but it really is not much different than the average day in any American's life. The only real difference is that my day is void of fruits of toil, as I am a part of that growing minority of the unemployed.

I am an unemployed lawyer. A year ago today, my life was going well. I was an attorney, at a law firm, and working. I was working overseas in fact. But I've recently relocated to the land of plenty, unfortunately right before the sky fell on Lehman Brothers et al., and so I am now I have no work.

I try not to be too depressed. I try to think that when life deals you lemons, you make lemon aide. I seem, however, to have run out of sugar.