How to find a decent job when I'm not even remotely career oriented?

[Ravin]

I have a bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, it's not in a field where a terminal bachelor's career really exists. I don't want to go to grad school at this point--maybe in ten or twenty years.

I took the LSAT and am considering going to law school, as I scored well (In the 95th percentile). But I'm really not sure how we're going to pay for me to go to law school, and in the mean time bills need to be paid. DH's job prospects are dismal, and his legal situation expensive--that plus child support leaves him earning almost nothing. Right now I'm the primary breadwinner with my part time $10/hr job. He wants to go back to school, but it's looking unlikely we'll be able to pay for it; he'd basically need a free ride on tuition/fees/books.

I'm really not all that enthusiastic about going to law school, either. I'm afraid at the end I'll have yet another degree but still be as clueless about how to sell myself and actually find a job I want to make a career. And I'm having trouble coming up with the money for the application assembly service all the law schools require applicants to use. I applied for a fee waiver, but evidently just living below the poverty line doesn't qualify you.

I'm just feeling very discouraged about our financial prospects, working, and how I feel I'm shortchanging DD (not to mention the babies I want and I'm not having because of our dire financial situation).

[bluebunny]

Well, I definitely wouldn't go to law school, investing all that money, time, etc, if you are not sure that law is what you want to do. I, personally, loved law school and I love being a lawyer but I went to school with lots of people who went to law school because they didn't know what else to do and have since left the legal profession. Law school and the practice of law isn't for everyone and it is a big time and money commitment.

Is there anything else you are interested in? It seems that in this economy a bachelor's degree is often a minimum starting point for many jobs and that experience in a field or other special qualifications make the difference. Most people I know found jobs through networking rather than sending out resumes. Is there a professional organization of some kind that you can join? Have you done any volunteering or other type of community service that could bulk up your resume?

If I were you, I would start with trying to pursue full-time jobs first and then look at our schooling options. I know several people who are pursuing a second career through taking classes at our local tech/comm college. Two are in ultrasound technician programs that practically guarantee a job when they finish. It seems that there are lots of furthering education options out there.

Another thought is that if you aren't sure about a legal career, perhaps you could pursue a paralegal certification at a community college and try to get a job as a paralegal. At large firms, paralegals are usually well-paid.

[GuildJenn]

Law is probably not going to be a growth industry for a while unless it's bankruptcy law, and even then. I would look at non-glamorous areas where certification is cheaper and either faster or has an on-the-job component, like HR, paramedical, technical writing, etc.

[MeepyCat]

I agree that you shouldn't go to law school unless you really, REALLY want to be a lawyer. It's expensive, it's time-consuming, people burn out of it, and then it drops you into a field that, while it pays well, expects you to work insane (definitely not family-friendly) hours. Or, alternatively, a field that doesn't pay all that well and still expects insane hours. You have to want it.

But you have a Bachelor's and that's not nothing. It's enough to qualify you for reasonably paid administrative work. There are a lot of advantages to that kind of gig, not the least of which is that it will enable you to pay the bills and take care of your family while you take the time to figure out how to pursue your greater ambitions.

[Ellien C]

I would not sell yourself short on the bachelors degree, even if the field typically has post-grad education. Many people (probably most in fact) work in fields unrelated to their bachelors but yet require a bachelors (in anything) to work there. I hope that made sense.

The point is that the field your Bachelors is in REALLY isn't that important. The key is that you have one. I agree with the advice not to pursue law school unless you KNOW that's what you want to do.

Some basic questions - How does office work sound to you? Would you be content sitting behind a computer or a desk in a controlled atmosphere all day? Or do you need to be more active - talking to people all day? Can you deal with phones? Do you want to be outdoors? Are you a 9-5 kinda gal or would a variable schedule that allowed you time during the day (say to volunteer at school) work better? There's probably an on-line guide somewhere that will take you through this in a more controlled manner, but these are the sorts of things you should be thinking about.

[dawningmama]

I read teh title and immediately thought "You're suited for government work!" I work for the US federal governement and really can not say enough about my employer. It's good work, generally stable and covers a variety of fields. Also, may of the jobs in my area (IRS and the Dept of Treasury in general) have programs where there is reimbursement for additional schooling. The unions are, again generally, pretty good so the benefits and treatment are, for me, worth the slightly less in pay I might be able to garner in the private sector.

[Petronella]

I second the suggestion about government work. There should be websites showing job postings for all levels: municipal, county, state, and federal. Getting one of these jobs is a full-time job in itself with all the screening, testing, background checks, etc. But it's worth it to pursue because once you're in, you are in for life. Sometimes you may start out as a "contract" or "auxiliary" worker for the first year or two...but if you stick with it the security and full benefits will come.

[Ravin]

I've looked around at USAJobs, and most of the federal jobs in my area are Native American-preferential. What's left is mostly too far away from home to be a practical commute.

Of course, the other route I'm considering is the Army. I could go in to an OCS program now that I have my bachelor's, and it would put me at a starting salary-plus-housing-allowance of about $57K.

It would also mean months at a time away from DD, and maybe years living apart from DH (with a few exceptions, he'd probably stay here to go to school regardless of where I was stationed) which would suck, along with the possibility of hazardous duty. But it would be a worthwhile career, and if I'm going to work full time, possibly give up homeschooling DD, etc., I want it to be truly worthwhile. MI, Psyop, and Civilian Relations all look like promising career fields within the army.

High on the possibilities of what to do after law school, if I went, was JAG. I figure, why not just go straight back to the military career now?

DH thinks I don't have the mindset for it anymore and I wouldn't do well psychologically, but that if it's what I want to do, he'll support me in it. When I got out of the service, he said about the same--he won't make such decisions for me, but will support me in what I decide.

What he can't support me in, now, is what I really would like to do if I had my druthers--stay home and have more babies.