What type of job should he look for?

[Beeblebrox]

DH will be graduating Law School this May, but will not be taking the Bar. He decided this last year that he doesn't have his heart in law and would be miserable. He wanted to finish out his degree though. On top of that he has a Bachelor of Arts, History. With graduation coming up very soon he's feeling a bit lost as to what to do for work. He'd like to work for a couple of years and then get his Masters in History so that he can teach. Until then he needs a job!!

Throughout school he's done mostly admin type jobs, but with his education we assume that he can get something that pays a bit more. However, he's never specialized in any business classes or field while in school so he doesn't know if anyone will even bother to look at his resume.

Long story short, with his education and "special area of interest" what sort of jobs would you recommend he pursue. Business? Admin? Are there any sort of teaching jobs he can get with the education he has now or will he have to get his Masters? This may seem like a no brainer to some, but up until now he hasn't had to look for a job with a sizable earning potential, because he was working part-time and living off the alotted loans. Any help would be great!

Also, when I say "well paying job" I just mean something we can live off of comfortably and maybe put a bit in savings. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle nor do we intend to.

[tayndrewsmama]

What about consulting? He has the legal education to probably properly consult on certain business needs. I don't really know what kind of income that would give him. I also don't know if that's maybe a mainly self employed kind of thing though.

[tayndrewsmama]

Oh, maybe if he could take additional classes in finance that would really help. I know there's a market for that.

[Beeblebrox]

Thanks for that idea! I really appreciate it. I'll be passing that along to him.

Anyone else?

[SleeplessMommy]

First, he should talk with the school's career office. They will have a counsellor, and career testing. All free! The Strong Interest Inventory, the Meyers Briggs, etc can help decide on careers where he can be Happy.
Does he like administrative work? Why earn $40K doing tedious admin work when you could get more $$$ doing tedious paralegal work or tedious lawyer work? You can send in his resume to various places on monster.com. See what happens!

Also, is he motivated by money? If so he should take the bar NOW while the knowledge is still fresh in his mind. Within law, there could be some area where he would be happy?

I know a guy that did law school, did not take the bar, then went right back for graduate school in sociology. Got a PhD and became a professor. In graduate school, he could possible get a tiny miniscule stipend. Like $12-15K a year plus tuition.

[SleeplessMommy]

And if he does stay in admin, he may want to go to MBA school part time. Find an employer that will pay for it. Law degree + MBA could be good for a career, if he is "agressive" "selfmotivated" and into business.

[Danelle78]

Why not Art Lawyer? for the time being? http://www.vlany.org/legalservices/career.php

Opps, misread the OP it's a BA in History. Even so, Antiquities attorney? If you have a Historical Preservation movement, you have attorneys that work to preserve or destroy. I really believe that it's the attorneys that run this whole show behind the big corps.

Really, he needs to talk to a career counselor. There are so many things that you can do with a law degree besides being a litigator or a corporate pawn. The ABA might have some good ideas for him too.

[Boadicea]

I would highly encourage him to take the Bar after graduation even if he has no interest in pursuing a career in law, per se. It will be much, much easier to pass the Bar immediately after school, while the information is fresh in his mind. Then, he'll at least have that under his belt to fall back on until he finds something else, or if he should change his mind at some point. I am now a SAHM with no desire to ever return to practicing law, but at least it's there, should I need it, kwim?

I specialized in non-profit law -- it was very satisfying, and very different than other forms of practice (no litigation, for example). There are so many different ways in which he could practice law. Has he explored all of his options?

Not trying to belittle his feelings and desires, just trying to point out that there are many avenues that he could take from this point.

[sweetest]

I graduated from law school last May and have now taken the CA bar twice ( I wont know if I passed the second time for another month). I met more than a few people in Bar review who didnt take the Bar right out of law school and regreted it.

What level does he want to teach at? Here a JD will let you teach at the community college. What about legal publishing? Government work?

If I failed this second stab at the Bar, I'll be in the same boat - a JD with no license. I have found that the education will get me the experience requirements for most jobs, but the pay is substantially less. Of course if his heart isnt in it, you cant make him take the Bar. I would tell him to make an appointment with the career office. There is a book out there called something like "non-legal jobs for lawyers" or something similar - he might be interested in that.

[rebeccalizzie]

I agree with the pp's--if he is even slightly willing, I'd advise him to take the bar. If he can put up with admin work, there are lots of law specialties that are basically really well paid specialized admin work, he could just do that until he is settled on what he really wants to do. He put in the time and effort for the degree, he may as well take the final step. My cousin is in real estate law, and I know someone else in probate law. Both boring, both no litigation, both no weird hours or "partner track". They both work for banks, it was no big deal to get a job and neither of them work more than 40 hours a week. So going back to school on those hours wouldn't be terribly painful.

If he absolutely doesn't want to take the bar, I agree with the pp who said he should take advantage of his college career counselling. Great resource, and he'll never be able to use it for free again!

[fek&fuzz]

I also recommend taking the bar, even if he doesn't plan on practicing law. What turns him off about the law? there are hundreds of different fields to practice in with a law degree, that's sort of like saying I don't want to work in an office.
Does he not want to do the big firm thing? Maybe he could go on informational interviews with people who practice in various areas of the law. The career center at his school should have a list of alumni who have agreed to be contacted for things like this and he could talk to them.
Also, there is a book called something like 101 things you can do with a law degree besides be a lawyer.
I'm an elder law attorney. I love it. It's never boring, I don't do litigation and I have my own firm. The clients are fabulous and I have a great sense of satisfaction when I am able to help them.

[Beeblebrox]

Well the problem he sees with taking the Bar is it going to waste if he does not get a job practicing law. It will expire if he isn't praciting law within the year. Or so someone at school (professor, student...he doesn't quite remember) told him. By waste I mean, it'll be expensive. I do like a lot of the ideas though and when he gets home I'll be having him take a gander at this thread. Thanks for responding everyone!

[fek&fuzz]

Hi,
We are both in Mass. The bar exam does not "expire" if he is not practicing within a year; who ever told him that has no idead what they are talking about. As long as he pays his bar dues, and there are reduced dues for attorneys on "inactive status", his license is good. If he does not take the bar now, and wishes to later, it will be much more time consuming and he won't have the moral support of all of his classmates who are also studying. This is a huge thing.
Taking the bar exam gives him more options, and opens more doors. Not taking it just closes doors. Yes, it costs money to sit for the bar and for the bar review classes, but compared to the investment he has already made, it is nothing.
He really needs to talk to the career center at school. They can give him things to help him figure out what he wants to do, a "what color is my parachute" sort of thing.
Where is he in school? (I went to Suffolk) If he wants to talk to me about the type of law I practice, I'd be glad to talk to him. Just PM me.

[Shiloh]

I'd say he should take the bar if it only requires a little bit of time, if he tries to do it later he might be too old the brain gets fuzzy.

I second the professor route he sounds like he doesn't want to work 'in law' but being a profession is very gratifying.

Long story short, with his education and "special area of interest" what sort of jobs would you recommend he pursue. Business? Admin?

he could work in a business as a lawyer but its really shitty admin work.

What about consulting on legal issues?
Ultimately a growing section of business is privacy legilstation (sorbanne's oxley? spelling is bad I know and security issues)

really I say go the career counselling route, then have dh job shadow people.
Being a lawyer for IBM might sound like fun but...my friend who does something like that for a similar company most of hteir time ins spent proof reading ads for specials and writing that annoying fine print.

sounds as if he's emmotionally burning out, deal with that first.
People will look at him funny to apply for a general business job if he could be doing something else....

[mammastar2]

I'm a lawyer. I second/third/fourth taking the Bar. He's never going to be more prepared than he is coming out of law school and it gives him lifelong options. Why shut those down right out of the gate?

I also second/third/fourth talking to the careers coordinator at the law school. First, he can get decent information about the bar exam and implications down the road if he's not in practice for a stretch. Second, they generally have a fountain of information on 'non-traditional' and traditional things one can do with a law degree, can refer him to alumni in areas that interest him for further discussion, etc. Government, policy work, consulting, legal editing, legal research, administrative work, non-profits, etc etc etc.

As someone who got an MA in History and then went to law school, might I respectfully suggest he scrutinize this option very, very carefully? First, while he's in grad school if he's lucky he'll get $10-$15K a year as a stipend in return for working up to 20 hours a week (more during exams) as a teaching assistant. Second, an MA in and of itself isn't going to get you far. You really need a PhD if you want to be at all competitive. Third, even with a PhD, particularly if it's not from a top-tier school (and sometimes even if it is), you may well end up spending the next 10 years of your life working as a poorly paid sessional instructor at a series of junior colleges in obscure places, with no job security. There are people out there who land teaching jobs they're very happy with, but it's by no means a slam dunk.

Good luck!

[Beeblebrox]

Thank you so much for everyone's input. It really has given DH some food for thought. He'll be looking at his options for the Bar and going to his school's career center tomorrow. Thank you so much, again!

[Shiloh]

Maybe you could build in a mini stress relief type home holiday for him to help him from this burn out. Think of a few little things he could do or you could do together like hawain night (get grass skirt and serve tropical drinks when the kids are asleep get him laughing and destressed a massage etc.

The bar can't hurt him and it will always give him options....He needs to get excited about the future but not overwhelmed.

what about even humanitarian type things as he sounds very disgruntled at 'law' my aunt/uncle are law profs they set up a law school in poorer country for two years had a blast doing it.

[swimswamswum]

One of my dad's good friends was a law librarian before he retired. He was a really cool, smart guy and liked his job really well. He worked at a Jesuit law school, made decent money, and his kids got free college tuition. Not too bad in my book.

[swimswamswum]

Oh, I wanted to add that I agree with the others who have said that he should take the bar now even if his heart isn't in to it. It will be good for security and he will never be as prepared as he is now.

[mamaroni]

You are probably tired of hearing this, but I also would advise taking the bar NOW. A friend of mine recently took the NY bar (we both took the MI bar, yikes, almost 10 years ago) and he said it was nearly impossible. res judicata?? huh?? collateral estoppel?? I have been inactive for 2 years now, and I pay a reduced rate for the bar dues. A JD will get you a teaching job at community colleges here as well.

It's interesting, most all of my friends from law school ended up really NOT liking the practice of law itself and went into other fields. I don't have any specific recommendations for your dh's interests, but sounds like the others have some great ideas.

good luck!