Getting Started

Okay, this is my first post specifically chronicling my attempt to secure non-legal employment - the stated purpose of this blog. I'm going to resist the temptation to give you more background or curse the law school industry.

I think there are several fields outside of law to which my background lends itself : politics, computers, writing, research and business. I'm not qualified for anything in the arts, skilled labor, science or medicine. I really don't want to be in sales (insurance, financial or otherwise). It would be pretty easy for me to get a real estate license, but the market is bad, and the industry is still very sales oriented.

Let's take a look at the fields that are feasible for me to enter:

Politics: Like many of the fields I'm willing to explore, this is a broad area. It could include working on campaigns, lobbying, working for an elected official, or writing about politics/government. Unfortunately, most of the campaign jobs I've seen require past experience (of which I have very little). I could volunteer, but I'm really trying to find long term paying work. I'm also a bit uneasy about having my career tied to a field as controversial as politics. I don't really want to introduce myself as a flunky for Party A or for Cause B.

Computers: As I mentioned in a previous post, I should have probably pursued this route further. I really love working on computers and fiddling with software and web design. Unfortunately, I never really kept up with it in recent years. I really never bothered learning the intricacies of any OS after DOS/Win 3.1. I know HTML pretty well, but I only have a working knowledge of PHP. I don't know much about networks. I think I could learn a lot of this easily, but I really don't want to go back for an IT or CS degree. Maybe I can get some certifications some day, but I don't know where to get the relevant work experience. I may be able to transition to this path at a later point, but for now, there aren't really too many jobs that will take on someone with a working knowledge of computers/IT and train him. Alas, if only this were the 90's.

Writing/Research: I've considered looking into writing positions, but the compensation is really low. It is an area that is usually considered fairly "intellectual" - usually good writers are college educated. The J.D. may also not be a barrier. I'm going to hold off for now. There aren't too many good jobs at this point, anyway. As for research, I'm referring to collecting data and then analyzing it - kind of like what I did before but perhaps dealing with more interesting subject matter and working for a more meaningful company. It's a possibility, but I would need to make sure it's the right fit this time.

Business: Much like the same category on law school employment reports, this is a very broad field. Business could be anything from being a sales associate in a big box store to being an executive at a corporate headquarters. My hope is to either get hired for an entry level job with solid prospects for advancement or maybe spin my couple of years of work experience (and maybe even my JD) to help me get something a little more advanced.

I think the business world offers me the best hope of eventually working my way into a meaningful job and career. I initially went to school to try to land such a position and took a detour (or should I say a wrong turn through the bad section of town) on the way. There's the possibility that I could even acquire some of the computer/IT skills I've been looking for and may be able to move in that direction.

Now that I've narrowed things down a bit, I'll keep you posted on my next steps.