Who am I?

I guess it would help if I gave my readers some insight into who I am. While I obviously am a law school graduate, different graduates will have different career options depending on their previous educational and work experiences.

Law School: I went to one of the "better" second tier law schools (ranked between 50 and 75).

Bar Admission: I passed the July bar exam, and I am currently waiting to be fully admitted.

Law Related Experience: I interned (in court) for a big city DA office, interned for a state trial judge, worked in a county probate office, and interned for a PI law firm. I also did legal related research for a think tank.

Undergraduate Education: I went to a good, but certainly not elite undergraduate school. I was wise enough to major in business, but was not wise enough to take a concentration in finance, accounting, or IT. (Instead I took a double major in economics.) I had a pretty good resume of student activities and internships - all of which are moot by this point.

Real Work Experience: I spent two years prior to law school as a research analyst for a business oriented association. I conducted research, compiled/calculated statistical studies, and wrote some policy papers. Trust me, it looks better on paper.

Other Skills and Experience: I've been told I'm a decent writer - I'll let you decide. I'm pretty knowledgeable about current events and public affairs. I have a decent background in computers. I know HTML - and have a working knowledge of CSS and PHP. I've programmed in C/C++ and done some Java Script. I'm pretty quick at learning new software. Unfortunately, I'm not as knowledgeable about networks or as proficient in software development as I'd like to be (or to a degree that will allow me pursue an IT career). Oh, and once I saw a blimp.

Why am I sharing my resume with you? For one thing, it may help readers get a better perspective of what I'm looking for in my job search. For another, I want to help future law grads transition from the legal market wasteland to alternative careers. Not everything I do will be applicable to every person in this situation. Someone who has a liberal arts degree from a complete no-name school and who went straight to law school is going to have to tailor his job search to a different background.

Part of my impetus for getting out of the law is that I had something of a career before going to law school. Unfortunately, I never developed a very specific skill set - I'm not a statistician, IT professional, or an accountant. I thought law school would help me develop a defined skill set. Unfortunately, all it did was saddle me with skills for which nobody is really willing to pay (and for which I don't really want to get paid).

In my next post, I'll continue with the sad tale of how I found myself in this mess.