Switching Careers

[ChrisH]

Hey, has anyone here (other than WBL, of course) ever done a radical career change? I'm currently going through a tough time with my job (commercial litigator in NYC, an incredibly stressful and demanding job), and have begun to realize that I certainly don't want to be in a law firm in the long run. I'm trying to figure things out, and am considering whether I want to leave the law altogether, and if so, to do it now while I'm young (late 20's) and don't have real commitments (no mortgage, no children, etc.).

If anyone has ever done a 180 career-wise and has any ideas/suggestions , I'd really appreciate them. Of course, if anyone here was a lawyer and got out of it (or switched from law firm to government/corporate in-house work), I'd apprecaite any insight.

[PrncssNikki]

I plan on doing the same later on in life after I pay off the college loans for this stupid legal degree. Thank God I never took the plunge to Law School.

I think I'm going to be one of those people who will never be happy in their career, so I'll be hopping around with 5 different degrees and going to school when I'm 40.

[frankjg]

In the same vein, has anyone made a huge move for work, like other side of the globe move?

[Hudson]

My dad was a Law firm guy and was stuck doing the shit jobs for the firm because he was a young partner. He save up some cash and broke out on his own and did predominantly personal injury, wrongful Death, and corporate law. Made quite a few bucks. Prior to law school, he was an FBI agent, and prior to that he was killing gooks as a Green Beret in pre-conflict Vietnam in 62.
Currently I am staring down the barrel of a layoff in my job and contemplating becoming a medic or a realtor. Althought the latter I have always felt as smarmy or fast talkers, which I am not. I don't like lying to people as did my dad which is why he left the firm he was in to start out on his own.
If I found a good coaching gig Hell yeah! I'd move! I could afford to fly back for holidays!

[GonzoRadio]

Chris, what are your interests? Depending on what your looking to get into, your legal background can be of big help, and the transition won't be as tough as you'd think.

I'm a software engineer, but I started off working in sales for an insurance company. While the two have seemingly nothing in common, I learned a lot about how to get requirements out of people; in other words, finding out what people really want. Believe it or not, most people do not know what they really want, often times they make vague requests or ask for something other than they really want. My short sales career helped me tremendously in that respect (which is no small thing).

I can definately see lots of places/partners that would take a chance with you in an unrelated field, despite your lack of experience (in that field) because of your law background. I definately respect your (amd PrncssNikki's) decision to jump ship into another career path. Even though I did it, I always knew that I'd hand up in software engineering.

[Bad Salmon]

I went to film school, got out and went into post production where I became a colorist/editor for TV and Film, and made incredible money. But, I wanted to get out of the tech seat and move into management. Everyone including my family thought I was nuts to make this change at the time(I was 29) because of the money, projects and people I got to work with. Every CEO, CFO, or Pres I worked for told me that if I wanted to do what they did I needed my J.D(they all had them usually with an MBA.) I went to law school and realized that I loved the education but never wanted to practice law-never. I now have law loans that I need to pay off the size of a small mortgage and I feel I wasted my money to make a career change that I wasnt going to be happy with. Everyone I know who is an attorney(a lot of friends and family) all hate their career decision and want out of law. All my friends in post production hate their jobs and want out.

The moral is "the grass is always greener"...I went back to what I did before and still want out b/c the stress and backstabbing is unbearable. If you want to change careers give it a try but make sure you will be happy in the new job with possibly a new salary. It's hard to start over but worth it if you find happiness. I will be going for my MBA soon.

[d0uche_n0zzle]

First thing I think you should do is be completely honest with yourself and find out what you truly love to do. Be it a hobby or something that you just love to do and enjoy. Most very successful folks will tell you to follow your heart and the money will find a way.

[B54]

In the same vein, has anyone made a huge move for work, like other side of the globe move?

I moved here from Minsk, Belarus. I got my undergraduate there and came here and then took the MCAT, got into medical school, and got my MD in neurology. If your thinking about a new job, i would tell you to consider becoming a physican. I know the demand is high, their are currently 12 or 13 open spots in the hospital I work at. Maybe specialize in something that you really like. I am glad I did it the way I chose, I had no idea you had to spend 13 years in school here in the States for a while. In my country, I recieved my undergraduate degree when I was 16. I could not imagine staying in secondary school until 18 and then going an additional 4 years to get an undergraduate degree.

[PrncssNikki]

First thing I think you should do is be completely honest with yourself and find out what you truly love to do. Be it a hobby or something that you just love to do and enjoy. Most very successful folks will tell you to follow your heart and the money will find a way.

That's what I'm doing. I work in Juvenile probation, but I found myself more concerned and interested in the welfare of the people I'm working with than the actual law itself. I was much happier working with my minors & incompetents in Probate and because of that, I'm entertaining the idea of getting into social work, but it pays dick, so I'm hesitant. My ideal career as a Court Investigator is opening up in the Court I work for, but I don't have my social work degree, so I can't pursue it. :icon_frow

[Bad Salmon]

One other thing, my sister worked for 2 big law firms and hated it(long hours, stress, terrible partners and associates). She went for her LLM(banking and financial) b/c her last firm paid for it. One of her clients from the big firm loved her and recruited her. She now is VP and General Counsel for that investment company and is much happier due to regular hours, much better pay and her being the boss of the legal dept. In house counsel always seems to be better. My GF is getting the same LLM in hopes of following my sisters path.
Side note: my sister pleaded with me not to go to law school and just get my MBA which right now, according to the media, is the hottest degree with the most hirings and highest salaries coming out.

[ChrisH]

One other thing, my sister worked for 2 big law firms and hated it(long hours, stress, terrible partners and associates). She went for her LLM(banking and financial) b/c her last firm paid for it. One of her clients from the big firm loved her and recruited her. She now is VP and General Counsel for that investment company and is much happier due to regular hours, much better pay and her being the boss of the legal dept. In house counsel always seems to be better. My GF is getting the same LLM in hopes of following my sisters path.
Side note: my sister pleaded with me not to go to law school and just get my MBA which right now, according to the media, is the hottest degree with the most hirings and highest salaries coming out.

My cousin is starting Columbia Business School this fall, and I'm jealous. Fortunately, I was very lucky to have well-off parents (my dad is a partner in a big NYC, hello, father issues), so I didn't incur any debt for law school, so I am one of the very few miserable lawyers who can afford to make a career change without really fucking up my finances.

Of all the lawyers I know, both friends and family, VERY few are happy, and of those who are and are in "biglaw" (big NYC firms), one is my father who is cream of the crop, the other is a guy who genuinley loves his work. The rest of us are pretty miserable.

[Bad Salmon]

My parents paid for my sisters undergraduate and law school. I did not get the same treatment. I had to pay for my own undergrad until I got a full scholarship, and they wouldnt pay for my law school b/c I was out of undergrad for 8 years, making money, and had an established career that I was walking away from. But the reality is, even if I went to law school right out of undergrad like my sister, they wouldnt have paid anyway b/c I am a man and my father is old school like that.

[Mybigcans]

Chris you have to figure out what are your interests first of all, then look into possibilities from there....Changing a career isn't easy, but if you really really want it, it'll happen...:action-sm

[Mybigcans]

My parents paid for my sisters undergraduate and law school. I did not get the same treatment. I had to pay for my own undergrad until I got a full scholarship, and they wouldnt pay for my law school b/c I was out of undergrad for 8 years, making money, and had an established career that I was walking away from. But the reality is, even if I went to law school right out of undergrad like my sister, they wouldnt have paid anyway b/c I am a man and my father is old school like that.
That fucking blows...... Thanks dad!!!

[Leslie Anne]

Hi!

After reading what everyone said, I'm going to agree with everyone...Do some serious soul searching and find out what you really enjoy doing. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Usually folks know the answer deep down inside....just takes a while for their balls to drop and take the plunge. You said that you have no kids, no mortgage, and no real commitments. This is the perfect time to take this opportunity! Hold your breath and dive!