Since I feel the urge to break the cardinal rule of the Internet and blog about my job, I feel compelled to share that I’m starting a new job on Monday.
Last semester I did an academic internship with the Vermont Attorney General’s Civil Rights Unit. I loved it. The stories, the situations, and the plights were all very interesting, and I really appreciated the immense wordcraft that went into the job. I was sad to leave it at the end of the semester, because it was certainly the best academic experience of my semester. It made me feel a lot better about planning on assuming a titanic level of debt in order to go to law school.
However, all my emphasis on the LSAT put a lot of doubt in my mind about whether or not it was worth it. A lawyer is one of only a few jobs that is impossible to understand what it’s like until you do it. When I first entered the workforce as a grocery bagger, it was exactly like what I expected it would be like. Anyone who would like to work in business would find it very easy to find an internship or job while in college that would give a fairly accurate vision of what business is like. But the law is a profession, lawyers are “officers of the court” and it would require a lot of learning just to examine what life as a lawyer is like.
Eek.
So, with all the stress with my LSAT, and as I saw a clearer picture of what I could expect for a score, I had to sober up and think to myself, “Is this worth it?” What sort of ROI can I expect from law school? At what point will I be able to pay off my loan, after three expensive years of deferring undergrad loans? I bookmarked NHTI’s paralegal program and felt nearly ill as I saw it would take 60 credits to get the certificate.
Then, in the thick of it all, I received an email from the attorney who supervised my internship:
It turns out the AG's office is in need of a phone person for remainder of June, July and August. I didn't know if this is something that would be of interest to you – since you already had experience with referrals etc. . . . Housing can be arranged . . .
I’m there. I’m so there.
I’m going to be living out of a spare bedroom in this particular attorney’s house for the summer, which is only about 8 minutes away from the Pavilion (the AGO’s building). For free. That will be a different experience in-of-itself. My mother and partner are distraught, as am I, but life will go on. In my mind’s eye, I view this as sort of “St. Jerome in his Study” opportunity. Freelance writer and mercenary receptionist by day, quiet and dedicated writer and scholar by night, with the lights trimmed low.
Of course, I just bought a new laptop and I’ll have fast enough wireless to play World of Warcraft, so goodness me. Oops, I just violated the second rule of the Internet: don’t mention that you play World of Warcraft: it makes you unemployable.
However, I do plan on being back home for the weekends – that’s good, and I also plan on making bank by working 40-hour weeks and by finishing the contract work the AGO offered me in the spring. I also really want to make headway on my novel, whose MediaWiki experiment I shall continue to share in this space.
What I really hope to get out of this experience, besides this so-called bank (which, at this point, is more debt-relief than anything) is a clearer insight into what I can expect in the legal field, and if I think it will all be worth law school. LSAT scores are supposed to be released within a fortnight, which will help me plan. But until then I need to enjoy the experience.
