If ever you were to give voice to one question that would reveal the most about me (aside from the damned obvious "Tell me all about yourself?"), it would probably be "Why don't you want to be a lawyer?"
I know I harp on this a lot, but it's my blog, my topics. If you have a problem, start your own, damnit.
Yeah, didn't think so.
My situation isn't unique. It can't be. Disgruntled lawyers slog through the working world every day. Granted, there can't be too many that were admitted to their respective state bars, then never practiced. But we are out there. And someday, my brethren, I will find you. You are not alone. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
Still, people don't understand the "WHY." Yes, all capital letters. I realize much of this may be on me and my inartful phrasing. And part of it may be me not really sure of the "WHY." Yes, the horrid, painful truth is that I do not know for sure that I would hate the law. However, I would never admit to penning those words. Someone just hacked into Writ and typed all that. Of course, I don't need to get shot to know I wouldn't like that.
My best answer? Time is one of our most valuable commodities. You cannot buy more time. We all are blessed with finite lifespans. It is not a curse upon us that we have limited time, and then we leave. Live forever, and life loses its flavor. It teaches us to cherish the limited amount of time we have (and whether or not we choose to listen is another story). Most other things can be purchased, bartered for, or otherwise acquired. Not time.
For the law, you pay a price much greater than just money. You spend so much of your all-too-valuable time. Yes, the money is an attempt to compensate you for your time, but think about it. If I were to offer you thirty dollars, forty dollars, fifty dollars, for one hour of your life, would you take it? I would say no, but I don't know what you might say. I have to give up some of my time in order to make money to support myself, but there comes a limit. Each hour is precious, a glistening jewel beyond compare. I used to throw them away, but no longer.
You cannot pay me enough to willing give up an hour. Sure, I would buy material goods with that money. And then what? I've still lost the hour.
The law is a greedy bastard. It takes and takes. After your forty hours, it swallows up even more, and gives you fool's gold. Regardless of my opinions of the law and how interesting I may (not) find it, I would have to sink so much time into it. I will do that for fiction. I love free writing. I will do it for certain people, whose initials I will not list here. You already know it, or you don't. These are proven quantities in my life. The law? Not so much.
The national average starting salary for a lawyer is sixty thousand dollars a year, or roughly thirty dollars an hour. Let's say I work sixty hour weeks. Those extra twenty hours are not worth the six hundred dollars. I'd rather have the time. Even if I found the law mildly tolerable, this still wouldn't be enough to get me to spend that much time chasing the dollar. I can always make more money. I can't generate more time.
1 comment:
That's what I admire about you. Some people are too willing to give up their lives in pursuit of the dollar.
I do wonder, though (since I really don't think you'd hate the law if you worked in that area), if you could find something that wouldn't require hours over 40 a week.
There must be something out there. But I think you might be too scared to look into it. You've convinced yourself that it's absolutely not an option. (Oy, yes -- I'm challenging you!)
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