Learn to work with your hands and you’ll never go wrong.
Dump the collectivist mindset. Thte question is, what are YOU prepared to do with the gifts and opportunities you've been given, and have earned?
There's a million stories in the big city, your is only one of them.
Make a plan, and do it. Examine the results, learn what you can, make a new plan, and do that.
Repeat forever, rain or shine. Welcome to human life.
Sorry for this but another lawyer in this country isn’t exactly a godsend.
Hotel and hospital work is international.
Sign on for a three year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. You’ll never regret it.
That's a question which has been wrestled with since the beginning.
My 0.02?
Focus on optimizing your own life to mitigate the damage to it from events outside your control. What exactly this will mean for you will depend on the life you want.
Sounds like you are well on the way to this.
Be smart enough to be self reliant.
Also, read history. Perspective matters. Read about life for the average person in the Middle Ages or ancient times. You'll feel pretty darn happy to just have a roof and food in your stomach.
Couple your current degrees with technical certification in one of the sciences: engineering, pharma, medical etc. Take courses in areas that would lead to employment in the pharma field—in my area (RTP) clinical trial research is big — and LEGAL is a BIG component. Just a suggestion. Build a practical knowledge on the base of your law degree.
Follow a budget.
Get a roommate.
Invest your time in learning how to network and promoting your firm relentlessly and get the reputation as a rainmaker.
You’ll be fine.
“How can someone like me who despite trying to do things the right way, to avoid government handouts, to work hard, to try to be a good christian survive when the government has forced us into working poor status and is trying to force us into dependence?”
Work harder and better than everyone else. Works every time.
I think over time you will find that there is always a way for a good attorney who works hard, returns phone calls, is conscientious, and honest, to make a decent if not good living.
Seriously.
Just focus on doing a good job for your clients. The legal profession is not easy, but, few professions are. Hang in there, and you’ll be just fine.
This is a serious suggestion.
Consider a career as a JAG for the Navy/USMC.
Look up how you, as a JD can go through OCS and be a lawyer in the Navy.
You can keep your expenses low, have a truly honorable career, and perhaps make a shift in career to intelligence+law. The reasoning skills you have learned getting your JD just mught help you in Intel.
Also, a good friend of mine who had a lifelong career in corporate law has now become a doctor and entered private practice (well, in a small group).
But back to the core idea — the Navy won’t pay you much, but your cost of living can be pretty miniscule. AND you can get a lot of different experiences as counsel for the defense or prosecutor in the militray equivalent of both civil and criminal law, plus makea shift to contract and/or international law. Lastly if you do well in the NAvy they will pay you to keep advancing your education. You can become a skilled lawyer AND _____________.
I had a dream to be a marine biologist. I was going to be the next Jacques Cousteau.
I have been in technology and healthcare technology for 30+ years ;-)
Emigrate. If you are willing to travel overseas (most Americans are not, due to family obligations and/or serious misconceptions about the quality of life outside the USA), there are companies that may want to ex-pat you. It was a great leg up for me to go to Singapore for a few years straight out of school. Just don’t spit gum on the sidewalk and you’ll love it.
Get a job doing what you have been trained to do. Get real-world experience in your field. At this point, your resume is all scholastic, you need actual experience.
Eventually, the opportunities will avail. But you don’t start at the top. You’re a n00b ;)
I think the FIRST thing you need to recognize is that you won’t get everything you want immediately. Paying off debt, achieving success and building weatlth is a long, cumulative process that requires discipline. But, it sounds like its discipline that has gotten you where you are, so just apply it to this situation. Its also the little things, like starting off with a not-so-fancy car, eating lunch at your desk, and saving part of every paycheck.
Five years from now, you’ll probably be making good $$ with your college debts nearly paid off. In ten years, you’ll be living in a nice home and have basically everything you need. Twenty years from now, you’ll have more $$ then you know what to do with.
Pray.
I had a tough time finding a job that I liked in California back in the 90s and I finally decided to interview for jobs in other regions of the country. I noticed much more interest and respect from employers right away in the less competitive job markets, and I found a good job in the Southeast within a few weeks. I had to move, of course, but I found I liked the Southeast more than CA anyway and financially I was way ahead. So I would keep an open mind about where you're willing to work and possible relocation.
How much government is involved in that 100,000 dollar edu loan? Boomers tax money in any way involved?
You’re fresh out in the world. You’re not supposed to be self sufficient yet. That’s what roommates or new spouses are for. You can’t run before you walk, no matter how many bar exams you pass.
I was in your situation back in the late 1970s.
I had no problem finding a job; it was just that the businesses were shrinking and laying employees off due to a spreading recession during the Carter Presidency. I was laidoff three times in two years and saw a third layoff rapidly approaching. (None of those companies existed after 1986.)
So I joined the military. It was the smartest thing I ever did. By the fourth day in boot camp I knew what I truly wanted to do the rest of my life - and it wasn’t the Navy! But I received training and experience that helped me in my career and provided an income and those all important contacts which became important later on.
The military has need of lawyers. You might want to talk to them, see what they offer you.
Right now the State of Washington is looking for three attorneys. I would be willing to bet there are other states also looking to hire an attorney. Your career is out there, you just have to look beyond your present location.
If it is any consolation, after my honorable discharge from the Navy, I found a very good paying job just a 20 minute drive from my folks home.
Sometimes to reach your goal, life requires a detour first. Think of it as an “adventure”, and try to relax and enjoy it.