Jobs for Law School Grads

In the next few weeks, I am going to start a new section on this blog known as "non-traditional jobs for law school graduates."  The point of this will be to help law school graduates who have not been able to find jobs to secure work in areas they may not have considered before.  Many law students think that their only option after law school is finding a job in law.  Furthermore, other law students are worried that they will not be able to find meaningful full time work after law school. 

While I am aware that finding a job out of law school is a challenge, I also believe that diversifying your options is a good way to start.  I don't think that a person who sincerely wants a legal job after law school should compromise their goals and look for something else.  However, I do know that many law grads are curious as to what kind of jobs they can find once law school is complete. 

I will be posting links to various organizations that are known to hire law grads, as well as to some others who value the kind of education that law school can provide.  Although such a list can not be perfect, and while there are many critics, the goal of these entries is to give people a new perspective in their job hunt. 

At first, I will go through the more obvious jobs that law school graduates have a chance of getting, then I will go into more specialized positions that many law grads have not considered.  Not all of these jobs will be high paying positions, but they will have growth potential, teach new skills, and possibly offer loan forgiveness.  Also, I will try to look at jobs where a person can possibly use the skills they learn to start their own business. 

I believe that when working one should keep an open mind and think to themselves, "how could I start a business using the skills I have learned here?"  "How could I do this better?"  "What managerial operations work and which ones do not work?"  To me, the ultimate goal is to have my own business and work for myself.  I have believed for quite a while that true happiness comes from doing something yourself for yourself.  Why should one break one's back for the direct benefit of another person while only getting a small share of the crumbs left behind?  With that thought, one can gain some experience working for others, but the end goal should not be a lifetime of servitude, but taking those skills that have been gained and using them for one's own direct benefit.

The first job I want to outline is Foreign Service Officer.  This can be a tough job to get into, but that does not mean that one should not try.  The hiring description does state that law school graduates are wanted for the position.  In fact, many law graduates do become foreign service officers. 

http://careers.state.gov/officer

If you know a foreign language, your chances of getting in are even higher.  In fact, I would recommend anyone who is starting law school to think back to any foreign language training they may have had in undergraduate and consider trying to become fluent in it.  Many individuals become proficient at a foreign language on their own without having to take expensive classes.  If you have already had classes in learning a foreign language, you have a good start, and probably already know how to deal with things such as pronunciation.  With that being said, don't fret if your foreign language skills are not up to par.  You don't need a foreign language for this amazing position!

The website has a lot of useful information for finding test dates and studying for the test.  There may be some up front cost, and completing an application is not going to be a quick endeavor.  However, if you want to find a job in this economy, you must realize that there is going to probably be some heavy work involved.

To the naysayer or debbie-downers out there:  When I think that I have no real chance in getting a job with a boatload of competition, I tell myself over and over again, "someone has to get this job, why can't it be me?" 

Another option that the US government offers is called Peace Corps.  This job is for those who like to serve and travel.  Many people ask if they should do law school and then peace corps, and maybe I will touch on this in a later post.  While it may be a bad idea to do law school before spending time with the Peace Corps, especially if you plan on working law, it may not be a bad idea if you want to do something else and be taken care of.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Also, consider the information below, with a list of jobs that qualify for public service loan forgiveness.  Every law student should have this information handy when looking for jobs when they have a STOCKPILE of debt.  

The public service loan forgiveness program has several restrictions:

• Term: The forgiveness occurs after 120 monthly payments made on or after October 1, 2007 on an eligible Federal Direct Loan. Periods of deferment and forbearance are not counted toward the 120 payments. Payments made before October 1, 2007 do not count. Likewise, only payments on a Federal Direct Loan are counted.
• What is forgiven?  remaining interest and principal are forgiven.
• Employment: The borrower must be employed full-time in a public service job for each of the 120 monthly payments. Public service jobs include, among other positions, emergency management, government (excluding time served as a member of Congress), military service, public safety and law enforcement (police and fire), public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations), public education, early childhood education (including licensed or regulated childcare, Head Start, and State-funded prekindergarten), social work in a public child or family service agency, public services for individuals with disabilities or the elderly, public interest legal services (including prosecutors, public defenders and legal advocacy on behalf of low-income communities at a nonprofit organization), public librarians, school librarians and other school-based services, and employees of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. Full-time faculty at tribal colleges and universities, as well as faculty teaching in high-need subject areas and shortage areas (including nurse faculty, foreign language faculty, and part-time faculty at community colleges), also qualify. 

Source: http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml 

It's not always just about the money, you know.

The above is information that upcoming law school graduates with heavy debt should consider.  I have a very high amount of law school debt, and the idea of having it forgiven in 10 years (without the tax burden of IBR) is rather comforting to me.  In fact, looking at my debt levels, if I spent 30 years paying off my loans, I would have to pay about $500,000 to get rid of them.  On IBR I would be hit with a HUGE tax burden.  However, if I paid off my loans using the public service loan forgiveness, I would be, in essence, making a LOT of extra money by not having to pay off the huge debt over 30 years.  For me, public service makes a lot of sense.  Looking at it from a financial viewpoint, unless I can find a job making over $100,000 a year, I am probably better off going into public service (I could be wrong, however, as I have not sat down and done the math.  Further, I am quite frugal and could easily live off $30,000 a year, putting the remainder towards the debt).  However, realistically, I realize I have a very small chance of getting a job that pays $100,000 or close to it.  Therefore, I am going to strongly consider finding a job in public service.  It may not be a legal job, but there are other options out there.