Career Change....has anyone been through this?

[AllyandJack]

So...I've wanted to be a lawyer all my life. I finally made it and I'm miserable. For the past two years, since I've been licensed, I've been searching for a way out. I keep coming back to the only other thing I ever wanted to do....real estate.

I've discovered that I can get my license in my state just because I'm a lawyer - so law school was not a waste of time! Then I can reciprocate into the state in which I live. Great....licensing out of the way. I'll take some classes to learn and start seeking out a company with a training program that may be hiring, etc.

First of all....has anyone ever spent time and money in school and then decided that they just don't want to work in that career? Did you feel guilty? Was it worth it?

Second....is anyone out there a Realtor? I know that, at first, you probably don't earn much since you're training and learning, etc. Thankfully, my husband's salary will support us, so I can deal with that. Is there any salary involved, or is only commission? Do you more or less make your own hours or do you have to be in the office for "face time" as we lawyers like to refer to it? I know that there are evenings and weekends involved to show houses and for open houses, but are there strict 9-5 office hours? Is there a chance to do it part time? For example, when I have a baby, I want to be home during the day until my husband comes home. Is it an option to work part time - evenings and weekends or 3 days a week? I'm so used to the grind of being a lawyer that I don't want to change careers into a similarly grueling 90 hour a week, miserable job.

I'm so happy that I made the decision. I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, but now I'm starting to wonder if it's worth all of the work it will take to make the career jump.

Does anyone have any input? I have talked to my family and they tell me to go for it, if it will make me happy, but I really think I'd get more practical help here!!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Well, I say if you are miserable go for the change!!!!

I am just starting a carreer change as well. I am a nurse and am going back to school for a teaching career.

I had some guilt and struggled for years to decide if I should and now I wonder what the heck took me so long to go for it.

Don't waste your time in a career you don't like. Life is too short!

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

I changed. My DH owns a construction company and worked 6 and 7 days a week from 6 AM to the evening. I on the other hand had a Hotel Restaurant Mgmt 4 yr degree from PSU and so I was working evenings, holidays and weekends. As you can well determine, we had a big strain on our marriage and had a talk about me getting out, which I was happy to do because the service industry is difficult to work in for long periods of time. It just burns you out. So I went back to school for 2 yrs to get an Elem Degree. I was able to use what I learned in mgmt to help "manage" my classrooms so the past education and experience really helped me be a good teacher. Now I switched careers again and I am a SAHM. Much harder than the other 2, but much more rewarding. I sometimes feel that I wasted all that time and education and money, but all of those skills really help me with raising the children, so I don't feel too guilty.

I know a fella around here that got his Dental degree/license at 50 and LOVES being a dentist. So I personally never think it's too late. Real Estate on the other hand is a tough business. My DF (also an attorney) who's DH could support her, got her Real Estate license, but had to put that career on hold for a while seeing as she wasn't making any money up front, and they ran into some mishaps w/ his job and now she is working more hours using her atty background to help support the family. I think it takes years to develop a clientele in real estate. So be careful. But if that is your love, and your DH can support you both for a period of time, then by all means follow your heart. You'll live a much better life if you love what you do. Good luck.

 

[mickeyboat]

I am you, only 9 years later.

All I ever wanted to be was a lawyer. I planned high school and undergrad to be best prepared for law school. I did well in law school. I passed the bar. And then wasn't able to find a job.

I worked for several months as a temp hoping to find something. I started a temp job at a manufacturing company 6 months after graduation. After 5 months they offered me a full-time position. I took the position because I needed a steady income - DH and I wanted to buy a house.

I am still here 8 years later. Part of the reason I am still here is because I never wanted to work the 90 hour weeks, I wanted to build a life with DH. Now we have two kids and I am glad I am not doing that (although the chances I would still be doing that are slim- I hear it gets better). I work 8-5, have an hour for lunch to do errands, don't take work home, don't work weekends. I have very little job-related stress and I am able to enjoy my time at home with my family. I have flexibility in my job so if I have to take the kids to the dentist, I can.

I think my parents are disappointed that I am not working as a lawyer. In a way I am too. But maybe that is not what I was cut out to be. I am happy now and that is what counts.

Think long and hard about what you want to do. Maybe working 90 hour weeks for a little while will provide opportunities later on to practice law on a more limited basis so you can have the flexibility you desire.

But if you really don't think you want to practice law, then by all means don't feel guilty about trying something else. Your legal background will be invaluable in a real estate career. One recommendation to you - keep up your bar membership. Maybe some day you will change your mind, then the career path will still be available to you.

DH jokes that my degree is the most expensive piece of paper in the world. I just finished paying off my student loans (this month!!). But my education will always be with me. No one can take that away. I benefit from it every day.

Good luck with your decision. I think you are doing the right thing if that what is what makes you happy.

Denae

 

[AllyandJack]

Thanks everyone! I had thought that putting in my time for a little while would be worth it, but I found that it does not get any better. I worked at a small firm - two partners, both of them there at 8am and there at 8pm. Both of them there most Saturdays. Both of them out of town at least 10 days a month. Sure, they have certain freedoms and lots of money, but their wives go on vacations with their kids - alone. Their wives take their kids to the house in the mountains - alone. So, I thought maybe a big firm would be better....I don't want to run my own firm anyway.

I left the small firm and I'm working as a contract attorney at a big firm while interviewing at other big/mid-sized firms. The partners I work with here...same deal....in by 8am, here until 8pm. They're here on weekends. They travel at an insane pace. Most of them never married and most of the ones who did never had children. They make millions of dollars and all they see is the inside of this office. After interviewing what I have found is that these firms are requiring more than I really want to give. They want me to travel...one partner I interviewed with said he was only in town 9 days in March! He said he was there until 9:30pm the night before. It doesn't get any better, so mickeyboat, you didn't miss out on anything!!

I'll definitely keep up my Bar Membership, in fact, I'm taking another Bar Exam next February. I thought maybe I'd try to get into doing RE closings. What I'm finding in that respect is that, with the big boom of purchases and refinances, firms want people with experience in conducting closings and I'm a litigator, so I don't have that. Oh, well!!

I also wanted to say this: if anyone is reading this is considering going to law school, I hope what I'm saying doesn't discourage you. I loved law school and I would never wish that I didn't go. But, being a lawyer these days, in this part of the country is a 24 hour a day job and it's just not the life I, myself, want to lead. There are many, many happy lawyers at big and small firms who love what they do and are happy to put in long hours because the financial rewards are great. I decided that I would leave the big salary to my husband who can pull it off in an 8 hour day and a 5 day work week (little hint: go into a trade, it's where the money is!).

After I wrote all of this stuff, I started to wonder what people who wanted to go to law school would think and I definitely did not want to give the impression that I thought law school was a mistake. It wasn't and I'm happy that I got to practice law, but it's just not for me right now. It may be for you! So, if it's what you want, you should go for it!

(OK...finished with the public service announcement!)

 

[DMickey28]

I am in the same boat as you! I am struggling to go back to school for an masters in ed, and my bachelor's is in Hotel and Restaurant. I worked for a little while in the Restaurant and decided I didn't want to do that anymore.. The hours.

Now I am just waiting to get on last bachelor's course I need to move forward into my masters degree to be a teacher.

Disney Enthusiast~~~ Same boat as you!! I am determined to be a teacher. All my expierence up until after college and being a restaurant manager was with children. I am concerned about finding a teaching job when I graduate though. I am from MA and teaching jobs are so hard to come by. I live in Indiana now but am looking to relocate to Florida within the year.... How difficult was it to find a job teaching after you graduated? What school did you go through? American Intercontinental University Online has a 10month program geared towards hands on learning with the assingments basedon what you would actually be doing in the field as apposed to book learning... Thinking about applying to that for January next year so I can do it if we end up moving in the middle....

 

[BedKnobbery2]

My first suggestion would be perhaps you should explore another area of the law--you could, for example, become a real estate attorney rather than a realtor.

realtor's hours really stink. It is also a cut-throat business, and it is ripe with disappointments. Also, it is unlikely you'd be able to work it part-time as a mom, because you have to arrange your schedule to accomodate your clients, not the other way around.

I don't mean to be overly harsh, I'm just trying to lay out the realities of this particular job. I know it is hard when you're unhappy with what you are doing, and as they say, the grass is always greener...

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Ally, I really think you should look around at other firms. I work for an attorney (I'm a paralegal) and we share an office suite with 2 other attorneys. None of them work close to the hours you list as that standard you've experienced. The busiest one is usually here no earlier than 9am, and is usually gone by 5pm, although he does work some late nights. My supervising attorney is almost never here before 10am, and is almost never here past 4pm. The other attorney spends maybe 3 hours a day here, and isn't even here every day of the week.

It may have been that you've just had a bad string of luck with the places you've encountered. If you love the law (I do--just don't have the time for law school yet, so being a paralegal is the next best thing) maybe you should try for another change before washing your hands of it entirely.

 

[Sandy V.]

And I'm you too, only 13 years later!

I always did well in school, didn't really know what I wanted to do when I started college, but fell in love with my political science classes, so decided on that as a major.

Practically speaking, you either go to grad school or law school with a political science/public administration degree, so I found myself taking the LSAT and applying to schools.

Met my husband in law school. We married, graduated, moved to Colorado, and took the bar exam together (which, by the way, was the most stressful time in our married lives ever!).

I worked as a law clerk for a judge for one year and as a Deputy District Attorney for 3 years after that. Lots of long hours. My husband was doing the same. Had our first child in there; couldn't afford for me to stop working at that time.

After the birth of our second child, I was a SAHM for 13 months. I enjoyed that most of the time, but found that I was a much happier (and nicer) person if I had regular adult contact apart from my husband at the end of the day. Poor guy - I would just "jump" all over him when he came through the door at night - I was so starved to talk to another grownup!

So I started working for a legal information company doing editorial analysis (reading of cases and other legal materials). The job is predictable, doesn't require overtime, and the benefits are good. It was the right decision for me, and I have no regrets.

My husband still practices law - because of the long hours he puts in, we decided that ONE practicing attorney in the family is enough if you're going to raise a family (with no offense meant to anyone else who thinks or does it differently than we do).

If you're unhappy, then by all means follow your dreams of a different career. Like others have said, your education is never wasted. In fact, your law experience can turn out to be very valuable in many career choices, especially in real estate.

We only get one shot at life - it's far too short to be stuck in a miserable situation.

Good Luck!!

 

[scarlett873]

my husband has recently decided that he wants to go to law school and become a lawyer! he's 31 and just started towards his degree...he's taking this business law class and just yammers non-stop about it. i finally told him that he should just suck it up and go to law school. he never stops talking about it! lol...he's always been infatuated by the laws, etc. so he's strongly considering law school once he gets his bachelor's. i think he's looking into corporate law though...he'd want to remain with the company he currently works for if he could...hopefully he can, seeing as how they are paying for his education!

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

DMickey28: Nice to meet a fellow HR&IM grad. Tough business ehh??? I made great money as a server, then I went into mgmt and a salary and w/ the hours I put in was making like $6.25 an hour or something like that. Unless I wanted to move to another location (which I couldn't do w/ the family business), it was not going to get any better.

Anyway, back to your question....... Truthfully, I didn't work much. Same situation, only I thought it was getting better around here in the past years. I got REALLY close w/ the staff at a middle school around here and thought for sure I was a shoe in. I even asked the principal to do a couple sit-in reviews, I coached softball, and I participated in a study at the University of Penn. I kept my grades high and was asked to return to my campus to speak to the up and coming students. But "my" middle school redistricted and the school was closed on me . I applied elsewhere, but no bites. I even went to one of our Representatives of the state to look over my Portfolio and she asked why I would even need her help. Well, obviously I did. Because, except for substitute teaching, I received no calls.

Finally, to keep busy, my DH offered me some work in the office. So I went in there to "help" out until I got a job. And I never left. I ended up managing the office doing all of the invoicing, payables, and payroll, plus scheduling and customer relations. It was an exciting job and kept me very busy. A couple years went by and the teacher with whom I worked told me there were several positions opening up. At this point I was immersed in the family business and thinking about starting a family, and thought, teaching will give me summers off, but working in the family business will let me be a SAHM. So I still do all of the acctg, but from home now.

I am surprised you are having such issues in MA w/ teaching positions now. I keep hearing that we need teachers and I feel guilty for not giving myself to the profession if they need teachers so badly. I guess it is still tough out there. I wish you the very best of luck. It is sometimes thankless but definitely one of the most important jobs out there. I hope you are able to find a job.

PS I was born in Waltham, outside of Boston. I am still very close to our old neighbors!

 

[ScarlettO]

Originally posted by BedKnobbery2
My first suggestion would be perhaps you should explore another area of the law--you could, for example, become a real estate attorney rather than a realtor.

realtor's hours really stink. It is also a cut-throat business, and it is ripe with disappointments.

Gosh...this was exactly what I was going to say! A Real Estate attorney. I also looked into being a Realator-you work nights and weekends when "working" folks can look at houses...and you spend lots and lots of time showing houses that are just not "quite right".

 

[beachbunny]

Ally, I was also in the same boat but I guess I'm about a decade older than you. After a brilliant law school career and a stellar federal clerkship, I found myself working as a litigator. The first year was a fun learning experience. But after a while, I realized litigation wasn't for me. Like you, I looked at other career options. Have you considered non-law firm legal career options such as banking, corporate in-house counsel, or government work? I'm now working half-time as a government attorney and half-time as a law professor - and I couldn't be happier. But if you've made your decision, you've got a long hard road ahead of you - my mom was a realtor for a time and she worked long hours (a lot of evenings and weekends). Good luck to you!