Happy New Year!
I need to be honest with you guys. A lot has changed in my life since the clock struck 12 on January 1: I won the lottery, got married, started working at my dream job, and got to babysit Blue Ivy. It’s been an awesome year already!
Okay, so none of that is true (yet), but I have decided to be positive and upbeat this year. That doesn’t mean I won’t be snarky or sarcastic; just that every time I write or think something negative, I’ll try and counter it with something positive.
Courtesy of _Dilexa via Flickr.
The Bad
So far, what makes 2014 a great year is waking up to the obligatory “Happy new year!”/ “Hapye newx yeark!” texts (Lay off the booze, friends). I have yet to respond to any of these messages because I’m lazy, but I appreciate them! As far as “Happy New Year!” drunk dials and voicemails? Let’s leave those in the past, OK?
Speaking of things I’d like to leave in the past, have you guys heard of shitlawjobs.com? In the spirit of positivity, we’ll just call it…hilariously realistic. I find this site funny because it aggregates all of the terrible job postings that many people on the job hunt view multiple times a day. It’s shocking, really.
Shocking that some of these salaries are below the poverty line for a family of 4.
Shocking that unemployed law school graduates could make more money being an uberX driver than a lawyer.
Shocking that I made more money as a barista at Starbucks in high school than some of these hourly postings.
I could go on, but you catch my drift. Pretty hurts, and so does being a law school grad who doesn’t work for a top law firm.
The Good
During these first few hours of 2014, I needed something to remove the foul taste that shitlawjobs.com left in my mouth. Luckily, Amazon suggested that I read Beyond L.A. Law: Break the Traditional “Lawyer” Mold.
This book contains more than forty essays written by professionals in various fields who happen to have law degrees. I have not read the entire book, but I did peruse a couple of the essays. Many of the writers went on to legal jobs that they love, which is cool, but not really up my alley. Some of the essayists have awesome non-legal jobs: one is an author and publisher, while others used their entrepreneurial instincts to develop or lead companies. It’s inspiring to see people use the skills law school teaches them and then transform those lessons to fit their lives.
The Takeaway
That, my friends, is what 2014 is going to be all about. Figuring out how to make sense of this degree in some sort of meaningful way.
To the ones who have it all figured out: you are awesome. In 2013 I would have been jealous, but this year I’m just happy for you. To the ones who are going to sprint over to ShitLawJobs.com and apply to every single post because a shit job is better than no job, you are better than me. I mean, I will likely apply to some of these jobs too but…ugh. I guess I was right, beggars can’t be choosers.
2014 is the year where we’ll begin to be choosey though, I know it.
Deuces, 2013! And take “twerking” and “turning up” with you. Thaaaaanks.
P.S. This is my first post using a swear word and I feel like a rebel. Watch out 2014!
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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Tweet him @PeterDavidsonII.
Featured image courtesy of [George via Flickr]