Today wasn't quite squandered, but some opportunities were forsaken for others. I did some work for a couple of menial, contract jobs (non-law related). But didn't work on my paper. I did trounce around in my blog history. Wow. Those 3 years of lawschool entries are painful to read. They were miserable years, granted. But the gluey angst they seep, eegah! Lawschool wasn't 100% of the problem, but it amplified the worst aspects. The crazy thing is... 20/20 hindsight doesn't provide any ideas on how I could have gone through it hurting less.
Like Monks, I spend a lot of time stewing about my chosen profession. One thing I realized today is that each of us beats ourself up for the things we didn't achieve without many pats for the good achievements. Her school was top tier, lower, public. Mine was second tier, lower, private.
The point being that we are separated by all of the entire first tier, and another 25 schools that make up the top half of the second . She went to school high on the scale, and me down towards the bottom. Both of us look to where the grass is greener. Why so little credit for things we got right?
EDITED 11/19/07 .
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
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6 comments:
"One thing I realized today is that each of us beats ourself up for the things we didn't achieve without many pats for the good achievements."
That's true for probably just about everyone, in all fields of endeavor, professional and personal.
For a pretty good idea of what it's like being an artist/art student, for example, I direct you to this edition of Dave Kellett's Sheldon.
I got recruited to big firms. I mean, Skadden Arps and Cravath etc. are offlimits but Baker McKenzie, Jones Day, Nixon, Ice Miller, that one Walter Mondale works at and the other huge Minneapolis firm all interviewed me.
I just wasn't good at interviewing. I found the biglaw format especially exhausting.
I did get some sh*t about having gone to a state school from an attorney at one of the firms but for the most part I didn't think the big firms discriminated that much against my school to qualify it as an opportunity I didn't have because of the school I attended. A lot of my classmates work at those firms, actually. They come down and cull from our herd but the difference is you HAVE to be top 25% or preferably higher at my school whereas I met several Harvard grads over the summer I studied for the Bar who told me they were in the middle of the class and still got hired.
The jobs I got with the feds? They interviewed me by phone. For 5 minutes. I think that had a lot to do with getting hired.
Ah monks, you were reading criticism where there was none.
Actually it was the statement "the job opps we will never get" following a statement of where my school was ranked. I don't feel my choice of school closed me off to any job opps except for a very few at psychotic New York firms. That my school was unable to provide me with contacts is a fairly inaccurate statement to make-I was the incompetent one in that regard.
Monks, You're still reading criticism where there is none. I can rearrange the diction and syntax all you like, but I think you've already closed your mind on the subject, so I'm just dropping it.
Okay. I have to admit I do not miss the professional and school-related rivalries. It was nearly as bad as the "law" ones, but it was still pretty bad in public accounting. Bleh.
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