Onto the job thing...

People have asked, thus do I answer... There comes a time in a man’s life when the threat of old age and the din of obligation bespeaks anchors, chains, and all of the portents of settling down. There comes a time when the nature of the world in all of its carnivorous splendor demands forethought and a choice—the resolution of more secure and stable path. It is in this moment, at the edge of the precipice, that one must ask the most difficult of questions: Just who in the hell am I, and what pray tell will make me happy?

As many of you know, I have been teetering on the edge of this cliff for some time, slowly wavering towards a self actualized fully informed decision. Over the past year my travels both across the States and in Brazil have afforded valuable personal discovery time, allowing for insight into the structure and dimension of the who behind the me.

Professionally speaking I have begun to narrow my field of interest, readying myself for that great leap of commitment into career specialization both within and after school. Two choices now stand before me, two vastly different realms of thought and vocation that I am eager to explore. They are:

Museum Studies

and, of all things…

Law

To pursue a career in the museum field seems, at first glance, a natural choice for me. I have devoted the last five years of my volunteer and work time in museums, and have enjoyed it almost every step of the way. There are many aspects of the field – working close with the public, exhibit design, interpretation of historic and cultural materials – that I believe I am well suited for. The work is creative, challenging, and would likely be for the most part, intellectually sustaining. Where I fault it, however, is in the ever critical economic arena. By definition museums are non-profit agencies. They spend the great majority of their efforts fighting for monetary hand outs, scraps if you will, and are adept at finding ingenious ways to NOT pay people. As archaic as it sounds, my experience over the last few years has turned me into somewhat of a traditionalist in that I want to be the alpha provider, the ‘man of the house’, in my future domesticity. In the end, I could probably make a decent living doing the museum thing, but I question whether decent is adequate.

If I were to pursue this field, CU offers a great program that I could apply to next fall. I would likely focus in the administrative realm, rather than the curatorial realm, and given a few decades would probably win relative comfort, job security, and that decent salary (I dunno…maybe around 50 grand with benefits).

Now, the law school proposal has been consuming my thoughts of late. The idea was sparked by an off hand comment from my mother, and also by an experience I had in Brazil. While in Salvador, I ended up volunteering for a housing project/social foundation in the Simões Filho municipality. There, a public prosecutor by the name of Hortênsia Gomes Pinho had taken on a steel production company, which had essentially destroyed the surrounding environs and living condition for people in the region. The civil investigation and following suit produced, in the end, a substantial flow of cash which enabled social organizers to create a housing project for the afflicted. It was, in one word, inspiring. I was doing the anthropology thing at the time, writing about project, but realized even with my ‘mightier than the sword’ pen who the true movers and shakers were.

This thought in mind, with little knowledge of what a career in law would entail, I headed off to the CU school of law, the newest and shiniest building on the Boulder campus. Having spent my undergraduate years tucked away in dilapidated anthropology and humanities buildings, I was impressed by the life and hmmm…currency of the place. A little sprout of thought popped in my head and that was…gee self, maybe you could do better. Maybe being a shut-in in potentially dying institutions isn’t for you.

Doing some research online, two areas of law were of great interest to me. First, cultural heritage preservation law (protection of archaeological sites, matters of cultural identity, etc.) and second, indigenous law. Both would allow me to stay within the circle of studies that I have, for so long, been interested. So on first glance the idea of law sounded interesting, palatable, perhaps even fruitful, but what of the reality?

Well, doing more research, I found this to be the average view of law school and the life trend of the lawyer:

“Law School Summary: Born ----->genetic defect ------>desire to be a lawyer -----> take LSAT -----> accepted into law school ------> three years of torment ------>rest of life in torment ------> Die”

Not so positive, eh? While my research is at best superficial, most books and opinions that I come across are of the vein “my god what have I done to myself” and “how can I get out of the profession of law before it kills me”. First outlook looks gloomy, yet I continue to ponder.

Now, as for the CU school of law, my chances of being accepted are staggering. The school itself is top tier, meaning it’s expensive and contains lots of people way to smart for their own good. Admission quotas dictate that roughly 75% of the very small entering class must be women and minorities, leaving the last 25% of white males to fight viciously over the limited seating (as a side note, I’ve been contemplating what it means to be a minority, and if the socially fabricated term applies to me, considering there are three generations of “latinos” in the fam). If I do get in, I must contend with three years of hell, even if the subject fascinates me and I am a 100% enthralled. Oh yes, and despite the stereotype, the great majority of lawyers out there, except in the largest and most well known firms, don’t really make that much cash. I could anticipate roughly $60,000 out of school if I land a good job.

Ah, the realities of reality. Blah.

So with all this in mind, this is my plan. Over the next year, until I can apply to one of these programs, I will continue to probe, search, and discover which option is best for me. I will be conducting interviews with people in these respective fields, and doing lots of reading on the matter, to “edumacate” myself properly.

The leap ahead is large, vast, and only with confidence and the hope of better things can I take that first step onward.

(I think this is me thinking. I think.)