Job Discussion Forums

[Jitpring]

Hello, I just discovered this site and have already read many of your excellent posts. This is a quality group of people. Here's my situation: I just graduated from law school in May. I'm now awaiting the results from the CA July bar exam. My problem is that I'm virtually certain that I don't want to practice law, even if I do pass the exam. My heroes are Goethe, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Beethoven, and Mozart - not money-grubbing lawyers. I'm 32 years old, not married, no children. I graduated from law school at this relatively old age because I spent years out of school reading and listening to the works of these heroes, along with thinking and writing about my own concerns. I'd love to learn Russian and/or German, and teaching English abroad seems like a great way to do this. Also, I seek to escape this culture (U.S.A.) in which entertainment capacity and vulgarity have become the supreme measures of value. I fell in love with St. Petersburg, Russia when I went there in 1989. I also have some connections in Kiev that would make that a possibility. I have no connections in Germany or Austria, but would love to go there too. What would you do? Do you think I should give up my legal career and teach abroad? Also, do you think that my law degree will be at all advantageous in getting hired? If I were eventually to decide to practice law after teaching, I imagine that my knowledge of Russian or German would be quite valuable. Any constructive input will be appreciated.

[Susan K]

You could "treat yourself" to a year in Europe, but be sure to get a decent linguistic qualification out of it.

In the long run law will bring you more security unless you go into teaching as a professional, i.e. with a "proper" pedagogical training.
A TEFL cert is great as a taster, but you need more unless you just want to be able to "work your passage" for a year.

Not all law is money-grubbing. Go into human rights or equal opportunities and you'll find enough people who need your help but can't pay for it to keep your conscience about any earnings you do have quite calm!

Alles Gute, Susan K

[The Overcoat]

I wish i'd studied law instead of German.
As to your question, it really depends if you want to live in a nice big house or spend your days sitting starving and cold in a lonely garrett.

[poro]

[emilyann]

i have an American law degree and a European Master's in Law. I live in Holland, and am finding them both useless. So I started my Bachelor's of Education in English as a second language this fall. just my two cents worth. it all depends on where the jobs are, what you enjoy and what you are good at. if you are a logical braniac who enjoys business issues, becoming a corporate lawyer might be a good option, and leave you the option of finding work abroad. that is not the case for me

groetjes,
emily

[Hod]

There was an ex-lawyer on my CELTA course, Harry. He'd been a company lawyer in the City of London, but got burned out at the age of 28 admittedly a millionaire. So, there Harry was with me and other society drop-outs doing the generic four-week thing.

Whilst I admire teachers who make the effort, I'm not entirely sure the Iranian refugees we taught expected a trainee teacher in full tux. And my god, the way Harry explained the future perfect continuous! Then he ended up getting real stressed, borrowing my board pens and I think he stole one of my cuisinaire rods, the short blue one essential for narrative tenses. Without it, my lesson collapsed. I could've failed because of that, but I got away with using the red one (useful for Headway Pre-Int Page 27 Exercise 4, don't you think?) I'm not sure why he bothered as most of the ink ended up on his forehead and Georgio Armani, and one day he actually got pulled aside by the DOS for inappropriate attire. Apparently some of the refugees had complained.

Anyway, me and Harry still keep in touch. Sadly, he didn't pass the CELTA. Several lessons of 100% TTT saw to that. For years, he was envious of me getting 1000 Euros a month in Germany and even less in Bangkok. Could you believe it?

But Harry had the last laugh. If you go to the website of a certain school franchise, you'll see Harry. He's DOS. Now, it's his turn to tick teachers off . Woe betide if you've pen on your Hugo Boss. It's ironic really as it looks like a pen poking out of his top pocket. I know better; it's my cuisinaire rod.

Go for it, but be sure to indelibly (sp?) initial every single one of your cuisinaire rods.

[JZer]

Emilyann wrote:

[JZer]

Jitpring, without a EU passport it is hard to get a stable ESL job in Germany, from what I have experienced and heard!!!

[emilyann]

$85,000 to be exact. I dodged them for a while with unemployment deferment, now my parents are helping me out until I find a teaching job. Plus, the Dutch government gives me financial aid to get my B.Ed. I got lucky, in other words. But it wasn't an easy decision to make and I'll be paying on those suckers for the next thirty years. I should have picked teaching English ten years ago...

[JZer]