Need advice

[lawman89]

I graduated UG with a near 4.0 GPA from bigstate (liberal arts degree). Did a masters at oxbridge in a specific area - graduated with "distinction". It's been almost a year now and I can't find a job. I've been applying to NGO jobs in the specific area I did my masters in. I'm started to get really worried that I will HAVE to attend law school. Even if I do land one of these jobs it will be making close to living wages. is law school TCR? I've been putting off law school because half of me thinks I'd hate practicing -- but its impossible to tell beforehand.

[tspier2]

How can we give advice if we have no idea what your qualifications are? You deliberately avoided stating what you studied, and I'm not quite sure what the reason was for that.

[biisis]

Grades do not bear much importance on one's job qualifications, I'm afraid. Certainly not in the non-profit world. Folks are looking for experience, aptitude, and passion- Did you do any internships? Field work? You're going to have to work in your cover letters to connect your education with the work of the NGO, rather than taking it as a given. Alternatively, perhaps you've done this, and the job market's just wretched. In that case, maybe you should broaden your search to entry level office stuff or editing. You don't have to get a job in your field as your first job (and working for NGOs, you really can't go into it for the money).

 

Going to law school without the resolve seems like a recipe for getting crushed. Plus the job market for law school graduates is pretty flakey these days too, so you can't count on it as an economic safety net for the overqualified arts degree conundrum.

 

Blended solution? Look for work in legal offices, to see if you can get a feel for the practice. Paint yourself as a highly intelligent person looking for experience leading towards a career in law. That way, if it pans out and you do like law, your application will be even stronger.