User:Nome576

Hi, I am a high-school student from Nome Alaska, and I probably won't edit much unless I see a major flaw in one of the articles I read.

My Sandbox:

A Law Career?

I once read John Grisham’s book “The Rainmaker.” It’s a story about a young college lawyer defeating one of the best attorneys in the United States. I immediately thought “could that be me?” Then I looked at the average pay of a lawyer, and saw how much income they get. But there is a lot more to it than that, and becoming a lawyer is worth nearly all the money I’d make in that job for four years! But many other people have succeeded in this road. Maybe I will take it too. Some important classes would include business law and computer applications. I would probably need to leave the state to go to a good law school, like the Cecil Humphrey School in Memphis. Working out of Alaska would be the easiest way to expand, so I’d work in a firm for a long time, starting with about $60,000 a year. Business law is a necessity, and computer understanding would help since lawyers spend a lot of time in the office. Other classes are mostly just other college requirements (math, science, etc.) The University of Memphis is interested in students with a lot of math credit, computer applications, and foreign languages. These are necessary pieces to get the scholarships they offer for the law school. There aren’t many opportunities for lawyers in the military, and it is not an option I plan to use, but the military does give work experience for those with a degree in law. (Source: akcis) There are many law schools in the United States. There are options in even Alaska, though the best schools are out of this state. There is an excellent law school in the University of Memphis, but to attend it, you need a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. My favorite study would be criminal justice, since I could help (in small) limit the number of criminals in the streets. The tuition though, is very steep for out-of state students. It is roughly $30,598 per year and for four years it is $122,392. Then you must consider the room prices, ($7,885 x 4 = $31,540) and the transportation costs ($10,000 x 4= $40,000). Food costs for the whole degree is $8,000. Consider some recreation, $1,200 x 4= $4,800. Altogether, you need $206,732 for a full law degree. Sadly, most students who even can pay these high costs must decline because they have other cheaper options. (Cost information source: http://www.memphis.edu) Paying for college (especially in Memphis) is no cheap task. This has hindered and ultimately stopped a lot of students from becoming lawyers. Myself, I would probably not go to Memphis unless I get the slim chance at a scholarship, since I only make about $500 a year at my summer job, and I don’t want to ask my family for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth to go to law school. I probably will not consider any of the grants or loans, since I do not want to borrow money. Then again, even if you do get a scholarship, you still must pay the $80,000 or so remaining for other costs, not including the law school board. After that, I must go to the Cecil. Humphrey School of Law located inside the University. The cost would be about $60,000 per year. Even if I don’t get a scholarship to pay for law school, I would probably go on anyway since I’ve come this far. After all, it’s only another four years of studying and test taking. Last of all, you must pass the state Bar Exam to become a licensed lawyer. (costs and school information source: http://www.law.memphis.edu/) Lawyers have been important to the world for a very long time. Many great leaders were once respected lawyers. They had to work hard, and thus made it to their goals. There is no average day in a lawyer’s world. They are always on call for new clients, but I’d get up at 7, and prepare for a long day in the office. You never know what clients you may get. Some want help with criminal justice, some want real estate help, or some just want some legal advice. Once in a while, you may get hired to work with a defendant or a prosecutor in the courtroom, and here you may earn local residents, or tarnish your reputation if you do a poor job. Most firms pay travel expenses, but they won’t let you leave the city unless you do a good job. They are in control of the cases, and only pay about $60,000 to begin. If you raise them money through successful cases though, they will raise it. The benefits include full medical insurance. The firm may allow sick days if the lawyer does a good job, and occasional vacations too. They include a retirement package as well. The job is not too physical and it is high paying, but there are multiple downsides. First, even if you graduate from law school, who knows if you’ll be able to join a well-managed firm? If you work independently, you could run into debt and have to rely on a second job. You can see why most people decide not to take a chance on this career when they have a good mind in another field. Again, law schools are interested in business law students, and you should have all the basic credits (math, science...). Before I can go to the law school, I must have a background in law studies. The price is high for school in Memphis, and I may turn my back on this career before I even start, if I don’t get a scholarship. If I can get out of law school, I will work in a firm, and work hard for the benefits that they give. Lots of former presidents were lawyers. Yet even Abraham Lincoln, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had to struggle with this stage of their life. Most lawyers don’t have the luxury of an easy beginning. I don’t expect it, even if I can get out of law school. Not even the likes of John F. Kennedy or Franklin Roosevelt had it simple, and they could just as easily have turned to another, cheaper career. But maybe it’s their determination and perseverance even in the face of potential disaster that makes great leaders stand out.

Preface

There is an innumerable number of possible careers for just about anyone. The high-paying jobs require hard work and there is no job that I know of with a high salary for slackers. Myself, I plan to work hard for one of the high-paying jobs. So I researched two of them: lawyers and airplane pilots. I’ve always wanted to carry on in my family business: mining. But to help support us if the price of gold falls, I began thinking about another career. In the third quarter of my freshman year at Nome Beltz, we were given the assignment of making a career report comparing and contrasting two different jobs. Staying organized, I have managed to meet most of the due dates for different sections of the report, beginning with my research of the jobs. I compiled more information than I even needed, and much of it just cluttered space in my backpack. Afterward, we began writing an outline for each career, and eventually made the outline into a report. Then we did two rough drafts, peer responding, and ultimately finished a final draft. When we finished with the careers themselves, the class began setting up the rest of the repot, beginning with this introduction. Then we did the comparing and contrasting in the conclusion, and finished our content pages and bibliography pages. Lastly, we made cover pages, and set all the projects up into a full report. I chose these careers because I matched up well with them and I am willing to work hard at a job that has a high salary. Among these possibilities are being a pilot, or lawyer. My first choice is the pilot, since I think I would enjoy getting paid to fly planes. It could help with the family business too. The lawyer path is risky, but successful lawyers get paid a lot of money, and are highly regarded. Some even become politicians! I used many research tools to find out about my career choices. The site that matched me up with them (akcis.org) had a whole list of other jobs, including farming. I chose two, and plowed on. Many of my sources come from the akcis site; I reviewed the pages on my careers. My brother is also a pilot, and from him I learned the benefits of a pilot. For the lawyer career, I used mostly the information on the BLS site. Writing a complete coverage on two careers is almost impossible. There was limited time on the computer, and when I could access them, the computer was often unable to save my work, but I was one step ahead. I used my Wikipedia account to access my work at home, and there I was able to finish it on time. Often, I found that the biggest task was finding the will to finish such a big project with short due dates. I just did as best as I could, so that I will have no regrets if I don’t get a fantastic grade on the project. I doubt I ever could have done this entire project if I didn’t have the help from my family. Each of my brothers has done one of these projects before, and they knew the drill well enough. I would like to thank all the people who revised and critiqued my project. Without their criticisms, you never know when you have a bad report.

Conclusion There are so many things to consider when looking for a career. For example, you must consider that college education is very expensive, and that’s not just the tuition. There is also room, board, books, and many other costs. I chose two careers that are high paying, but to get the job, you will need to find a way to get through college. The choice was very tough, and I had a lot of trouble choosing, but finally I made up my mind. Before I tell you though, I’ll compare and contrast both careers. Both of my choice careers require a college education. And both involve the same costs, though they vary proportionately. As for the jobs themselves, both pilots and lawyers (when they’re not self-employed) must be willing to take commands from their superiors. Both my careers also include helping people, since pilots can fly you to your destination, and lawyers can help solve your legal issues. Neither pilots nor lawyers get huge paydays just after they’ve graduated. But when you work long and hard for a few years, the wages should increase- for both jobs. When they’ve obtained a certain level of experience, some lawyers and pilots are able to take vacations, and I’d want one in the summer so I could help my family business. The median wages for all pilots is about $57,000 and the median for all lawyers is about $65,000 per year. Lastly, both careers share some positives and negatives. Some pilots and lawyers might get a lot of money, but others don’t. Some go bankrupt easily trying to pay off college loans, and can’t afford to keep their jobs. Hopefully, I won’t be one of them. The job benefits are largely the same: full medical insurance, sick leave, and vacation. To sum it all up, the future is bright for graduates who work hard. Those who give minimal effort won’t get far, but I will try to be the best I can be for either career. As you probably know, there are more differences between pilots and lawyers than similarities. To start off, lawyers have to get a bachelor’s degree in law to get into a law school, where they continue to be trained for another four years. Professional Pilot’s course doesn’t need the extra four years, and in general is less demanding. The costs, though they are similar proportionately, are also very different. For example, tuition is far more expensive ($5256 in-state; about $15,000 out of state) in Memphis than it is in Anchorage (about $200 for instate). The other costs add up to over $200,000 for a full lawyer’s degree. A pilot hardly has to pay a quarter of that for his training. As you can see, the pilot choice is cheaper to start off with. The job is obviously very different as well. Lawyers spend time in an office, doing little physical work, other than occasionally going to court. Pilots do a lot with their hands, and you could say it has physical risks, if you consider crashes. The median pay for the careers isn’t too far off, but for both careers the median doesn’t mean much. Lawyers are usually either successful, or not. If they are successful, the pay can go over $100,000 if you work in a firm, but unsuccessful lawyers often end up turning to a different job. Pilots can make around $50,000 per year out of college, with a gradual increase as your experience goes up. For the pilot career, I think getting paid to something I’d probably enjoy sounds like a good living, barring getting stuck on a bad airline. As for the law career, I’d like the pay, but I don’t like the risk of going into bankruptcy after paying so much to become a lawyer. I think I can say reasonably organized to keep up with clients of a lawyer, though I’m unsure of my ability to defend a client under the pressure of a courtroom. As a pilot, the cockpit looks complex now, but I think I can learn how to control an airplane. The Akcis assessments thought I had good skills to do these careers, so I think I will give these jobs some thought. Through the project, I learned a lot about meeting deadlines, and having one huge project can make a big difference in your future, either as a student or as an employee. I had a tough choice, but at last, I decided the risks outweighed the benefits for lawyers. Some great leaders have emerged as lawyers, but I don’t really want to be a politician anyway. Therefore I choose the career as a pilot, because it seems like a reliable career to make a living, with enough pay, multiple benefits, and the ability to do something that sounds fun. Of course, and it is not unlikely, that I will turn down a different path, but for now, I will be a pilot. I will now follow the steps I outlined in the pilot description. I hope that it will be successful, but only time will tell. I hope you’ve enjoyed this report; thank you for reading.