Well, I chose to go to law school not too long after I graduated from college and began working as a mechanical engineer for a huge engineering/construction firm.  It didn’t take me long to learn that the company was all about making money – and less about taking care of the people that worked there.  Just like a lot of other businesses, the engineering/construction business is very cyclical.  It has its good times, and it has its bad ones as well.  And when it gets bad, people start getting laid off.  I got very scared.  I saw a lot of people well into their careers who have been laid off countless times.  And what do they do?  They just go from one big company to the next, work a while and get laid off when the work drops off.  I couldn’t see myself doing this for the rest of my working life!  I had to get out.  So I decided to look into law school.  I wanted a job where I could work for myself and do what I wanted to do.  I feel like I can take care of myself better than someone else would, and being an attorney would allow me to have more control over my career and my life. 

So far, I have been able to work in a small law office where I don’t feel like a number.  I get to work directly with my clients.  I don’t have to go through my boss or a partner or some random connection to the client.  I have been able to immediately start going to court to represent my clients rather than researching and following older attorneys around for several years.  It is probably a trial by fire, but I feel like in a few months I will have several years worth of quality experience.  .