Law is a profession that’s not only loaded with opportunity, but it’s also challenging. In fact, law professions are among the most competitive careers out there. Because of this fierce competition, you need to take the necessary actions to perfect your skills. From going to college to transitioning to law school, here’s how you can start building your career in law.
Determine What Type of Law You’d Like to Practice
Law comes in many different forms. While you mainly see law revolving around lawyers and judges, it’s not always about taking a criminal to court. Consider as well how this career path will affect your lifestyle. Learning how to remove mind blocks that can potentially deter you from pursuing your passions is a great skill to have. In fact, there are numerous legal fields you can study in. Here is a list of the various types of law you can practice:
- Business law
- Environment law
- Criminal law
- First amendment law
- Health care law
- Constitutional law
- Intellectual property law
Each of these fields tackle different issues and scenarios. To give you an example, let’s take a look at health care law. Health care law focuses on legal issues regarding rights of the patient and medical malpractice. If you’ve already acquired a degree in law, but you’re looking to expand your horizons, furthering your education is the best way to go. This means you’ll have to get a graduate’s degree. A graduate’s degree is a bit more expensive than a bachelor’s, so going back to college may not seem like the best idea. However, taking out a student loan from a private lender can certainly make things easier. Taking out law school loans are best through a private lender because of their lower annual percentage rates.
Think About What Job is Best Suited for You
The law career has some of the best paying jobs you’ll ever see. One job you can get with this degree is being an agent for the FBI and working at the federal level. Becoming an FBI agent requires you to have a specific skill set such as data collecting, critical thinking, analyzing situations and using a computer efficiently. The average salary of an FBI agent depends on the position you’re in. If you’re just starting out, you can expect to make somewhere between $50,000 to $60,000 annually. Special agents, who are actually lawyers, can make $80,000 up to $350,000 annually.
Another job you can consider applying for is a mediator. A mediator is a third-party who helps settle legal disputes by offering both parties solutions. In the eyes of the law, the goal of a mediator is to prevent people from pursuing legal action against each other.
Take Advantage of Getting Hands-On Experience
Once you finish college, the next thing to do is to apply for law school. Remember when we said that law careers are incredibly competitive? Careers aside, the reason why there’s so much competition is because it’s not easy to get into law school. And if there is a surge in applicants that only magnifies the level of competition. Not only do you need to show that you’re ready to commit, but you must also show a decent skill set as well. Having hands-on experience, like job shadowing for example, is a great way to boost your chances.
