The lessons of life

It's a sad day when you realize that you wasted three years in school and $100k for an education that prepares you do do something that you absolutely hate. This is my first post since I started my job on October 11, 2006. And I want out of this job more than I can say. I spent almost a year and a half after law school, time I could have spent working on a career I enjoy, looking for a job in a law firm, because that's what they brainwash you to want in law school; it's what you're supposed to do; what you're supposed to want. The goal is to work as an associate and make partner some day. Well, I've worked for 5 months as an associate in a firm in Glens Falls, NY, an hour away from where I live, that expects associates to work the hours of their New York City counterparts, but pays them less than 1/3 the money. Yes, yes, cost of living is different. But not that different. And I'm barely able to pay my bills with what they pay me. And I hate what I do. And I get yelled at for not staying until 8 every night and working every weekend. I even got a LONG talking to about how I do not exhibit the proper amount of fear of the job. Not of going to court or anything that really matters , but of the rest of it. I'm not too afraid to go home or too afraid to take a vacation day or other horrible awful things like that. $100k and I'm supposed to be afraid every day. And miserable. And have no life. And not even be able to buy cool stuff to show for it or go on any of the trips I wanted to take by this point in my life. I used to be a happy person with lots of hopes and dreams. Now I spend most days wondering why the hell I wasted the last 5 years of my life. I want out and I want out now. I suppose I did what I should have for my sanity in 15 years. I tried it. I got my law degree and my license and instead of just getting whatever job I could, I got a job as an attorney and I tried it. It's like a vegetable when you're a kid. I tried it, I didn't like it and now mommy won't make me eat it again because I gave it a shot. I worked as a litigation associate for 5 months. In my opinion, the suckiest kind of attorney position. And now I know, and will know forever, that I don't want to be this when I grow up. I will never wonder what if I had tried to be an attorney, unlike a lot of other times in my life when I didn't hold out for the good job and took whatever I got first to pay the bills. Of course, this time the holding out totally sucked, but I'm sure it will make me a better person in 20 years. Or something like that. At least that's what I hope flarf believes, having dealt with a miserable crazy person for the last 2 years.

And now, my rant is done. Makes me feel a little better actually. A lot less likely to try to poison my boss's coffee or his chewing tobacco (yep, that's the kind of classy guy I work for - at least he waits until the secretaries go home to pop in the chaw. Most days). I will feel even better if when I go home, I have time to play with flarf's wii (yeah yeah, dirty, ha ha) - I pretend it's my boss's face on the punching bag.

Anyone got any ideas of what a burnt out 27-year-old with an expensive and useless legal education could do for a career? I'm all ears...

And now back to our regularly scheduled nonsense.