Can you switch your job from being a public defender to prosecutor? I believe job security is important and practical. As someone mentioned earlier, it is important to consult fully with your wife and come to a mutual understanding of what you want to pursue. I believe it is a man's responsibility to care for his family and at times we have to swallow our pride to provide for our loved ones.

At the end of the day, making your wife happy is all that matters. If your wife is content with your work and compensation and reasonable time off work, enjoy what you have with your wife.

Surely opportunities to advance will come along the way. Perhaps you can someday become a judge. I think we have to ask what makes life satisfying. Whatever you do, if you find happiness in what you are doing with your wife, what more is there? I hope you can make a sound decision for you and your wife.

 

^ I absolutely agree with this statement from CARNUTMAMA:

"I read something long ago about a study of old people. Only the happiest and the most unhappy people were included. The happy group all had one thing in common, they pursued a dream or attempted something difficult. It didn't matter whether their attempts resulted in great sucess, or failure. The unhappy group all had given up trying because they wanted to be practical."

It does sound as if you are wrestling with more than a location change. More like a career change. But that is a big step. Sit down and really think about what kind of job would bring you the most satisfaction (not necessarily moneywise, although I realize that is important). Then go for it. Maybe law, but something like public-interest law?

 

Me too MsPerky

I learned a long time ago that happiness is the key to life. If you're happy then all the other things just seem to fall in line.

I see a lot of bitter old people in Florida wondering where their life went. I see a lot of others who look back with a smile.

I'v always like the pursuit of happiness clause. More legislation should revolve around it

Honda 224gts . Please take it in the right light
If you're not happy in your work, how can you be doing your best work? You're in a position where decisions you make affect other peoples lives. The job you have must carry some heavy baggage. As you contemplate your decision, I think that needs to be considered too.

You only get to play once so enjoy it

dum vivamus vivamus

fltsfshr

 

Wow, this is another of the great Vintage threads. I love to see the thoughtful answers people have.

I can't add anything new to what has been said. As a native Californian, who lived in San Diego for over 2 years, I know the weather is close to perfect but it is crowded. When I lived there we called it America's Finest City, and we believed it. That was 1981 to 1983, though, and it's too crowded now for my taste.

 

I have enjoyed reading this thread and all of the advise that was given. Some the happiest people I have known did not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, and some of the most miserable had it all. If you are not happy with your situation change it and make the best of the change. All that is affected is you and your wife. Both of you are qualified professionals and employment is not the problem. My grandfather said to me one time and I always remember it " You work to live, enjoy what life gives you, not live for work, we have one life on this earth so enjoy it.". At 57 I have made several changes in my life, i.e. death of one parent, divorce, death of a child, and now primary care giver of the other parent and had no regrets. Maybe I have been lucky or just keep a positive attitude. Also PMA (positive mental attitude) creates PMS (positive mental situations). Good luck on your decision.

PEACE and safe

 

[QUOTE=fltsfshr,Jul 20 2005, 09:39 AM] Me too MsPerky

I learned a long time ago that happiness is the key to life. If you're happy then all the other things just seem to fall in line.

I see a lot of bitter old people in Florida wondering where their life went. I see a lot of others who look back with a smile.

I'v always like the pursuit of happiness clause. More legislation should revolve around it

Honda 224gts . Please take it in the right light

 

GTS, I just came across this post for the 1st time, several years ago my best friend was in a similar situation, working as a supervisory State Attorney at 35 with 2 small children and a stay at home wife. He was unhappy with his job and his path, he worked his ass of going to school part time and then quit his job to finish a masters in Biology so he could sit for the patent bar, found out his wife was pregnant with twins (Eeeek!) They wound up selling everything they owned just to get by and borrowed some money on top of that, but he is now very busy and challenged and very well rewarded working on biotech patents. He's much happier and can actually now afford to raise 4 rugrats. He's already managed to pay back the money he borrowed (even from me) and they just bought a nice house in Miami Beach. I say go for some kind of change, and go into it with a positive attitude and in full agreement with your wife.
Personally, I've been unemployed for 10 months following a major illness (I'm 38), and am currently on the edge of selling my S2000 to pay my mortgage, so I feel you should really be incredibly thankful you have the resources and options that you do. I'm a Merchant Marine Master who has spent the last 16 years working solely in the field of federally funded oceanographic research, and funding just keeps getting cut and cut and cut by the current administration. ("there's no PROOF of global warming" and without any research $ there won't be any proof) So my totally specialized skill set is not very transferable to the private sector. Still looking but I will probably have to go to the middle east for any decent paying work. There may be a total career field change in my future. With an accompanying total pay cut.

Best of luck to you.
Change is good!

Carpe Via!

Mike

 

Well, I can't seem to pull the trigger on the LLM program in San Diego. My wife is totally okay with whatever decision I make. She can telecommute and keep her job. I've lined up a 1 bedroom apartment for $1500/month. It has a carport too.

So, to recap - I'd have to give up my salary and move away from family. We'd keep our current home and pay the $2000 / month mortgage with HELOC money since it appreciates at more than $2000 / month....and since we may return to Maryland. So, my living expenses would be $3500 / month and that's before gas, insurance, food, etc. We'd be living on less than 1/2 of what we currently make. And on top of all of that, I'll get out of the program with $25,000 in student loans.

Do I want to go to San Diego and experience all that life has to offer there? YES. Do I think getting more education is a bad thing? NO. But this program is probably not geared for an attorney who has been doing criminal defense work for 10 years. It's for recent law school grads who want to learn criminal defense and then get a job like the one I currently have. I don't know that I'm going to actually learn that much new stuff. I really doubt I'll learn $25k worth of legal knowledge. It is, after all, about connections. Sure -- I can maybe make some connections and get a Federal job handling Federal criminal cases. It might pay another $10k / yr., but it's essentially the same stuff. My criminal clients don't set out to commit State or Federal crimes. They're dumbasses who do stupid stuff. They end up going to court in the venue in which they're charged. If I get out of the program and make an additional $10k / yr., it'll take me 10 years just to break even with all of the debt incurred.

I think my biggest issue is with the nature of the work I'm doing. If I was paid like Johnny Cochrane or Mark Gerragos, I might be able to handle it all better. But I really am NOT a bleeding heart liberal who set out to help life's less fortunate. I don't really like hanging around criminals ... especially the kind of criminals I end up representing. I think the Federal court criminals will be the same people. This is not to say that I don't care about my clients. I often care too much. It is emotional draining handling these cases. People can go to jail, lose their jobs, lose their marriages (most are unemployed and unmarried ), and there is a lot of pressure. The burnout rate is very high.

So -- I am planning to focus my efforts on getting some Federal job doing trial work. I want out of the criminal law field. I'm also going to see about getting a litigation position with a corporation. The pay would be better, the cases would be civil matters (all about money -- not freedom), and the work culture would be better than a State job dealing with indigent criminals. Plus -- with a corp. or Fed. job, maybe I can transfer to another State when the time is really right.

I'm interested to hear what you all think about my decision. It's not 100% final, but it's pretty close. I can't see myself enjoying San Diego all that much while consumed with worry about hemmorhaging money.

So .. for now, it's work, work, work, and try to find something better. Somewhere. This LLM program is too narrowly focused for an experienced criminal defense lawyer who isn't even thrilled with practicing criminal defense law.

 

Based on your latest post, I think you are on the right track. The LLM program offers you nothing. You need to find another branch of law, and you probably should probably try a position in corporate.

One little criticism, I think you are way too focused on the money. You are way too concerned with how much a change will cost, what it will bring and whether or not it is worth doing. I think you'd be far better off stepping back from the money and focusing on happiness and satisfaction instead. If you can find happiness and satisfaction at work the money will follow, if you can't, it won't. Don't be fooled into thinking that Johnny Cochrane or Mark Gerragos did it only for the money. They loved what they were doing and got satisfaction from it as well. If they didn't, they couldn't have done it so well.

You need to be satisfied in your job and be happy in your job. Everything else follows.

 

I agree that my focus should not be "How much money will it cost?" and "How much money will I make." It's really not that way. BUT -- I want to make sure that I don't go $100k in the hole just to get myself qualified to do the exact job that I have right now. I job that I no longer want.

So, given that I need to switch the direction of my legal career, it is probably best to earn a paycheck while looking elsewhere. As I told my wife .. I could quit my job and be unemployed for a year, and still come out financially healthier than paying $1500 / month + $25,000 in tuition for the same thing.

After receiving the syllabus in the mail last week, it seems clear to me that 90% of what they'll be teaching is stuff that I already know. Hence, the LLM is only worthwhile to me for the connections & job placement opportunities.