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What do I need to know to be a lawyer?

Hello my name is Mackenzie B. I am a 6th grader at Mullins elementary in Pikeville Kentucky. I realize I am young but i have a great interest in being a lawyer. I am currently going to Verizon Innovative Learning stem camp. I was wondering what I need to know to continue this career as i get older.

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Aruna’s Answer

Hi Mackenzie,
This is a great question! I think as an initial matter, it would be useful to look up the process of becoming a lawyer in the US which involves completing an undergraduate degree and then pursuing a law degree (which is typically 3 years). You can expect approximately 7 years of education following high school. I would continue to get involved in school activities like a debate club (if one is offered in your middle school). Otherwise, I would check with your career counselor on what courses and activities you should look into in high school. Lastly, check with your family and friends about speaking with a lawyer in your community to learn more about the day to day work. The legal field is extremely diverse so there's plenty of areas that work with a variety of different personality traits. Good luck!
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Ken’s Answer

Being a lawyer is a very interesting and challenging field. One of the first things to get to know is if this is a career field that is best suited for your personality traits and then talking to lawyers to determine that there is indeed a good match and this is an area in which you would have a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment.



Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Here are interesting sites for you to visit as they explain what it takes to become a lawyer: ## https://www.thebalancecareers.com/so-you-want-to-become-a-lawyer-2164536 ## ## https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/lawyer/ ##
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