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What is your dream career?
My dream career is to become a lawyer. I would like to defend the innocent and bring justice to their families defending them in court. I have always been interested in the criminal law field since middle school, and I have seen the power and courageousness lawyers have. #lawyer #criminal-justice #attorney #college
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3 answers
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Mamadou’s Answer
Hi Jaleah,
To have a power to decide about important things and to change something in the economy.
Buying people houses, cars, foods and other...
Make your dream come true.
To have a power to decide about important things and to change something in the economy.
Buying people houses, cars, foods and other...
Make your dream come true.
Updated
Chantelle’s Answer
My dream career is to combine my knowledge of criminology and psychology to research mass gun violence in America. I have been researching this topic for over seven years now, and am just now starting to publish and document some of my research.
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Desiree’s Answer
Hi Jaleah, Since you mentioned that you want to become an attorney, I thought I'd offer you an overview of what that road map looks like. First, you need to do well in High School, to get admitted to university for a "Bachelor's Degree" (often referred to as an "undergraduate degree"). This is typically a 4-year program. You need good grades with your Bachelor's Degree and a strong LSAT score.
Next, with good grades from University and strong LSAT score, you start applying to law school to earn a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree. This is typically a 3-year program. One thing that matters a lot to future employment is getting into a so-called a high or top tier law school. Play close attention to the ranking and accreditation of potential law schools, because they are a huge determining factor of future employment. A low ranked law school - or one that looses its accreditation - could leave you burdened with student debt and few employment prospects. Again, getting good grades matters a lot to prospective employers, with students at the top of the class competing (with all the top students at all the top law schools) for jobs after graduation. If possible, try to line up a paid internship the summer before your final year at law school at a law firm -- a so-called "summer associate" position -- to get "real world" experience and to see if the firm is a good fit. Successful summer associates may get early job offers (pending law school graduation and passing the bar exam).
Once you graduate with your JD, most states require you pass an ethics exam (typically "easy" if you've made it through law school), the infamous Bar Exam (hard, I'm not going to lie it was the hardest test ever in my entire life) as well as a "character and fitness" interview with a practicing attorney. Each state has its own standards and requirements for what a passing score is on the Bar Exam and how much the multi-state/multiple choose portion of the exams weighs against the written essay portion of the test.
Once you have all of these steps, you are "admitted to the Bar" of that state. Afterwards, most states require you to take "Continuing Legal Education" classes and volunteer at/contribute to legal clinics for the whole time you are a practicing attorney.
Do on-line research to learn more about Law Schools admission requirements
Do on-line research to learn more about Law School course requirements
Do on-line research to identify law schools with strong Criminal Law programs and clinics
Next, with good grades from University and strong LSAT score, you start applying to law school to earn a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree. This is typically a 3-year program. One thing that matters a lot to future employment is getting into a so-called a high or top tier law school. Play close attention to the ranking and accreditation of potential law schools, because they are a huge determining factor of future employment. A low ranked law school - or one that looses its accreditation - could leave you burdened with student debt and few employment prospects. Again, getting good grades matters a lot to prospective employers, with students at the top of the class competing (with all the top students at all the top law schools) for jobs after graduation. If possible, try to line up a paid internship the summer before your final year at law school at a law firm -- a so-called "summer associate" position -- to get "real world" experience and to see if the firm is a good fit. Successful summer associates may get early job offers (pending law school graduation and passing the bar exam).
Once you graduate with your JD, most states require you pass an ethics exam (typically "easy" if you've made it through law school), the infamous Bar Exam (hard, I'm not going to lie it was the hardest test ever in my entire life) as well as a "character and fitness" interview with a practicing attorney. Each state has its own standards and requirements for what a passing score is on the Bar Exam and how much the multi-state/multiple choose portion of the exams weighs against the written essay portion of the test.
Once you have all of these steps, you are "admitted to the Bar" of that state. Afterwards, most states require you to take "Continuing Legal Education" classes and volunteer at/contribute to legal clinics for the whole time you are a practicing attorney.
Desiree recommends the following next steps: