Try Different Jobs and Industries Early in Your Career

Before I ever heard the terms “alternative careers for lawyers” or “JD Preferred” and “JD Advantage” jobs (heck, probably before they were even terms), I had jobs on a career path that would now be considered an alternative career for an attorney.

I didn’t take the bar exam straight out of law school.

Instead, my first job after graduation was as a “landman” at a Fortune 100 company. A landman is a person in the oil industry whose primary function is to secure drilling rights. I didn’t even know the job existed or its related career path until shortly before graduating from law school and moving to Denver to begin work.

I eventually took a bar exam 7 years out of law school. I’m now a member of three state bars.

I had several other jobs on the alternative careers for attorneys path.

Besides being a landman, I was an assistant professor at both a university and a community college, a bartender/restaurant manager trainee, ran a janitorial service, and did some small business consulting.

Moral of the story:

early in your career, experiment and try different ways to earn a living. Learn new skills and about various industries.

While I eventually ended up practicing law and became a Big Law partner in NYC (mostly unhappily but financially successful) for most of my career, these early experiences were invaluable in my career and life.