Thursday, August 11, 2011

Backup plan

Today, my mom told me that I need a backup plan if the medical device job doesn't pan out.  I'm not sure which backup plan I'm on, but I'm so far away from my original plan I can barely remember what it was.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but here's a brief overview of my plans from the past ten years and what went wrong:

Plan A: Marine biologist
- As it turns out, I was too lazy and drunk to major in anything science related.

Plan B: Philosophy grad school in order to work in applied ethics
- A professor convinced me that this wasn't a very financially sound idea.  In retrospect, best advice ever.

Plan C: Law school in order to work in medical ethics and/or health law
- Getting any job out of law school is tough.  Getting job in a really niche area is next to impossible.  If only someone had given me the same advice about law school that I was given about philosophy grad school.

Plan D: Real estate lawyer
- Didn't get hired at the real estate firm because my boss knew I didn't want to be a lawyer.

Plan E: Any kind of lawyer
- Had a job, lost that job, decided to stop looking for a lawyer job because I can't stand the thought of waking up thirty year from now having spent my life doing something I hate.

Plan F: Medical sales
- I think this is still my long-term goal.  I don't have any experience in the area, so landing a job is pretty tough.

Plan G: Entry-level position in a medical device company
- The current plan.

Plan H: Bagging groceries at Jewel?
- The backup plan.

So, I'm currently pursuing my 6th backup plan and number seven is open for discussion.  I'm pretty sure I can do better than bagging groceries, but I'm not ruling anything out.

10 comments:

  1. oil field is hiring like mad.

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  2. Emmigrate NZ AU are places to start.
    The US is done. Remember this is a country settled by people who when the times got tought, picked up and left.

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  3. How about TSA screener...

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  4. Have you looked into Judicial Clerkships?? i realize you don't want to be a lawyer but this is a great way to get experience and use your JD - just a thought.

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  5. Judicial Clerkship? Holy shit that is funny.

    If you are serious about medical ethics you can try a legislative committee. I warn you, political-policy-intelligence work is just legal work with a sexier title.

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  6. I've been lurking on your blog for a while now, but never felt compelled to comment. I found your blog through "But I Did Everything Right." I, too, was a disenchanted law school grad who had little interest in practicing law. I graduated law school in the mid-90's, and it was hard finding a job even then. I can't imagine how hard it must be now. Anyway, I eventually found my place in the legal publishing world (think Lexis/Westlaw). From there I went on to be a law librarian. Don't laugh, but have you considered law librarianship? It's a pretty good career, with lots of job opportunities. It's pretty easy to get a Masters in Library Science, as many reputable universities have online degree programs. You don't need to have the MLS to work at a firm, but academic libraries usually require both the JD and the MLS. Just a thought. Good luck to you!

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  7. Thanks for all of the input but, right now, I'm focusing on getting into medical device sales. I have always wanted to be involved in healthcare and, from what I've seen so far, selling stuff to surgeons looks pretty interesting.

    The entry-level position I'm looking at right now is pretty menial, but it seems like there would be a lot of opportunity for advancement.

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  8. Your blog is becoming boring, where is the old D. You need a job so you can bitch about how much you hate it.

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  9. D:

    Why don't you put on a suit and troll in traffic court. Go and watch what other lawyers do when people get traffic tickets or driving while license suspended.

    Then go to court and pretend that you are waiting for your client. Random people will come up to you and ask "are you a lawyer". You then represent them for $100.

    Go to different traffic courts throughout the city and suburbs so that it is not obvious that you are trolling and cycle back to each court every 2 weeks. If you go for 20 minutes for each (morning and afternoon) call and get one case a day, you make $500 per week for 40 minutes a day of work.

    Don't tell people that you are trolling because it violates the rules of ethics, but everyone does it from time to time.

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