Seeking a bit of career advice

You probably should get the Sea Time in now as you would be too busy and too tied down once you are established in a Law Office.

And/or get your own boat for pleasure use so you can log Sea Time on days off. (And enjoy your time on the water)

You're in law school and have time to take the summer off? I think you'd be best served to seek an internship at a law firm, preferably one practicing Admiralty law if that's your passion. If you do that you can probably forget about getting your ticket and hire a Cap for your yacht in a few of years. Rather than hopping a plane to Alaska I'd be hopping a train to Boston.

Hi,

I am a little curious.

How does someone a few years out of high school with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and currently being in law school give you the required qualifications and more importantly experience to be the Engineer on a Jet Boat in Alaska doing Whale Watching?

I believe I might be familiar with the job offer he's referring to. If so it's not a licensed position, more mechanic/deckhand/jack of all. He may have used the term engineer too losely for this forum.

It's a great adventure for a college kid on summer break, but not for someone on the track it sounds like you're on. You could be shooting your future/career in the foot. Seriously consider an internship with a law firm down in Boston if you can. Good luck.

I was thinking about his future, not the world's. Totally agree with you though.

My suggestion is to go for the Alaska job and if you can get the 100 ton ticket that is all the better. But, if you don't get the upgrade, don't worry about it. You probably won't get another chance to do this and just seeing Alaska and working the boat is an experience that most admiralty attorneys haven't had.

After obtaining a business degree and then paying back the 4 yr scholarship with 4 yrs of navy service in Vietnam, I spent the next 40 years as a marine surveyor for a major insurance company (it didn't start out as a career, just ended up that way) and it was interesting and fun. But, I met a whole lot of maritime attorneys that didn't know the pointy end from the blunt end. Get all the marine experience you can before settleing into that attorney desk.

The experience you will gain from working in Alaska may be of more value to you or future employers compared to spending the summer making copies and other legwork for a random lawfirm. This especially if you're certain you want to practice in maritime law.

Moe
Just another lawyer

Bradles1330

Unless you have a gem of an internship offer, go whale watching and add to your life's experiences!

Now to demonstrate Mysue's point about volatility: Laywers are hated til you need one! A Shakespearean verse that is often misinterpreted, "First, kill all the lawyers", is not derogatory toward lwayers at all. It is a statement made by the plotters to overthrow the British throne in recognition that the lawyers are the only ones with the wit and abilty to foil their plot and must, therefore, be dispensed with first.

I now will put my "hardhat" on to protect against the incoming salvos (BTW, NYCAP taught me how to use smileys)

And you learned well. If this were 10 or 20 years ago I'd agree to go for the adventure. In fact I would definitely do it in his circumstance (and did), but that's me. In this day though, especially when considering the student loans he's probably carrying, I wouldn't indulge myself and would be looking to make connections that could help me be employrd after school. There are a lot of lawyers doing everything but practicing law these days. There will be a lot of young lawyers pounding the pavement on graduation day. It'd be good to have a leg up. Also,life on the water can be addictive. That could put his last few years of school to waste, and could lead to regret 10 or 20 years from now.
So welcome to the adult world. Lots of questions and no easy answers.

NYCAP, Bradles1330

Agree, It is a difficult choice. Actually no choice if you've got a great intern opportunity. But most aren't. I do the interviews for our firm, and like any other employer hiring people right out of school, I find that these, young, bright attorneys. more often than not, have no life experience. They can answer questions about a very complex legal case, but if I ask them about its appilcation to a real life experience, they go blank. I actually am an advocate of 2 years work/life experience before applying, like many of the MBA programs. In the "old days" that actually is how most attorneys got licensed. They worked in the trenches in a law firm for 3-5 years, and then, if their mentor thought they had the right stuff, they got recommended to the bar. Just my thoughts.

Your confusion in no small part comes from the fact that you are comparing real offer (Alaska deckhand) with imaginary ones ("some legal internship").
Comparisons like this almost always end up in no better shape then they start.

Do see what kind of REAL "legal internship" you can possibly get. That way you'll be comparing one real opportunity with another real opportunity, not some imaginary material, and the choice gonna get much easier.
E.g. i suppose it gonna make quite a difference if you can get a meaningful internship at the firm of your dreams, or if it's some paper-moving in "grade C" bureau.

(I'd go for adventure, but that's just me. Heck, about half of my clients I met on some random ventures from ski slope to airsoft team, but then again, not everyone's got that kind of wild luck).