Career as a Lawyer - Criminal Defense Attorney
Choosing a career is not something that should be done casually or by accident. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a very important question that deserves careful research before being answered. You can’t start too early. The biggest risk you take by putting it off isn’t that you’ll get it wrong, but that you won’t make a decision at all, drifting into a job that isn’t fulfilling and rewarding.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a career. How much money you want to earn is obviously important but it is only part of the picture. Where do you want to live? How much education are you willing and able to obtain? With whom do you want to spend your days? Are you willing to put in long irregular hours or would you rather punch out at the same time every day? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions – you have to decide what’s right for you.
The fact that you have chosen to read this report says that you have a keen analytical mind and enjoy solving problems. You probably like a good debate and aren’t afraid to speak up when you feel you have something important to add to the conversation. You are probably also interested in issues of law and justice. If this describes you, you may have what it takes to become a criminal attorney.
No, the title “criminal attorney” doesn’t mean that attorneys do illegal things! Some people will try to tell you that anyway, usually with a smile on their faces. Inevitable lawyer jokes aside, criminal attorneys represent people accused of crimes to make sure that their side of the story gets a fair hearing in a court of law. This principle is critical to American criminal law and is enshrined in the Bill of Rights as the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees that people accused of a crime shall “have the Assistance of Counsel” when the time comes to defend themselves.
The law is complex and can be very confusing to people not trained in it. The Founders recognized this and added the right to an attorney to the Constitution in order to put ordinary citizens on an equal footing with the state when the state believes it has reason to move to take away a citizen’s property, freedom or life. This is a critically important distinction that makes our Constitution different from most others.
In this report you will find sections spelling out how to prepare for your career, from what you can be doing right now, to what to major in when you get to college. You will also find sections on how much money you can expect to earn at various points in your career, where you should look for work and even what you may like and dislike about a career as a criminal attorney. If you like what you read, keep going. Check out the web links on the last page to learn even more about this exciting career.
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