This post isn't completely law school related, but my day at law school kind of stimulated the thought process that lead to this post. Maybe it was my CivPro's references to "practice" today or maybe it was a conversation I had about summer internships that brought these thoughts. In any case, I got to thinking today.
I started thinking about all the times I mention law school to people and most of their reactions are "Well, at least you'll be making a lot of money someday." I've never really thought about it before, but what do they mean "at least you'll be making a lot of money someday?" Has our society really allowed the value of education to only be measured by the career you obtain after you finish?
This concept really started to bother me the more I thought about. Education is so powerful. I've heard my sister mention people at times ask her why she needs a Master's to be an actor. Why not?! I find it beautiful that someone is so passionate about a craft they want to study it at the highest possible level, without any certain dollar sign at the end. That's how we create experts and how people's true genius eventually can be exposed. There are many times I have thought I might not even want to be a lawyer. Should I quit? Should someone enter law school only with the hopes to one day be a lawyer? I don't think so. And I feel that way about any undergraduate, graduate or vocational program. I believe if someone is curious and excited to learn about anything, that should be enough. Education equips us to help our family, our friends and often times even strangers. Education can only empower you and give you strength in this world. When I finish law school, I am going to have the ability to be a much more productive world citizen because I am able to understand and navigate myself as well as others through the legal system. As it stands today, that is where any change eventually happens. To me, that's reason enough to go through law school.
People often fixate on the statistics of how much money a Bachelor's degree makes you in relation to just a high school degree, and similarly, the difference in income between a Bachelor's degree and a graduate or professional degree. If you can't give someone hard proof your degree will put you in a better place financially than where you stood before the degree, people question it. Why? I understand school costs money and these conversations are often brought up in the context of weighing the costs with the benefits... but, can benefits really only be measured by future incomes?
I sit in my classes everyday and am in awe at the subjects I am able to learn and the professors of whom I am privileged to learn from. I know I'm the minority, but I truly love school. I might not be able to, currently, show you a pay stub that monetarily proves to you that my BA was worth it, or that my JD will eventually be worth it, but I am positive that my education has completely altered and bettered my life. I can think of two classes in undergrad alone - Intercultural Communication and Gender & Communication - that have changed the way I treat people. Both classes opened up worlds I didn't even realized existed. I have said many times I wish every single human being could take these classes because I know the world would be a better place if people did. I can't tell you one job I could land from those classes alone, or one job that would pay me more for the education I received from those classes. However, I treat people better, I am kinder and I am more cultured because of those courses. That's enough for me.
I could never put a dollar sign on my education, which is why I choose to pay what I do to continue it. And even if employers never value my education the way I do, I know am blessed to have received the education I have, regardless of the income it produces one day. And for me, that is benefit enough.
