What education does it take to be a lawyer?

<p>ADad, thank you!</p>

<p>Oh, and to make my post relevant to this thread: I'm a lawyer. I got into a top 10 law school even though I had an F (yes, a failing grade!) in one of my undergrad engineering classes.</p>

<p>So to the original poster, chill out and keep some perspective on the whole thing. I got a B in AP Physics too and it didn't hurt my career one whit. A "good" career isn't the be all and end all, y'know. What good is all that money when a chunk of it has to go to a shrink to survive the career?</p>

<p>Sorry to keep responding to my own posts, but I just had another observation: is the original poster Chinese? If so, that would explain a lot. When I read his posts, my first thought was "Dad, is that you?" due to the syntax and the content.</p>

<p>I think it's pretty clear -- not from this thread, but from others -- that the OP is ethnic Asian (probably Chinese) and a relatively recent immigrant.</p>

<p>GrooveGirl, best of luck to you - sounds like you definitely are getting your groove back!</p>

<p>laserbrother - I won't repeat many of the sentiments already expressed, as I agree wholeheartedly with them. Micromanaging an educaitonal process at such an early age is dubious. </p>

<p>I attended Lehigh as a pre-med student (esentially a chemistry major). Interestingly then, as I believe is still the case, if you were smart in high school you were channelled into honors bio, physics, etc - the physical sciences. There was no honors accounting, economics, or business courses. As a result, it's a natural tendency to follow that type of science-oriented coursework in college - that's the only thing you really are familiar with.</p>

<p>During my first year at Lehigh I did OK in a pre-med track, but stumbled in calculus. The real hurdle come in year 2 when I hit organic chemistry, and thought I'd gone to h_ll. DId not have a clue. Was on the verge of utterly failing it when I made a deal with the professor - give me a "gentleman's C" and he'll never see me again in the chemistry college. It was clear to me that I did not have the gut level interest in that coursework to carry me through the really tough stuff. </p>

<p>During all of that time I was realizing that what I was really interested in was economics and finance. I spent much time in the library reading the Wall Street JOurnal instead of my organic textbook. But back then (late 70s), before the emergence of business schools as a strong major for smart students, it was somewhat of a fallback major - a "fall from grace" to drop from sciences and enter the business school. So it took alot of courage to make the switch.</p>

<p>My reaction to the new material was immediate. I really enjoyed the work, and I graduated with honors in 4 years despite switching majors. In hindsight, I started collge in the WRONG coursework. It took some self-awareness and frankly, some courage, to chase what I was truly interested in. It would have been a seirous mistake to not make the mid-course correction. (As an aside, my father was way behind the curve in listening - or failing to listen - to my concerns, and understanding that I was in the wrong major. It also took courage to go against what he thought was the "right" thing for me.) </p>

<p>Your daughter will find her way, but not if she is afraid to examine interests that might not be readily apparent to her now, with only a limited scope that high school provides. I encourage you to trust her instincts and let time, and maturity, and exploration, guide her course.</p>

<p>I had a similar awakening in college. I thought I'd major in history and literature and become an academic. The only problem was that I hated the only history and literature classes I took. I took a freshman seminar which combined the history of printmaking with a studio art component and realized that I really needed to do something hands on. I'd always liked math (especially geometry) and art and I'd actually gotten interested in architecture through the family I lived with in France. It all came together and I ended up majoring in Visual and Environmental studies - I took a ton of architectural history courses along with various studio arts courses and was happy as a clam. I even graduated with highest honors in my major. I really wasn't cut out to be an academic. I enjoy my life now where I spend half my time out in the field and half my time at the drawing board.</p>

<p>Bravo to those of you who were smart enough to pay attention and act on your likes/dislikes! I had the opposite experience: I enjoyed my math classes and aced them all, but I couldn't stand my science classes. I really liked my humanities classes even though they were meager and watered down. Junior and senior year in the electrical engineering program were pure torture, but my Dad kept telling me I had to stick with it until I graduated and that I would like electrical engineering better once I started working. Wrong!</p>

<p>Oh well, at least I now know that liking a subject isn't a pre-requisite for doing well at it. I also learned that I can't MAKE myself like something, no matter how stubborn I am, and that forcing myself into someone else's mold has a high price when it comes to happiness, peace of mind, and self-esteem.</p>

<p>GrooveGirl, I'm not surprised about your math classes. Math and and music go well together. :)</p>