Attending a big school comes with vast resources, including the University’s partnerships and connections with major employers. As students we all think about our futures, and I’ve found that there seems to be a divide between the students willing to compromise their values for the better paying jobs and those drawn towards their passions.
As I begin preparing for law school, the first question everyone asks is, “What kind of law do you want to practice?” Seemingly, this would be an easy question to answer, and yet I find myself torn between what the country needs and what would be easiest for me.
While I know that my background in economics and interest in international affairs would make me a fit candidate for international contract law, in which I would make more money than I would need to live comfortably, I also know that our country has a severe deficit of public defenders.
Right now, the United States justice system is extremely overwhelmed, in part due to the shortage of public defenders. The National Association for Public Defense explains that the number of law school graduates peaked in 2014, and Forbes explains that the median law school debt in the U.S. is $118,500. In turn, the trend of law students taking a few years to serve in public defense has died, leaving the system on the verge of collapse.
While I understand the overwhelming need for them, I’ve also heard horror stories from public defenders. The National Advisory Commission standards estimates that public defenders cover heavy case loads, from 150 felony cases, 400 misdemeanor cases, and 200 juvenile cases and many more in just a single year.
I’ve found that my conflicting feelings towards the “right thing to do” are not unique. Whether it be our aerospace majors making jokes about building missiles, biology students worried about the pipeline to Big Pharma or the finance students primed to craft sneaky health insurance policies, UA students across the academic fields are faced with moral dilemmas.
“Everyone, everyone has a threshold,” said Easten Jenn, a sophomore studying criminal justice.
He speaks to his own dilemma towards his interest in working in the criminal justice system. While working as a police officer serving the community, Jenn worries about the operations officers are currently being asked to support in Chicago, Los Angeles, D.C., and Memphis.
“If you watch the news lately, what used to be what I always thought of as defending people’s ability to express themselves, whether you agree with them or not, is being used domestically now, and I would not want to be part of any domestic operations,” said Jenn.
Similarly, Rogan Allen, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, explained that his goal is to create something meaningful, but living comfortably is equally as important. While he agrees that there is a threshold he would never cross, he wouldn’t be opposed to working a job he disagrees with for a short time in order to get his footing in the field.
And yet this isn’t a new problem. Tracing back to articles from 2013, UA students have always been targeted by corporations. Even then, one of the top employers of engineering students was Boeing, and Ernst & Young hired many Culverhouse students.
While this seems to carry a negative connotation, perhaps it is a symbol of a UA education making a mark on the job market. It is difficult to say whether a job is right or wrong, especially if it allows students to live happy, healthy lives. The question simply becomes, is this fulfilling for me?
“In fields of science, usually the joke is, you are professionally broke,” Jenn said. “Oil finding 101, it might not be a love of what you do, but if you’re an astrophysicist, there’s not many careers in that right now.”
Seemingly, there is no right answer. In the end, the path I choose — whether public defense or contract law — will not be about picking sides in the money versus morality debate, but about finding balance. My hope is that, like many of us, I can build a career that allows me to live with purpose while still living with peace.
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