See Jane Get Rich

Over budget by $63.63

February expenses were much better when compared with last month.   My gas use was very low because I was stuck inside for a whole week due to the snow storm. 

My food expenses have gone up because (1) I am eating out a whole lot more with friends and (2) I am feeling down about my legal career prospects and haven’t really had the energy nor the desire to cook.

I had lunch with an attorney from the General Counsel’s office at my internship site and I ran over some of my plans with her.  The current plan is to get a non-legal regulatory job and then use that experience to get a legal job.  I told her I knew going the non-legal path first would make everything a little bit more difficult but if I wanted to avoid gaps in my resume, I should take a non-legal job for 1-2 years. 

 The attorney told me that going the non-legal route is not only makes obtaining a legal position down the road difficult but it is also a highly risky path to take.  She said she had seen too many lawyers get stuck in non-legal positions and advised me to proceed with caution.  Also, my legal skills would get shoddy from disuse.  According to her, a law school graduate becomes a lawyer by doing legal work and getting feedback from other lawyers.  It took her three years to feel competent in her skills as a junior lawyer.  Integral to that transformation from law student to lawyer was doing legal work and having feedback from lawyers. 

 I also discussed with her another problem with pursuing a non-legal job.  Your colleagues can feel intimidated by you.  I am already experiencing this at my internship site. 

 A lot of things she said was hard to swallow and the only consolation at the end of the meal was that she picked up the check.

I am currently on Plan C.

Plan A was to get a job at the firm that I worked as a summer associate at.  The attorney in charge of the summer program told me that I was getting an offer, so I didn’t look at alternatives.  Towards mid to late August, I found out that I was no-offered.

Plan B was to apply for a federal clerkship position.  I was behind in the application process because I abandoned it as soon as I was told about the offer, but somehow I got my applicated together and applied.  I got one invitation to interview from a judge.  He said that he had 600 applications for his one position and of that 600 he was interviewing 20.    I wasn’t the one person out of twenty who ultimately ended up with the position. 

Plan C  I decided to go with my current internship site because I believed I was more likely to obtain an entry level position with this organization than the internship offer from the more prestigious governmental agency.  I applied for two positions with this organization.  I reached out to a recruiter and she informed me competition was stiff these days with each position getting 300 to 600 applications.   If a position with this prospective employer doesn’t work work out then I need to consider alternatives. 

Readers: What, if any, mistakes am I making with my job search?  

It was a tough decision to make but I decided to cut my internet.  First and foremost, it is sucking up a lot of my time.  One of my personal goals this year was to watch less youtube and not play around on the internet.  One month in, I realized that I am not doing a very good job.  You see, I have a huge addiction  appreciation for foreign movies.  I watch movies in at least 10 different langugaes.  So, its time for the stick.  Second, it is really not a necessity for me.  I am at school at least three to four days so I can check my email and blog.    

But, it will hurt.  A lot.  In late September, I got my internet connection for the first time  in all three years of law school and I told myself that I would cut it if it got to be too much of a distraction.  It has. 

Do you consider the internet to be a necessity or a luxury?  How do you control your internet use?

Okay, let’s break down why January 2010 was the most expensive month of my life. 

Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post, I pointed out that I made a difficult yet strategic decision.  The difficult decision was between two externship choices.  Internship 1 was a regulatory externship where I would get to do legal work.  Internship #2 was also with a regulatory body but the internship would not be legal but it would be more related to my Master’s degree.   I was hoping to do both internships but I was told that I could do only one because to do both would be a conflict of interest. 

I had to make a decision about which internship to go with.  If I am only thinking about the short-term then the best choice would be internship #1 because it is a legal internship that would relate to the kind of courses I am taking right now.  Internship #1 is a highly desirable experience for a law student.   Internship #2 offeres regulatory work which isn’t strictly legal.  It also offered a smaller department to work in and a director who seemed eager to mentor incoming externs. 

I chose internship #2 and here’s why. 

 Mentoring – I felt that internship #2 had a director who was more focused on mentoring.  As a recipient of really good mentoring from many of my current and former mentors I strongly believe in it.  I need to have an ally or a “true fan” on my corner.   Having a mentor can smooth the road to attaining many goals.   I need to be very careful about that crucial “first job” of my career and I can see myself being part of this organization and growing within in it.    My director knows that I turned down a very sweet legal offer for the chance to work with her.  Coming in to an organization with a favorable impression is golden. 

I mentioned in my last post that I needed to get in the game.   By getting an externship I am on the sidelines watching the game closely.  My goal now is to make a move from the sidelines to the actual field and get in the game.  In other words, I need to land a job here. 

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And I need to start acting like it. 

It’s time to dust myself off and launch a new career strategy. 

Not getting an offer from the firm that I worked for last summer was an absolute blow to my confidence and my skills.  If I ever have been depressed in my life then it would have been from August to November.  Going home for a month allowed me to take a mental break from the big muddle that is my soon-to-be-career.   I am feeling better emotionally and last week I launched a difficult yet strategic move that may help my career. 

 Revised Career Strategy – 2020

Goal: In ten years, become skilled at financial regulatory work and position myself to become a senior associate for a law firm or to obtain a senior position with a financial firm. 

First, get in the game. 

Get a job in the financial regulatory industry to obtain experience. 

 Second, find other good players to model myself after.

Find engaging and skilled mentors with a pay-it-forward attitude. 

 Third, become a really good player.

Build an expectation of excellence and continually deliver on that expectation.  Obtain skills by taking on challenging work.  Take advantage of all educational and training opportunities.  Build and strengthen the personal brand that is Jane. 

Fourth, get true fans. 

Build meaningful relationships not relationships simply for career advancement.  Obtain true fans also through personal branding, networking and mentoring others.  

Fifth,  switch leagues.

Jump ship to become a senior associate for a regional law firm or a senior position with a financial firm.

I got my credit card bill today that had my final law school tuition payment.  Ironically, after I wrote my nice big check I came across Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School.  It is no surprise that the supply of lawyers have exceeded the number of legal jobs available and it has only gotten worse with the recession.  With the advent of the recession, law firms are fundamentally changing the way they do business.  It is safe to say that some, if not all, of the changes will stick around for the long haul.  There is a renewed conversation online about the perils of the legal profession since the main stream media (in the form of NY Times) has started writing about the troubles of the legal profession most recently in No Longer Their Golden Ticket.    Sarah Waldeck of Concurring Opinions in her post Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School, advocates for students to be careful about their decision to pursue a law degree.  In fact, she advises current pre-law students to only pursue a degree if they meet three narrow circumstances.

Only go to law school next year if (1) you have always dreamed of being a lawyer; or (2) you are accepted by a very prestigious institution; or (3) you are offered a full scholarship.

Dream I don’t know about “always” dreaming about being a lawyer.  I wanted to be a lawyer towards the end of middle school.  I was never the argumentative kid everyone said should go to law school.  So, I wouldn’t meet #1. 

Prestige I go to a pretty good law school.  It is not an ivy league school, so, I would fail to meet #2 since I don’t attend a “very prestigious” law school. 

Full Scholarship No, full scholarship here.  I attend a private law school and that costs a lot of money.  They don’t just give out full scholarships to anyone.  I was able to bring the cost of attendance down with a school fellowship plus multiple outside scholarships.  The highest outside scholarship being $10,000 and the lowest scholarship amount being $500. 

Did I make a terrible mistake by going to law school? Read the rest of this entry »

Financial Goals for Spring 2010

1. Make my 2010 Roth IRA Contribution
2. Roll over 401(k) from my holiday job to a Roth or transfer it to my brokerage
3. Find more affordable car insurance before February 11
4. Obtain a credit report from one of the three agencies
5. Budget/Keep track of my expenses
6. Diversify my investments

 Come February, I will be covered by Geico.  The gecco offered me an unbeatable rate for liability insurance for my 1997 Honda Civic with 150k miles on it.  I never had full insurance coverage on a car.  This was a terrible decision for my first car since I wrecked it within 3 months of getting it but since I am a more experienced driver the libility-only mode of coverage has worked well for me.  Also, since I live in DC, I have alternative options for transportation.  I live near two bus stops and while the metro is not very close it is a doable 15-20 minute walk. 

Before 

Nationwide Insurance

• 6 Month Premium = $241.36
• Per month: $40.22

After

Geico  

• 6 Month Premium = $138.80
• Per month: $23.13

Total Savings:

• Per month: $17.09
• Per year: $205.12

I have been with Nationwide ever since I started driving.  We’ve been together for a long time but its now time to move onto greener pastures.  So, why the big savings?  It wasn’t all about Geico’s “15 minites or more could save you 15% on your auto insurance,” rather “Not having your paret paying for your car insurance can substantially lower your insurance premiums.”  The payment I made with Geico recently is the first time that I paid for car insurance because my parent has been paying my insurance all these years.  When someone else is paying for it you take it for granted and don’t compare shop as you would with your own money.  I didn’t notice the amount since I had no reason to.  I didn’t even find out what my actual insurance was until I called Nationwide to find out my monthly rate so I could do some comparison shopping.  I am glad that I took the time to compare my rate and make the switch.  I only wish I had done it sooner.   

How fabulous is my car insurance makeover?  Do you always compare shop?  What about when you were younger and you were using your parent’s money? 

Financial Goals for Spring 2010

1. Make my 2010 Roth IRA Contribution
2. Roll over 401(k) from my holiday job to a Roth or transfer it to my brokerage
3. Find more affordable car insurance before February 11
4. Obtain a credit report from one of the three agencies
5. Budget/Keep track of my expenses
6. Diversify my investments

Today I visited Scottrade and wrote them a big fat check for $5k for my 2010 Roth IRA contribution.  I like to make my contribution at the very beginning of the year so it can grow the entire year.   

Attempt at Minimizing Trading Fee Damages to Roth Contribution

When I first opened up a Roth IRA I was disheartened by the fees that I got charged everytime I bought something (usually $7).  This is not a huge figure but for my first contribution I made  6 trades so its $7 x 6 trades = $48.00.  That is a lot of money and if you do the math that $48 can grow to $483  in 3o years at 8% and that is a whole lot of money that is basically leaking out of my maximum $5k contribution.  Not cool at all.  I called up Scottrade one day and asked if there was any way the transaction fees could come out of another account so that my $5k contribution would really be a $5k contribution rather than $ 4952 contribution.  The answer was no.  I also wanted to buy some securities that I thought were good buys and I would want to eventually put them in a Roth IRA when I could contribute again next year. 

The employee suggested I open an individual investment account with Scottrade and then transfer the funds when it was time to make my Roth IRA contribution.  I opened an individual account and invested some money.  A few days ago I called Scottrade about how I could transfer my funds in the individual account to the Roth account.  I was told that there was no way I could just transfer those funds since the individual account is taxed and the Roth isn’t taxed.  To use the money in my individual investment account I would have to sell the securities, pay taxes when its time to do so, and transfer the cash to my Roth and then buy the funds again.  So, instead of me spending just $7 to buy a security in my Roth account now I would have to pay three transaction fees.  First $7 charge to buy the stocks for my individual account, $7 to sell them, then transfer the cash to Roth, then $7 to buy the stocks again.  Perfect, instead of $7 it suddenly becomes $21 for the transaction.  I wish I knew who the idiot at Scottrade who advised me to open an individual investment account.   I’ve had basically good experiences with Scottrade so I am not holding it against them.  And now that I think about it, it makes sense that I can’t transfer assets in a taxable account to a non-taxable accountable as simply as I envisioned.  So, I decided to leave my individual account alone to be dealt with another day and wrote the check.

 Tiny Problem with the Roth Contribution

You can only contribute money that you earn to the Roth.  So, in order to contribute $5k in 2010 I need to earn at least $5k in 2010.  There is a tiny problem in that I haven’t earned any money in 2010 and I will likely not earn any money anytime soon because I will be in school until May and then I will be doing bar stuff until the end of July.   So, instead of going on a trip to celebrate graduation I may need to get a job, any job, to get at least $5k in earnings so that I don’t have to withdraw the $5k contribution I just made. 

How do you keep transaction fees from whittling down your actual contribution?  Have you made your 2010 Roth Contribution?