>>>>>On the other hand, I watch the people whose goal is to be at the TOP and who seem to have little else in their lives and think-NAW-they're missing the point.<<<<<
Depends on what you are into. There is a fast track for some things, and if you don't get on it, you won't get in line for things like Supreme Court justice, to select one I know about. Also, research scientist, and mathmetician. If they don't show promise early, and show results early, they are never going to make it. Every Supreme Court justice was a former clerk for the Supreme Court, which meant that they were not only number one in their law school class, they clerked for two years for a federal judge, first. The competition is tough. The rewards are pretty high. Judge Starr is paid $1 million a year by his law firm.
I was a crappy student in high school, even though I was a Merit Scholar, I dropped out. Family problems, primarily, a really nasty divorce, and neither parent really wanted to take care of the kids. I flunked out of college two or three times. Finally, when I turned 27 I got ambitious, and started to make pretty much straight "A"s, in night school. I got into law school when I was thirty, and tried very hard to make top 10%. I made it my first semester, top 5% or so, but only top 13% at the end of first year, so I didn't make Law Review. Second year I got pregnant and my grades went down to top 1/3. Third year I worked harder, finished top 7% for the year, which brought my overall to top 25%. I got pregnant again. Then I got my Masters, and worked really really hard, and graduated number one in the class. And then went home to two kids, and no job, and no money. I had a lot of interviews, but no one offered me a job, except a Plaintiff's personal injury law firm, so I took that, and here I am.
Why no job offers from the corporate law firms and old line defense firms? I think because I had not fast tracked, I had got there the circuitous route, and I was female, and over 30, and had two kids, and was overweight, and an ex-hippie, too many strikes against me, and there were too many eager beavers who were perfect, from Central Casting. I guess. It was really hard for me to accept that no matter how hard I worked, and what good grades I made, it wasn't going to be enough to get me a job like I wanted.
So, I don't think that the kids you mention are on the wrong track, it's just a different track, and I wish them well. |
