My Future

In my International Trade Policy class, we have been learning about the factor-price equalization theorem. Basically, as my professor summed it all up, as globalization and free trade continue to proliferate, and more and more jobs become fungible and convertible across borders, you need to position yourself in some kind of niche career that simply can't be done by some Indian equivalent of you in Calcutta who is willing to work for 1/10 the salary. When someone asked him what was the ideal job for us law students to pursue, he simply responded; "divorce lawyer." The more I think about that lecture, the more sense it makes.

One of my classmates is a heart surgeon who decided to pursue a J.D. just for fun. When I asked him about the medical field and outsourcing, he said that American radiologists are all currently losing their jobs, because any Joe Blow in India with a medical degree can be trained to examine an x-ray scan via email and communicate the results. The doctors who have the most job security, according to him, are those who are hands-on. I assume the same is true for attorneys; any schmo can read a contract, prepare tax documentation, etc., but only somebody local and in the flesh can stand up in family court, point there finger across the room, and explode in profanity laced tirades. In other words, I have decided to emulate Lionel Hutz, as typified in this scene.