Law and Government Careers

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Oh…sorry. We just finished watching a Law & Order marathon. Deep breath…shake it off…

Go ahead and bring up government and politics at your next casual gathering. Just wait and see how long it takes for things to get out of hand, and for people to start hurling fruitcakes and jello molds across the dining room table. A touchy subject, to say the least.

But…why?

Well, our entire nation—and every nation, for that matter—is founded on certain principles of governance. And not surprisingly, when it comes to how each of us should live our lives, and what level of involvement our government should have in that whole business…different individuals have some fairly strong feelings on the matter.

Of course, there’s a very wide spectrum when it comes to federal employees. We could be referring to the woman behind the counter at the Post Office, or the President of the United States. (Depending on who you ask, it’s debatable which of them should be earning a higher salary.)

So…it kinda depends on your career goals. If the only thing you want is an excuse to have a gun on you at all times…maybe it would be a good idea for you to become a Border Patrol Agent (then again, maybe not). Or do you have your sights set higher—your state’s next Congressman or Congresswoman, perhaps? Sure, why not? Beats working in a dead-end job where you might actually accomplish a thing or two.

And then there’s the whole “law” side of the equation. Your run-of-the-mill Public Defender isn’t going to be making a fortune, but if you can work your way up to becoming the high-profile attorney who is called in to help get arrested celebrities off the hook at their upcoming murder trial…you should be set for life. Lawyers make, on average, 115k-120k a year, and the real big shots boast annual paydays in the millions.

Plus, if you’re an attorney at the top of your game, and you’ve just put that serial killer behind bars, earning yourself a ton of free ink…you’re a good candidate to become a judge at some point, which is the top prize in terms of power within the lawyering world. From there you could potentially go into politics. Or, at the very least, be in bed with a few politicians.

Back to those government gigs…a job in the public sector isn’t for everybody. You are literally working for the man (See: Uncle Sam) and, even if all you do is issue zoning permits, you’re going to have to deal with that look in people’s eyes whenever you tell them you “work for the government.”

But if you think you can handle that look, and you believe in our government…well, bless your heart. But good luck.

Careers In This Field