How can I hone my research, writing, reasoning, and conflict resolution skills (especially for debate and facilitation)? What work (side work or meaningful volunteer work is fine) could I get with these skills? Alternatives to law school

I’ve always been primarily interested in reading, writing, politics, justice, culture, languages, and making the world a better place™, but I do also like math and I have a lot of scientific and technical curiosity. My parents’ influence and, I think, my own desire for stability and prestige drove me to study computer science in college. I graduated from undergrad in May of this year with a BS in Computer Science, and I currently work as a software engineer in Silicon Valley.

A combination of being very mediocre at my job\* and getting a lot of positive feedback in relation to my social and verbal skills is making me want to cultivate those skills, both for my sense of personal achievement and possibly to make the world a better place™.

*\*(people say I’m new and I’ll get better, but I know I’ll never be that great at it, partially because I’m just not a tinkerer type, partially because a lot of my motivation in school came from wanting to get an A and no one’s grading now.)*

I think I’d make an awesome lawyer. Here’s some proof.

* I took an LSAT practice exam and scored in the 160s without any LSAT-specific preparation.
* I used to live in a co-op with a lot of tensions and conflicts, and our weekly meetings went best when I facilitated. (Very happy to be at a smaller and less dramatic co-op now.)
* I’ve heard that a lot of lawyering a glorified secretarial work. I like secretarial work.
* I’m my friends’ go-to when they need help writing a hard text message or email.
* In high school, I won first place in my first and last debate tournament (it was the novice league).
* I get very passionate about defending people in my life when they’re dealing with an injustice.

But the more I look into it, the more reasons I find not to go to law school or become a lawyer. The price tag and opportunity cost in years is frustrating, but I think the most disheartening thing about it for me are the limited opportunities to make a positive impact with a JD. Are there other programs where I can work on some lawyer-esque skills? How might I use these skills to help others?



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