Wait, More Education?

I find myself in a bit of a different predicament than the others within the Technical and Professional Writing program at Pittsburg State. Since I aspire to become an attorney, I will not be entering the work force upon graduation. I will be, yet again, beginning a new career in education, this time at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although Technical and Professional Writing is not always correlated with legal writing and the practice of law, writing is an integral part of it. I have spoken with many attorneys over the course of my undergraduate career. The most important question I asked them dealt with the most underrated or underplayed aspect of being a lawyer. All of them stated, without hesitation, that the ability to write concisely and efficiently was the aspect that they found to be of the utmost importance, as well as the one that was not stressed enough in their undergraduate careers. Each of these attorneys majored in Political Science and/or History. This made my decision to major in Technical and Professional Writing an easy one. Granted, I have taken courses in Political Science and Law to ensure that I do not enter law school blind, but I feel that my enhanced writing skills on behalf of Pittsburg State will put me a step ahead of those who had no practice in the field of Professional Writing. Having spoken with professors on the topic of skills normally pressed onto first year law students at Marquette and cross-referenced these with the skills that I have already learned at Pittsburg State, I have no doubt that my first year will undoubtedly be one filled with stress, but more importantly, one filled with success. I had my doubts, at first, as to whether or not I made the right decision in majoring in Technical and Professional Writing. As my career at PSU comes to a close, however, I feel like I could not have made a better decision concerning my academic career. The skills I have acquired, along with the connections I have made and the relationships I have built, have put me in the best situation imaginable for both me and my family. I cannot thank the faculty and staff enough for their guidance and support.