Tesar-Reynes

Flipping through the Chicago Tribune this week, I stumbled on a headline that immediately caught my attention. “Chicago lawyer with $225,000 in debt has reason to hope.”

Hope eludes most of us these days. As part of my daily intern duties, I flip through the headlines of the Trib and Journal every morning. News of a stumbling economy and growing unemployment dominate headlines. The cycle overwhelms this green-behind the ears PR wannabe who thought he’d have the world at his fingertips, newly armed with his Bachelors degree.

How naïve I must seem. The 29 year-old lawyer mentioned in the article, Aukse Rimas, owns more debt then I can imagine and makes twice as much as me. The piece presents a simple point – Though she’s deep in debt, she has a lawyers degree. It counts for something.

As Tony advises, if you’re thinking about going back to school for an advanced degree, now is the time. That thought eases my own fears anytime I feel the pressures of working with no salary or benefits, student loans looming over me like an anvil waiting to drop on a cartooned victim below.

I have a three-month internship with my mid-review today. (Check back next week for a follow-up and 6 suggestions for approaching your review.)

The end of the internship represents the first leg of the race. Whether I stay for another three months or go, I don’t know. But, I feel comforted by my long-term goals.

Higher education calls. Regardless of how my career progresses the next two years, I know I’ll find myself back in the classroom eventually. My curiosity demands I return. Coupled with a proactive approach to the future, I think it’s the right choice.