Each year, law school graduates find work in traditional venues such as law firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, and judges’ chambers. Others explore nontraditional options that may or may not require a J.D. degree as a hiring prerequisite. These nontraditional jobs run the gamut from grant officer for a foundation to technical writer for a manufacturing company to insurance risk manager for a major league baseball team.

You may be contemplating a nontraditional career but feel uncertain about how to proceed. How can you prepare for a nontraditional career either directly after law school or later in life? What job search strategies work? What resources are available?

As so many students did before me, I entered law school with only a vague understanding of what a legal career entailed. My undergraduate history degree didn’t provide a clear career path, but I enjoyed writing and wanted to help others. Law school seemed like a good idea at the time. I was optimistic that law offered many career options. If you would have asked me what these options were precisely, I would have smiled sweetly and changed the subject.

Following a very fulfilling year serving as a judicial clerk for a local trial court judge, I entered private practice. The stark contrast between the pace of a judge’s chambers and the demands of private practice astounded me. I found that litigation entailed high levels of personal confrontation with no control over my personal life. Taking care of my health, keeping family commitments, and even making vacation plans would be trumped by late-breaking assignments. As an associate, I’d never made more money, yet I had never been more stressed out and depressed.

I visited my local bar association because it offered free, confidential career counseling to members. A counselor reviewed my professional and personal goals, strengths, and weaknesses. I took several tests, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and began keeping a journal to record my thoughts. Working with a trained career counselor—something I had never done before—enabled me to consider career alternatives with a sense of objectivity that I lacked.

Based on prior positive work experiences as an undergraduate, I realized that I enjoyed working for a university and that I excelled at writing, speaking, and event planning. I wanted to make a difference in the quality of students’ lives and needed my workday to be challenging, yet have a definite beginning and end. Through the bar association counselor, I soon found a position with the career services office at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. I worked there for seven years before starting my consulting and writing business.

My journey to nontraditional work took several years to sort out, but my current vocation engages me, connects me to the legal profession, and pays the bills, too. For me, law school was a valuable experience because it fulfilled an intellectual desire, gave me the credentials to work both in and alongside the legal profession, and research, write, and speak about topics that are personally rewarding.

Is nontraditional work right for you? It depends. Only spending the time to research options and exploring your strengths and interests will lead you to the right answer. Begin by visiting your career services office and perusing print resources on nontraditional practice. Many of the professionals working in career services offices have law degrees and know from firsthand experience about the path to fulfilling nontraditional work.