An international Law student's dilemma. Forum

[CX1329]

So, I've got a dilemma that has got me puzzled in regard to my plans for the future. I'm about to move on to the 5th semester of Law school here in Brazil, which I have been thoroughly enjoying thus far and have managed to maintain enviable grades in. Considering that Law school in this country is a 5 year investment, I shall have no more than 2 and a half years to decide what I'm gonna do with my life, come August. Now, here's a rundown of the situation I presently find myself in.

I'm about to earn a prestigious position as an intern at a prosecutor's office under the sole condition that I pass the upcoming public examination. This is guaranteed, since I received a verbal promise from this particular prosecutor today. What makes it even better is that it's a paid internship, and I'm looking at a monthly, non-taxable stipend of $265 dollars for me to do whatever I well please with. What's more, if I excel, I may be promised a permanent clerkship for the attorney general of my State as soon as I graduate, which I would hold until I was able to become a state prosecutor myself. Also noteworthy is the fact that entry-level state prosecutors here make no less than $127,700 dollars a year. Alternatively, I could pass a public examination for an entry level career judge position and make $138k yearly. That's a lot of money to be made in what is decidedly a thriving legal market, at least as far as government jobs go. Plus, I'm the son of a fairly prominent figure who once held a highly coveted position in the state bar association, so that equals easy contacts (judges, prosecutors, famous attorneys, police deputies, and even a higher court justice). All this is to say that I have A LOT to stay here for.

However, much like all things in life, things aren't as simple as they might seem. My soon-to-be fiancee is American (and it's not strictly long distance, as I know that doesn't work. I visit her as often as I can.), and I don't know if she would like staying here throughout all of our married lives. She agreed to visit at the end of the year (I'm staying in the U.S. with her for pretty much all of July), so we'll see how that goes and how highly she perceives the quality of life here to be. What's most problematic is that she doesn't know a iota of Portuguese yet, apart from the most basic stuff. I, on the other hand, pretty much grew up speaking both English and Portuguese at the same time. I started learning the former at the age of 6, and was already good at it by the age of 11 or so.

It's a given that I would not like to eschew a happy marriage just so I can maintain my career prospects intact. As a result, I've been studying my hardest to achieve as high a GPA as possible so that I may couple that with a high LSAT score and get into an American Law school. The aforementioned girl has accepted to live here for a few years, so I can work as a prosecutor or something and make enough money to pay for at least three quarters of the total cost of my education in the U.S, because I know incurring too much debt would be VERY risky in case the U.S. legal job market continues to be unforgiving then. If all goes well, I'm planning to be admitted into L&C in Oregon and work in Portland, since she absolutely loves it there. (Yes, regional school, I know, but I wouldn't be leaving Oregon anyway) This is so I could combine the joy of a happy family life with doing what I do best, and love most. I don't really care about not having the 6 figure salaries I'd otherwise have access to here, as long as I get to do what I like. What ameliorates the situation is that if she likes it here, I'd always have a plan B, and we're also studying the possibility of opening up a restaurant in the place of her choosing, since she's going to be a chef.

What do you people suggest I do? Do I just keep going as normal, or should I begin some sort of special preparation? Should I stay here for as long as it takes for me to safely attend Law school in the U.S., without getting into debt or too much of it, or should I go as soon as possible? If I do end up with a government job, the government might even help me cover the rest of my U.S. Law school costs and give me a leave of absence for all of the three years, so I might also have the option of attending school there prior to assessing my possibilities. I may be answering my own question, but I'd like some confirmation. I'm open to ideas, and whilst I do try to keep things in as realistic a perspective as I can, I'm humble enough to realize that other people might be able to enlighten me on things I may not be aware of.


P.S.: It's my first post, hooray. I haven't been an active member of a message board in quite a while, so I'm looking forward to enjoying my time here and contributing to the community. I love studying the law and conversing with random people on the Internet, therefore, this appears to be the perfect place. Additionally, I'd gladly contribute to the "diversity" of the board.

[romothesavior]

Is there are a reader's digest version of that?

[romothesavior]

Let me help you with this decision. You could:

1. Come to the shitty American legal market and make 45k doing doc review while dating some American girl

2. Break up with your American girl, finish law school, make 6 figures and date a smoking hot Brazilian

What's the problem here?

PS. Where did AC's post go?

[CX1329]

Is there are a reader's digest version of that?

I'm afraid there's no TL;DR version of the post, my good sir. I believe all the facts included therein are connected, though hopefully I didn't ramble on about entirely superfluous stuff. Sometimes I write/type too much.


@Always Credited: yes, I'm not BSing anybody either. I have proof. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v356/ ... Salary.jpg (R$ 18.910 translates to $10.045 USD / month)

@Romothesavior's latest post: feedback taken. I don't know if the missus would like that too much, though.

[Always Credited]

Let me help you with this decision. You could:

1. Come to the shitty American legal market and make 45k doing doc review while dating some American girl

2. Break up with your American girl, finish law school, make 6 figures and date a smoking hot Brazilian

What's the problem here?

PS. Where did AC's post go?

I RC failed - he didn't say he'd start at 160k, only that it'd be available so I deleted my fail.

[weejonbu]

I don't doubt your fiancee is amazing, but let me tell you broseph, if this girl isn't willing to follow YOU wherever YOU want to go--and btw your life sounds pretty exciting right now, way more than most people--then don't make a huge detour for her. It's just not worth it. I don't know the reasons for wanting to go to a school in Oregon (no offense), but seems like you could get into somewhere even better. If that is your dream then DO IT... don't waste time and energy on someone if they have issues with that.

[kalvano]

If she's planning on opening a restaurant, she's going to need you to be making as much money as possible.

[Always Credited]

If she's planning on opening a restaurant, she's going to need you to be making as much money as possible.

Incoming woman-in-kitchen joke barrage

[General Tso]

I'd stay in Brazil with the sweet job. 130k in Brazil is probably like 260k in major US cities. Most parts of America are not very good places to live. Which US city would you move to?

[CX1329]

If she's planning on opening a restaurant, she's going to need you to be making as much money as possible.

That's very true, hence why I'm being very cautious before coming to hasty "OMG I'M GONNA DO X AND Y" decisions. I'd like to make sure both our dreams can come true.


@General Tso: I'd be living in Portland with her.

[General Tso]

the legal job market in Portland is tiny. if you land a legal job (no sure thing in a weak job market like Portland) you'll likely start at around 60-65k.

but on the other hand Portland is one of the best cities in the US in terms of quality of life.

[Always Credited]

If she's planning on opening a restaurant, she's going to need you to be making as much money as possible.

That's very true, hence why I'm being very cautious before coming to hasty "OMG I'M GONNA DO X AND Y" decisions. I'd like to make sure both our dreams can come true.


@General Tso: I'd be living in Portland with her.

To be fair, if she's your fiancee and hasn't even really attempted to learn Portuguese yet, and YOU'RE thinking about completely derailing a promising career to pull a 180 with your life in order to get closer to her, that should raise at least one little red flag. Unless she's tried and is just incapable of it, which is a little different.

Don't take relationship advice from internet strangers, but still...think about it.

[romothesavior]

Don't take relationship advice from internet strangers

So that's how I'm doing it wrong. Gotcha.

[CX1329]

the legal job market in Portland is tiny. if you land a legal job (no sure thing in a weak job market like Portland) you'll likely start at around 60-65k.

but on the other hand Portland is one of the best cities in the US in terms of quality of life.

That's precisely my dilemma. It all boils down to plenty of money and opportunities, versus her well-being. In all fairness, we would still be able to visit all her favorite places in the U.S. frequently if we lived here, given the sweet vacation benefits I'd have.


@Always Credited: She's most likely coming here in December, and I'm hoping she likes it here. I have a pretty drat good life, I'd say, so I can't see why she wouldn't be comfortable, save for the aforementioned language reasons. Thankfully, she's shown an interest in learning the language, but so far she hasn't considered the possibility of staying here permanently.

[romothesavior]

How did you meet this broad?

[General Tso]

which city is it in brazil? rio, paolo?

[kalvano]

In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.

[romothesavior]

In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.

TITCR

[CX1329]

How did you meet this broad?

As silly as it might sound, we met on a message board. We hit it off perfectly and our personalities complement each other flawlessly. We've both had a relationship history and neither is each other's first love, so to speak, we both know exactly what we want. We share a great balance of romance, both compassionate and passionate, and friendship (the relationship kind of friendship, which is not to be mistaken for friendships that lead to relationships that ultimately end up failing.), so we're -very- stable. Now, we see each other in person as often as it is feasible.


@General Tso: I live in a medium sized city in the Midwest, called Goiania. It's got over a million inhabitants and a growing legal market. Public examinations for well-paying jobs are held pretty much every semester here, so if you're good and know your Law, you're guaranteed to get a great job. Plus, it's quite close to Brasilia, the capital, which means that if I wanted to, I could even become a Supreme Court intern without having to move.

[romothesavior]

Have you met her in person before? How much time have you spent with her (I mean actually in her physical company)? How long have you been together?

[A'nold]

How did you meet this broad?

As silly as it might sound, we met on a message board. We hit it off perfectly and our personalities complement each other flawlessly. We've both had a relationship history and neither is each other's first love, so to speak, we both know exactly what we want. We share a great balance of romance, both compassionate and passionate, and friendship (the relationship kind of friendship, which is not to be mistaken for friendships that lead to relationships that ultimately end up failing.), so we're -very- stable. Now, we see each other in person as often as it is feasible.


@General Tso: I live in a medium sized city in the Midwest, called Goiania. It's got over a million inhabitants and a growing legal market. Public examinations for well-paying jobs are held pretty much every semester here, so if you're good and know your Law, you're guaranteed to get a great job. Plus, it's quite close to Brasilia, the capital, which means that if I wanted to, I could even become a Supreme Court intern without having to move.

Are they hiring Americans?

[CX1329]

Have you met her in person before? How much time have you spent with her (I mean actually in her physical company)? How long have you been together?

We see each other in person as much as possible, which means that I always visit her during the holidays, which is when I get to take a break from Law school. I spent most of July last year and January this year with her. I'm going again this July, and she's coming in December. It's quite manageable this way and we never go too long without physical contact, especially considering we've both got things to do.

To answer your last question, I've known her for two years now, and we're getting engaged in early July.


@A'nold: I know you're being facetious, but there -are- some law firms that do business with the U.S. here. If not in my city, then definitely in the large markets like Rio or Sao Paulo.

[gatorlion]

How did you meet this broad?

As silly as it might sound, we met on a message board. We hit it off perfectly and our personalities complement each other flawlessly. We've both had a relationship history and neither is each other's first love, so to speak, we both know exactly what we want. We share a great balance of romance, both compassionate and passionate, and friendship (the relationship kind of friendship, which is not to be mistaken for friendships that lead to relationships that ultimately end up failing.), so we're -very- stable. Now, we see each other in person as often as it is feasible.


@General Tso: I live in a medium sized city in the Midwest, called Goiania. It's got over a million inhabitants and a growing legal market. Public examinations for well-paying jobs are held pretty much every semester here, so if you're good and know your Law, you're guaranteed to get a great job. Plus, it's quite close to Brasilia, the capital, which means that if I wanted to, I could even become a Supreme Court intern without having to move.

Are they hiring Americans?

TITCR ITE

EDIT: This seems like a classic love v. money decision. If you could be happy with your girlfriend anywhere, then clearly money is no object. If the prospect of a lucrative legal career in Brazil is more enticing than being with the one you love and are willing to marry, by all means stay and profit.

[CX1329]

On a side note, I'm really satisfied with the responses I've been receiving and the discussion herein. I wasn't expecting to feel so involved right off the bat. It's pretty neat.

[General Tso]

Have you ever visited Portland? I imagine its 360 degrees from where you are right now.