Help Me Out: College

[DarkTravesty]

Well, I am graduating in less than a month here, from High School that is, finally. Already going to Drake University this fall, and currently am signed up for Poli Sci/Comp Sci/Pre-Law (two majors, Pre Law is just a pointless thing for me to say so people know I am planning on going into Law)

But, currently I am questioning this. I have in the past decided to dedicate my life to the struggle for socialism, and I have further decided to be a Lawyer so that I am best equipped to do this. My real question is, what would be a better Major before Law? I have wanted to do Computer Science for a long time, and excel in that area, but I am also very interested in philosophy, politics, etc... Not quite sure what to do, any advice out there?

[ComradeRed]

Don't go into law, you are going to spend a lot of money to get a job in a world with all ready too many lawyers.

Plus, it's all glamorized; in reality, it's bookworming and saying "Ah, not true, 174 years ago, this happened and that was the outcome...so you can't do this."

What do you really like doing? Do you like solving problems or making them? Do you like problems with a solution or without? Do you like problems?

If you wanted to live a secluded life doing what you want, go computer science and what you want; program for money, then do what you want for the rest of the time.

[Amusing Scrotum]

I agree with ComradeRed, you should really avoid becoming what the old man called an ideologue of private property&#33; <_<

However, if that&#39;s what you really really really lemon squeezy want to do, I&#39;ve heard that taking History is beneficial....all the source work and so on, is apparently well suited to the demands of studying Law and Law lecturers like History students.

[DarkTravesty]

Really wrestling with this right now. I am sure I want to do Law, as it will give me the knowledge I need to fight back, I am just not too sure what to take before that. History is a good option, I do enjoy it and will consider that, but I&#39;d like to hear other ideas as well.

I have considered several majors: Philosophy, Law/Politics/Society (some Drake-specific major I think, is pretty neat), and Computer Science (I am very adept with computers, taken many college courses during High School)

Really, I just want to do something that will put me in the best position to aid the cause of socialism, that is what it all comes down to.

Thank you for your time and advice.

[ComradeRed]

Be a computer scientist, it will actually put you in a better spot for debates and criticism (trust me, software analysis when applied to analyzing the bourgeois pseudo-social sciences tears it apart like a hot knife through butter).

Do not go into law, I know some fellows who went into law for the same reason you are considering and they hate their lives. It won&#39;t help you "fight back" but it will help reformism.

So, in summary, don&#39;t go into law&#33;&#33;&#33;

[DarkTravesty]

Hmm, I shall have to consider things very carefully... Drake does not offer very broad computer science courses, very heavy on Math and Programming. I am more of a networking person myself, and system security, I love that stuff.

[bcbm]

I think having more committed socialist lawyers would be a good thing. Good lawyers are difficult to come by for political cases (which they are only going to be more of), so having comrades ready to work for less than usual-lawyer-rates is a good thing&#33;

[ComradeRed]

Hmmm..."Being determines consciousness" appears to have been ignored by Autonomists and Leninists no? <_<

If you want to become bourgeois, by all means become a lawyer.

[YSR]

DarkTravesty, I&#39;m in exactly your situation. Law has always interested me in an intellectual sense and I, too, graduate in a few weeks, also going to a Midwestern college (Macalester).

I don&#39;t know if I want to become a lawyer per se, but I think that knowledge of law is VERY important if you want to work at all with the labor movement, which is what I do. I&#39;ve had several Wobblies suggest this to me as something to draw on. So I guess it&#39;s a question of how you can be useful and fulfill your own needs. I&#39;m hoping that I can provide something in the way of providing legal assistance to people who need it in the context of working on defense without become "ideologue of private property." Then again, it&#39;s not my actual goal to become a lawyer, so we&#39;re a little different.

I say do what makes sense to you. Then again, I&#39;m just another confused kid, so what do I know?

[DarkTravesty]

Well, I just see becoming a Lawyer as the best route to aid the labor movement. It has crossed my mind before I asked about this on here that people would see this as becoming an agent of capitalism, but I merely see it as taking their knowledge and using their system to defeat them.

Please do not attack me for being a Leninist, I do not attack anyone else on the left for being part of a specific sect. Only the cappies draw my ire ~_^

[ComradeRed]

Well, I just see becoming a Lawyer as the best route to aid the labor movement. So by studying bourgeois law, you intend to reform against the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie?


It has crossed my mind before I asked about this on here that people would see this as becoming an agent of capitalism, but I merely see it as taking their knowledge and using their system to defeat them. This may very well...be a waste of effort&#33;

Do you seriously think that there aren&#39;t mechanisms to protect the capitalists against this? :huh:

Capitalism has evolved from nearly 10000 years of class struggle, this has been attempted many times before. Why do you think that it would spontaneously work now?

Or maybe materialism is the problem. If we simply ditched this, we could "walk on water" :lol:



Please do not attack me for being a Leninist, I do not attack anyone else on the left for being part of a specific sect. I&#39;m not attacking you because you are a Leninist.

I am attacking you because you are being too idealistic and lack a materialist perspective.

Fighting fire with fire only gets you doubly burned.

[Janus]

I agree with ComradeRed here, becoming a lawyer won&#39;t allow you to help the labor movement at all. First of all, you will mainly benefit and perpetuate capitalism. Second of all, average workers couldn&#39;t even afford your help.

[DarkTravesty]

I know a few lawyers around here that do free or very cheap cases for those who can not afford it, but those are the ones who are financially secure enough to do that.

[Janus]

I know a few lawyers around here that do free or very cheap cases for those who can not afford it, but those are the ones who are financially secure enough to do that.
A few and they are probably already wealthy and experienced. It&#39;s doubtful that a novice lawyer can be practicing the "Social Gospel" anytime soon.

[YSR]

Until we storm the Bastille, it&#39;s probably a good idea to try to avoid all ending up there.

I don&#39;t think anyone really acknowledged my suggestion. Studying law is different from being a lawyer. Having some knowledge of law and being able to defend yourself in court and provide advice to comrades is incredibly useful, particularly if you plan on getting arrested a lot. Consider this, Travesty.

[guerillablack]

Don&#39;t listen to these mucks. It&#39;s your life and ultimately your decision. As a freshman you have the chance of taking Comp Sci classes and Poli Sci classes. One can be major other minor or you can double major if you want. Take some courses, see what you like. As much as we all want liberation we must realize that it&#39;s a mass movement, not one person. So until that day happens you still have bills to pay&#33;

Be aware Comp Sci is ALOT OF MATH AND PROGRAMMING and very little networking. Check out the courses for the COMP sc major at your school and see if it rings true there.

[Donnie]

but I am also very interested in philosophy, politics, etc... Not quite sure what to do, any advice out there?
I&#39;m studying Politics & Philosophy for my BA Hons. I hoping to become a Youth Worker.

I don&#39;t know what your Philosophy course offers at your university but at mine I&#39;ve justed finished studying Rene Descartes Meditation and Free Will & Determinism and a little bit on Plato.

[Krypto-Communist]

Don&#39;t go to college or university&#33; It&#39;s a fucking waste of time and money&#33; You can learn phil and politics on your own; go to a community college and obtain a certificate or something; like nursing, paralegal or social work, alot more job opportunities and they pay pretty well too.

College is full of bullshit, from the dickhead landlords, clueless professors, annoying office workers, pretentious and moronic students who don&#39;t give a shit and who are only there to put off getting a job inthe world, too many to list for now.......

You&#39;re subjected to constant bullshit from everybody in your immediate surroundings...talking about (more like bragging) how they&#39;re going to make serious money after graduation (yeah right) and how they want to have kids....*vomits*

After hearing that bullshit, you just want to punch them in the head; ditto for your parents who constantly pressure you about the same bullshit "dreams".

Succeeding in college and afterwards is all about luck. Most jobs won&#39;t even hire you because you lack experience. But where does one get experience? At internships, which are mostly unpaid and not even close to your area, unless you&#39;re lucky enough to be born into a middle-class or rich environement and in a location where there is opportunity.

Even taking on internships are a gamble in of themselves., sometime even having internship experience isn&#39;t enough to even get a friggin interview anymore.

There&#39;s no jobs anymore&#33; All jobs that require degrees are in fucking accounting, business, or some sort of computer maintenance dept. I know people who have been sending out their resumes for jobs for about 2 years now and NOTHING has come up. They&#39;re working at movie theatres...getting bossed around by fuckers younger than them and by Nazi-like bosses who get a hard on by the act of being a dickhead boss&#33; Or there working at totalitarian dictatorships like Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and other franchises and retail outlets. Why did they go to college again? Oh and yes, they&#39;re still living at home with their miserable and aging parents.

I realize that that is anecdotal but I&#39;m sure you can find many articles explaining the crappy job market now.

It&#39;s all a fucking racket, not just college but the real world.

FUCK EVERYTHING&#33;

[Comrade Marcel]

Don&#39;t listen to them. Go to College/University if you want to; you can learn a lot of great things and meet excellent people. You can also access excellent resources.

If you want to go into Law, you could find ways of using it to help people. Sure, there are lots of lawyers, but not a lot of left-wing lawyers. You could become an immigration lawyer for example, like my comrade is planning...

comp-sci is great; if you got a B.A. in that then went to a private college after, you could get a great job making &#036;60,000 or so. That kind of money and knowledge is great for the movement (think of whaqt you could invest in).

Poli-sci is interesting but is usually very status-quo or even reactionary...

[encephalon]

I have a friend that went to case western first for engineering then for law.. then he graduated, and works as a phone techie for people that forget to plugin their computers because he knows the causes that would be worth fighting in law (in his mind) are the ones that he would starve to death doing.

What&#39;s even funnier is that he considers himself an anarchist :)

[Krypto-Communist]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 22 2006, 06:38 PM
Don&#39;t listen to them. Go to College/University if you want to; you can learn a lot of great things and meet excellent people. You can also access excellent resources.


Just wait until you get those tuition bills, then you&#39;ll realize how overrated the college experience really was.

[food-chain1]

If you *MUST* go to college, then double major in the Visual Arts and any Social Science: Economics, Linguistics, vanilia Social Science, etc.

Surround yourself with fellow travelers, find a mentor (or 3) and these will be in the above mentioned majors or not at all&#33;

[lithium]

I&#39;m doing Physics with Astronomy. It&#39;s brilliant. The uni takes my class abroad a couple of times to visit foreign observatories. The staff are usually great; we often all meet up for pints after lectures. And best of all, education is free here (apart from paying for rent, travel, a couple of books and stuff).

Only thing is we don&#39;t have majors and minors as such. I suppose physics is my major and astronomy the minor, but I really don&#39;t understand that system&#33; :huh: Most courses are just one thing (like computer applications, applied physics, nursing, etc) and all the subjects you do are directly related to the course itself.

[Marsella]

(edit)

[midnight marauder]

You could always try going for the ACLU :wub:


If I had my way now I probably would have joined the Army&#33;&#33;&#33;

:blink: