Show me the money

After the reality has set in, I am starting to get panic attack. For one, I never had a student loan in my life, thanks foremost to an affordable tuition at undergrad. Scholarships, financial aid, and some money from my business all helped me graduate college without debts.

But this is law school. Truth to be told, a professional school doesn't grant me many perks I enjoyed during undergrad. My tuition, while it is manageable compared to that of other law school, is still a sky-rocket figure ($23k/year) to me.

I then realize that by attending law school will not just put me in debt after graduating, but deplete all of my savings as well. This thought definitely scared me! Having left Boeing four months ago, I started to live off on my savings. I had intended to use some of the savings and started another company- FU Wear Asia, an online website that sells Asian style clothes to the US market. Such a simple concept but involves a great complexity. I have to work with my suppliers who are located across the globe, and the time difference makes many business dealings more difficult. This is not impossible certainly, but I can't seem to stop asking myself: Did I put forth my best efforts?

How can I when I am only using this as a mean to support my own tuition? I am not desperate. This is not my last frontier either, and so, I blame the difficulties on the lack of infrastructure and processes of my suppliers. Since I founded FU Wear Asia, I have debated to whether close it down. Should I continue spending money on advertising or Should I pull a plug to burning cash? As all entrepreneurs know, you have to invest before you can harvest your crop. The problem in me, in this business, is that my law school is my investment. Should I protect my prior investment?

Law or Boeing?

Back when Boeing still paid for a JD degree, the choice was simpler. We would enroll in a part-time JD program or take an ELOA (Education Leave of Absence) to complete our degree; then, if we do not find a job after law school, we would submit our tuition for reimbursement. You really didn't have much to lose except the three years of your life.

But that was during our happier times. Now, Boeing took a reasonable move to cut funding to law program. And for the first time, I had to choose between going back to school or continuing my job at Boeing. I love my job at Boeing- an analyst position in the Industrial Engineering organization. On the days where we have to firefight issues, I find myself getting excited to jump right into the fire. I can't say I want to expect firefighting everyday since it is bad for the business. But after three years, I know very well that I needed something more challenging, more demanding. As UNCF puts it: A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

So in 2008, I began my preparation for law school entry. I did research on LSAT, law school program, career outlook, and job descriptions for attorney. After more than one year of agonizing study and endless happy-hours forgone, I was accepted to the University of Washington School of Law. I cannot forget my emotions when I opened the acceptance letter. It was a Tuesday evening, and I opened that thin envelope with the hands that had just finished marinating chicken breast.

Perhaps it all happened too fast. A desire to move on from my comfortable position at work, a reward for those days of preparation, an opportunity waiting at my hand, and a prestige awaiting my fate. This was a prize too good to say no.