Time for a career change?

Uh-oh...

There's a famous scene in The Graduate where Benjamin Braddock is making his dazed but cordial rounds at his graduation party. A neighbor or family friend corners him and tells him, "One word, Ben: 'plastics'." "Plastics" was the word of the future of industry in the sixties & seventies. By the eighties though it was "Computers". You'd always have a job if you "knew computers". That was my time.

Well, on a whim while hanging out with my girlfriend (who would eventually become my wife) in the early mid-eighties, I answered an ad from one of those trade schools for computer programming. It seemed a particularly good idea as I was a drama major and not getting many roles. Anyway, I got the financial aid and did the course: every single weeknight for an entire year (with one week off for Christmas). I learned BASIC, COBOL and something called RPG. About half to two-thirds of the students washed out before the end of the year. I made through and it qualified me for an entry level programming job with the State of California and thus began my programming career some twenty years ago.

Now, midway through my earning years I see my industry dwindling. I see my competition growing. I'm looking at 20+ years on my mortgage and college for my oldest daughter in two and a half years. And my career advancement prospects are dwindling fast.

Currently, I'm still a civil service worker although I've started sniffing around some private industry shops. I'm hoping for more interesting work and a much shorter commute without losing any money. Now, I've got to wonder how long any private industry job will be around.

OR...

Maybe it's time to start working on changing careers. As much as I'd love plying my trade as a full time freelance writer, it is unlikely I could make much more than 2/3 of my current income and that's not including losing the benefits I now enjoy. My other potential passion? Well, it'll take some years and some money but I've always wondered about a career in law. I understand that the McGeorge School of Law has a decent reputation. I've perused a couple of LSAT books and they seem like a veritable cake walk. Okay, that's overstating it a bit but the test is not a knowledge quiz but a critical thinking examination. This is not only be something that could open up a second career option, it could be something I could truly enjoy. However, I don't see myself being one of those uber-wealthy tort lawyers. My interest lie in helping folks negotiate and combat government bureaucracy, especially in special education. It may not make me much more money than I'm making now but I'd be able to sleep well at night. Then again, politics is interesting, too...

I'll have to look into it because I have NO idea what it'll cost in terms of time or money. But there's this...this aching, nagging feeling in my chest when I think about it...pulling at me... But dare I put my family through such an ordeal?