For the record, I completely agree that most 18 year-olds (and hey, even some 30 year olds) are ambivalent about what they want to do with their lives and what drives them the most, and that ideas and passions change with opportunity, growth and education. I just feel that "you're too young because you don't know what you want" is not necessarily something that we can judge, especially in an online forum where we have no personal knowledge of the OP. Only the OP can judge the intensity of this passion and he/she is also the only person who knows how often he/she experiences ambivalence about career choices in the first place.


I understand why people might not agree with me, though. There are so many choices and options in life that I can understand the pull in the different directions, I've just never personally experienced it - perhaps also, because I've never let anyone succeed in changing my mind about it. ;)

First, it's nice to see people "playing nicely in the sandpit" and treating each others' views with politeness and respect. To quote Voltaire: "Whilst I do not agree with what you say, I shall defend to the death your right to say it." More's the pity other devisive threads on this site aren't conducted so politely!

I think Poppet and OK_Computer both make good points. I do agree the question isn't "are you too young?" Any free thinker struggles with arbitrary concepts. However, I don't agree that anyone is suggesting that it is "... correct to tell someone who wants to go that they should wait until they find out what they "really" want to do in life." It's not about waiting until you find out. It's about the student being proactive, making informed decisions, and doing what's right for them - all in their own time. Like basically everything in life, there are exceptions to every rule and rules for every exception. To that extent, yes, age is irrelevant.

I do note your comments, Poppet, about consolidating and applying what your learnt your degree in human rights by "working in NGOs in various countries" and that you intend to follow up with a Masters. Sounds like a very wise move, and, whether you believe it not, I am sure you will get more out of your Masters having had that experience first :-)

To each his own

>>>> It's not about waiting until you find out. It's about the student being proactive, making informed decisions, and doing what's right for them - all in their own time. Like basically everything in life, there are exceptions to every rule and rules for every exception. To that extent, yes, age is irrelevant.

There is much truth in this statement. What I would add is this: I have come to learn that listening to my elders (not necessarily grandpa, but just people 5 or 10 years out of school) can teach me a lot. Certainly some 22 year olds are so directioned that they will not err in immediately getting the LLM and specializing in some narrow area of the law. But for many, motivation, knowledge, and wisdom do not come until later. The problem is that it is very, very difficult to disentangle oneself from the everyday in one's 30s and go back to school. Education, as they say, is often---but not always--wasted on the young.