College Experiences That Helped an Attorney at Gunderson Dettmer Succeed
Colin, an attorney at Gunderson Dettmer, emphasizes the importance of understanding one's temperament and finding a career path that aligns with it, stating that "figuring out temperamentally what you're cut out to do" is crucial for long-term career satisfaction. This is especially vital in demanding professions like law, where "spending a ton of hours" is common, and making a career choice based on early exposure rather than personal preference can lead to unhappiness.
Career Exploration, Self-Assessment, Temperament, Job Satisfaction, Career Pivoting
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Colin Chapman
Attorney
Gunderson Dettmer
University of California Berkeley
Law degree - University of Michigan
History, Art History, Political Science, American Studies
Law
Legal
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Figure out what you are temperamentally cut out to do early in your career journey.
2. Consider if the job makes you happy; otherwise it will be hard.
3. Don't be afraid to switch careers if you find you are not happy with your current path.
Transcript
College ideas for success.
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
I think probably the biggest thing, and this is more a function of the journey I went through and I see lots of other young lawyers go through, is really figuring out temperamentally what you're cut out to do.
People are graduating from college, they may or may not get a graduate degree, but most jobs require a significant investment of time. In those kinds of jobs, you want to make sure you're happy doing them, otherwise they're going to be really hard.
I've seen this in the law profession where I had many friends who started out as litigators. This is often because law school is geared towards it, and you sort of track towards that in law school. If you don't think about it too hard, it's the path you'll likely choose.
Litigation is hard, and you're spending a ton of hours doing it. After a while, many concluded they were not happy doing it. The same was true for me; I wasn't exactly happy doing what I was initially doing as a lawyer.
I kind of just backed into what I am doing now and have done for the last 30 years or so. Figuring that out as quickly as you can is really important. It's not easy; there's a lot of time where you're sort of lost in the woods trying to figure it out.
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