A Farewell To Careys
Next Tuesday will be Carey's last day posting on Consumerist full-time. He's off to law school, where he will get schooled in a "combination of consumer law and legislative drafting with a dash of administrative law." Laura will be taking over the weekend slot.
Carey started off with us as an email intern and was later promoted to Weekend Editor when we realized he was brilliant. He's always had a knack for turning Washington arcana into accessible, popular and substantive posts for our readers; I remember fondly his "Why Is Gas So Freakin' Expensive," where he translated a 324-page Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report into a 2157 Digg post.
Whether liveblogging Congressional hearings, coining the phrase "Chinese Poison Train," (memo to Washington Post: go tilt at some other windmill) or posting the latest great customer-service horror story, with requisite cat photo, the ineffable "Carey Factor," I would say, was bringing a touch of class to the operation. For instance, he invented our "Above and Beyond" series, where we spotlight the story of a company that did really right by a reader. Pure class right there, folks.
I'm sad to see him leave.
But you haven't heard the last of Carey! He may drop some special guest posts on us once in a while, and you can be sure that wherever he goes, his time with Consumerist will inform his path. Hey Carey, remember the day we took this photo of our alt-rock band?
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Comments:
Carey you will be missed brother! A side note what's up with the TNT-esque photo shoot? It looks like you guys are staring in the next big late night drama!
Nickelback is quivering in their boots at that picture.
Good luck, Carey.
@Meg Marco: Succinct.
Good luck, Carey. I'm pre-law and interning in a totally unrelated field, too.
I hope Laura will keep up with the requisite kitty pictures on her posts.
Carey, I've got this sick in the pit of my stomach feeling that comes on anytime anyone says they are going to law school. Its fascinating but hell... good luck! If your professors tell you that they are working to prepare you for the real world, not the Bar, don't believe it. Law school is all about getting you past the Bar... the real law comes after that. Good luck!
@BWoodle: Ha! Every time I hear that band mentioned, I flashback to that video of them getting trashed by Portuguese fans at a concert. Props to Portugal for that.
God help you if you're hired as WalMart legal council.
Good luck, duuuuuuude!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Carey, I had an awesome time meeting you at the Panel, and have enjoyed your stories for many hours while at work.
And good gods is that photo awesome. It's how I recognized both Carey and Meg at the Panel. It's just like a superhero team. Carey the cool calm one, Ben the muscle, with his tigers jaw, and Meg, the femme fatale, who destroys the myth that girls are weak.
best of luck to you, and hope to see you at least continuing to comment once in a while
Wow... the photo of Carey looks more like a movie poster for an upcoming thriller by Jerry Bruckheimer. I can totally see the title of the film 'The Consumerists: The Movie'.
Anyways, good luck at law-school Carey.
Where are you going to law school, Carey? You know if people recognize you, you'll get mobbed for advice or autographs, or someone will start throwing cats at you because they think you've got some unhealthy fascination with them, and then people will think you really are part of that alt-rock band.
As for law school, good luck and I hope you've got a really good backpack for which you have no extended warranty, and lots of good advice for your fellow students. And also very silent typing because no one likes a loud typer in class.
why would you want to be a lawyer :P
I start law school in 2 weeks, too! What school are you going to?
Rock on, Carey! Best of luck in law school!
I love that pic. Mainly because Meg looks like shes trying to hold back laughter at seeing you two trying to act all macho and cool.
Also Carey, you will be missed. I loved reading some of your posts, (and given the subject matter, they were always fodder for a disemvoweling brawl).
Best of luck, and hope you do some rocking things as a lawyer.
Law school when firms are laying off associates by the hundreds and canceling summer programs? Yeesh! Best advise I can give is to work your ass off, study very hard and get yourself into the top 10% and law review. Hope that lawfirms still do OCI after your first year and then research what firms appear to be the most stable (less likely to lay you off) and try for the best summer program possible.
Darn, I had just gotten used to seeing you on the weekends again, and now you're leaving. Again. ;-)
Good luck in school. We'll miss you Carey.
@Jevia: By the time he's done, though, I think our economy will have picked back up. If not, I bet there's a fallback position at Consumerist :-P
Make long, comprehensive outlines and distribute them freely to your classmates, only make sure that you fill it full of completely incorrect information so that you end up at the top of your class. They'll come after you and kill you later, but nobody cares about anything but your 1L grades anyway.
That picture made my day!
Best of luck, Carey. Don't be lured into the sordid world of Corporate Law! Hate to see you working at AIG one day.
Time for a new (hot) staff photo, boys and girls.
@Homerjay. Good and good for you.: If Carey is hired in the legal council at Wal-Mart, he will simply become the all-supreme lawyer of all things and their current board of lawyers will be demoted to folder-filers and data entry.
Could we get that pic in poster form at the consumerist store?
I'm looking forward to you coming back and kicking some butt better than Cuomo!
Best of luck in law school. I've heard it's not easy.
Law school? I hope you realize you'll come out $200k in debt and the only job you'll find is a doc review position paying $25 an hour that requires you to work 60 hours a week.
Good luck, Carey. Your writing is great!
Nothing cynical or witty to say. (just woke up from a nap)
Good luck! As someone who works at the consumerist you no doubt know to be sure that your debt and income are in proportion. Not being allowed to work your first year sucks, but study hard and you will be rewarded!
My advice re: law school - if you're at a top-14 school and/or have connections for after you pass the bar, you don't need any. If you're at a non-top-14 and aren't around the top 5-10% after your first year, drop out. Really.
HTFH.
:(
Wow, it's amazing how much negativity comes out at the mention of attending law school.
My $.02: it's not as hard as people make it out to be. Treat it like a job, do the reading, make your own outlines. That or figure out what works well for you and do that. Don't get caught up in buying 100000 study guides or getting outlines from people. Do your own thing and you will succeed.
If you're not going to a T-14 school, keep in mind that you can transfer after 1L if you do well. I did and I think it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
As far as the job situation, well, it sucks. Hopefully things will improve by the time your 2L OCI rolls around. The debt (assuming you're taking loans) sucks, there's no way around that. In theory, it will all pay off in the end.
I too am curious where you'll be attending, but I certainly understand if you'd prefer not to reveal it.
@Ichiro51: This is actually good advice. Well, within reason. I think your prospects will still be good coming out of a non top 14 like UCLA or Texas, but I went to a top 25 law school (outside of the top 14 though) and I would guess that maybe...half my graduating class didn't have a legal job at graduation. I had dropped out by then though. I ranked about in the middle of my class, and when I couldn't even get an interview at places I dreaded working, I knew the writing was on the wall.
I would have just finished my degree if it didn't cost so much, but hey, I have no regrets now.
Best of luck, Carey! Good luck in law school! :)
Best wishes, Carey! It was nice to have you back here on weekends for awhile.
@Jevia: @pecan 3.14159265: Like Pecan pi said, the job market for lawyers will be way different in 3 years. I'd say this is excellent timing for entering law school. I predict much success for Carey-the-Lawyer.
Carey, I do hope you end up in a consumer advocacy role after law school. We need you!
Aw, good luck Carey. You always gave me the best giggles.
I think before he's allowed to leave, Carey has to update his brooding portrait with one wearing Jim Morrison leather pants. For (rawr!) the ladies to pine over while he's facing down John Houseman (in spirit, at least).
You're an incredibly gifted writer, Carey. You'll be missed!
Good luck, Carey!
The law firm hiring model is changing significantly. Some firms are letting go of 20-30% of the associates, and salaries are being scaled back 10-30%, and that's at large firms. So, no more $160k a year associates. And small firms don't pay that much, more like $60k. Large firms are pushing back their summer associate programs until 2011 in some cases, and there will be a backlog of people in those positions, so don't count of getting any of those spots in 2-3 years. There is such an oversupply of attorneys being churned out by the 200+ law schools nationally that there is not enough work for everyone to make a living. Even doing a fall back thing like real estate transactions isn't going to work because the bubble burst and homes aren't selling.
If you take out loans to pay for law school, consider you are likely going to have a monthly payment over $1000 a month. Now consider that most lawyers are going to make $60k a year. Do you think you can live on that? How about if you are solo and have to pay for your own health insurance? What about rent or a mortgage? What about saving for retirement? In my estimation, its not worth it unless your spouse is independently weathy.
Carey, the very best of luck. You will notice major similarities between your student loan balance and the national debt. Yes, what we need are more lawyers.
I hope you're aiming for government work, because the demand for young lawyers has fuzzled Best of luck anywho
@razremytuxbuddy: check out what aswearengen posts. Its the truth. Yes, things *may* change in 2-3 years, but the question is will they change in 1 year, when Carey will be trying to get an OCI? So much of one's success depends on how one does the first year and where they get that summer associate position after the 2nd year, but which is interviewed for after the first year. If firms are already canceling summer programs and pushing back the starting date of 2011 grads, things will have to turn around fairly quick to make things better for a 2012 grad.
Not to say one can't be successful if the first year (and OCI) doesn't go so well, its just harder. With tuition as high as it is, forcing most law school graduates to take on nearly $200,000 in debt at high interest rates, its tough to get ahead in life when one already has a mortgage on their education (which only has a very small tax deduction and is definitely not dischargeable in bankruptcy).
@aswearengen: A lot of small lawfirms start out at less than $50,000, which makes paying back the loan even tougher.
I am sad.