Fulfilling the Constitutional Guarantee to Every American of a Fair Trial Choosing a career is not something that should be done lightly. You could spend the rest of your life pursuing the career you choose in your teens or twenties, so it behooves you to put some serious thought into making the right decision. There is nothing more depressing than an adult stuck in the wrong career. Make some good decisions now and you will be in good shape for decades to come.

Careful decision making is what is called an analytical process. Your job will be to analyze the pros and cons of certain careers, taking into account matters like how much you will be paid, how much education you need, where you will have to live and how far you will be able to go in a working lifetime. Good analytical skills are something everybody should develop. Some careers are dependent upon them. A career in law is absolutely dependent upon solid analytical skills. According to the oath they take after they've passed their state's bar exam, lawyers are required to do everything possible in their quest to defend the interests of their clients. This is true for lawyers who specialize in real estate, business contracts, divorce and family law, maritime law, zoning law, juvenile law and any other kind of human activity that requires help from a lawyer. And that's pretty much everything these days.

In no legal specialty is the need for keen analytical skills greater than in the field of criminal law. The stakes are enormous. Yes, real estate lawyers may have multimillion-dollar development projects in their care, but criminal lawyers often find themselves embroiled in matters of life and death. Criminals are on one side, victims are on the other and lawyers are in the middle. And who is who is not always readily apparent. Criminal lawyers - also called attorneys - are called upon when the going gets toughest. The most obvious example of a criminal lawyer is the criminal defense attorney made famous by decades of movies, television and crime novels. In the United States, people charged with crimes are guaranteed access to a lawyer by the Constitution. Sometimes they are public defenders, lawyers on the public payroll who have to be ready to defend anybody who needs their services. Other times they are employed by private firms or are solo practitioners and are paid directly by their clients. Criminal prosecutors are always on the public payroll. Their client is the state they work in, and they represent their client's interest just like other lawyers represent their clients.

Criminal attorneys are at the leading edge of the American criminal justice system, which can be a source of great pride as well as unending intellectual stimulation. And it's no secret that they enjoy excellent earnings. On the other hand, criminal defense attorneys often have to represent people they find reprehensible. And prosecutors are required to aggressively go after people who they may feel don't really deserve it.

Do you think you have what it takes to be successful in one of the most competitive, stimulating, fast-paced and important professions in the world? If so, keep reading. And if you are still enthused by the time you finish this report, don't stop here. Your school library or career center should have plenty of additional information about this career. As you prepare to make the very important decision about what you want to be when you grow up, you can never know too much.