Rich Women

The Economist posted a chart of the richest self-made women in the world. This means no heiresses or Ivana Trumps, just smart and/or talented ladies who worked hard for what is now a big payoff. Obviously Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling made the list, but they paved their roads to fortune on talent and one or two really great ideas. This is not to put down either Winfrey or Rowling, I think they're both awesome, but I also can't relate to them because I'm not talented and therefore would never make my way in the world by coupling talent with a great idea.

So I focused on those who started their own businesses or managed an existing business that is now ubelievably successful. For instance, I didn't know that GAP, Inc. was started by a woman, Doris Fisher. Also, Zara, a clothing store that is ubiquitous in Europe (and coincidentally fairly affordable so I have a few tops and a jacket from there) was started by Rosalia Mera of Spain. Also, from a management aspect, Meg Whitman is a former boss at eBay and is now the 16th richest woman IN THE WORLD.

What does this have to do with anything, you ask? Well, as a law clerk I don't earn a lot of money and for a while now (since starting law school) I've often felt incredibly unimportant in my jobs. As a student, an intern and a law clerk in various positions across the country I have essentially been support staff, earning very little and feeling oh-so-replaceable. Of course, I'm so lucky to have my clerkship. It's a great learning opportunity and hopefully a precursor for greater things, so what things are those?

Well, as you know I have an uncontrollable habit of surfing the net for travel opporunities and excuses to live in exciting places. Over the past few weeks I've done some research regarding Masters and PhD programs in Europe. It's true that European tuition is much cheaper than in the US, but I had no idea how cheap. The average cost in France is around 5,000 euros (about $7,000) per year (all inclusive). Even as an international student the tuition is lower abroad than as an in-state student at home! The most shocking tuition rate I have found s far was in Switzerland, which was about 1,200 CHF per year (about $1,100, all inclusive!)! Not to mention that the school has three programs I like, all taught in English and 2 years in duration, and practically free access to expert language-learning resources on campus. Of course cost of living in Switzerland is high, but taxes are low and the government has a special visa program allowing foreigners to work in traineeships for the market salary, so it all evens out in the end. It sounds like a dream....

In addition, with so much training (law school, internships, 2 years clerking, a master's from a highly regarded foreign university, multilingualism), I imagine my resume would stand out in any pile of job candidates. So, if I'm patient enough (I need to work in the US a bit longer to establish a work history for this program), determined enough (can you say beaurocratic nightmare?), and willing to make a bit more of an investment in my future, the pay off could be huge. Really huge. Now I've never really cared about being rich, but those jobs that pay well also tend to be really interesting, which is far more important to me than a huge paycheck... though the paycheck is nice when your student debt is 6 figures...

So here's to the future. In the meantime, I should get back to work so I can learn something useful today...