Jan Newman leaves Big Law to earn her PhD and become a licensed clinical psychologist and executive coach

Dr. Jan Newman is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified executive coach, and former Big Law attorney who works with multi-passionate high achievers who want to level up their lives. 

Jan shows us how to take a scientific, systematic approach to leaving law and finding a new career. This process is an experiment: outline your ideas, try them out, learn from the feedback. Don’t expect to have all the answers all at once. But, if you stick with it - you’ll eventually find a good career fit.

 

Jan has very generously offered 3 free 45-minute sessions to listeners who reference this podcast. So, I’d highly encourage you to jump on that!

 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jan knew from Day 1 that law school wasn’t the right fit
• “You really don’t have time to think about why you’re there, you’re just trying to survive”
• The law firm bubble leads you to feel like this just what working life is
• Don’t listen to nay-sayers who haven’t realized there are alternative paths yet
• Networking and mentorship can make all the difference
• Test out different options/interests and learn from the feedback
• Jan actively tried out psychology, wedding photography, and dive instructing to learn what would be the best long-term fit
• It’s ok if the first experiment doesn’t solve all the problems
• Some issues can be solved by a better practice area or geographic fit
• You can make money doing something you enjoy
• Thinking through the costs and benefits of an additional degree
• Don’t let the stress and dissatisfaction grow; it can become a more wide-spread problem
• You have to get your mindset, thoughts, and emotions under control before having the space to dive into larger questions

Jan Newman Coaching: jannewmancoaching.com

Jan Newman Resources: https://drjannewman.com/resources

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelawyersescapepod/ 

Website: www.thelawyersescapepod.com