Michelle John

The best career advice I've ever received is just give it a shot. You never know. The worst that they can tell you is no. Just put in the application. You think you're underqualified, let them decide that. If you have experience to bring to the table, if you have knowledge and an education, let them make that determination. Don't make that determination for them. So just go for it. Just do it. Try your hand out. The worst thing they can tell you is no.

I would definitely say, don't let the male-dominated field scare you away. It's not a bad thing to stick out. I'm probably one of those women who, in a sea of black suits, I'm standing there in hot pink high heels. So don't be afraid to stand out. Don't feel shy about being the only woman in the room. Feel some pride for it. Feel powerful. Feel your privilege to be the only woman in the room, to be the only Latina, to be the only woman of color, to be the only anything, transgender person, to be the only XYZ in the room. Feel empowered by that, because it means you're unique, and people are more likely to remember you.

Right now, the world is moving toward data analysis. I've been seeing a lot of trends in job positions that are asking for coding experience, or Python. Thankfully, I do have that tucked under my belt. I was the judicial data analyst for Lubbock County, and so my job was to look within the judicial system and analyze the trends and the data. So I got some experience there, which was a very lucky thing. The challenge now is everything's going more toward coding and more computer work, so that's something that I want to try to get more under my belt. I want to learn more about coding and sequence and all of that. Some positives right now are that with remote educational experiences now, more people are able to learn about law and the different legal sectors from anywhere. You can get that education anywhere, as long as it's an accredited university. So that's definitely a plus. There's more opportunities to learn, which means there's more opportunities to grow in the legal field.

I'm one of those people that has a well of energy. I don't know where it comes from. Once I get in, I hit the ground running. I want to do everything that's on my to-do list, and I don't want to leave until it's done. I've never really been the type of person to just kind of chit-chat and socialize a whole lot. I'll do that at the end, when I've gotten everything done and I feel like, okay, I love the product that I generated today, I like where I am in the day. Really, I thrive on having something on my to-do list. I thrive on being able to put forth that energy out.