what to do?

I've really been neglecting my poor blog lately. Since the last time I updated, I've decided to go to law school, received acceptance offers from several schools (and a really big scholarship offer from one), and decided not to go back to school (at least not yet). I took a holiday vacation in Costa Rica and a road trip to California. I was a groomsman in the wedding of one of my very best friends and was asked to be a groomsman for my future brother-in-law (the wedding is in two weeks) and for another very close friend (the wedding is still more than a year away). But since the title of this blog is idealist for sale and the seemingly ever-present conflict in my life is the one between my ideals and my job, I'm going to focus on my recent career path considerations.

I've been with my company for almost a year now, and I'm really pretty happy here. The people are great, and it's exciting to be working for such a fast-growing company. I helped get the company to start recycling, and I convinced them to get ceramic coffee mugs for everyone, so that we could stop throwing away so many styrofoam cups (they're also looking into buying better disposable cups). But despite all this, I have trouble feeling satisfied by a career in market research. I want to do something more altruistic.

That's why I applied to law school. I applied to schools with the best environmental law programs (the #2 school for environmental law actually offered me an annual scholarship of $19,000), but as the time came to make my decision, I realized that I still didn't know for certain that it was the right move. I had also been giving a lot of consideration to entering a program in urban planning, and since I've already got two graduate degrees, I need to be certain I know what I'm doing before I enroll again.

In the midst of all this thought about going back to school, I decided that I should also give some thought to seeing what I can do with the education I've already got. I was considering going back to school, not because I hate marketing (I actually find it fascinating), but because I had not found a career that connects my marketing knowledge to my passion for environmental issues. After thinking this through, I realized that those opportunities must exist. This country is quickly growing more aware of environmental issues, and even the business world is starting to catch on.

So, my sincere hope at this point is that I can find a worthwhile career without starting over. I know that my skills in marketing, market research, and writing can be put to good use... now, I just need to find the right match.