Law is a diverse topic, and a career in law offers many different directions. When a law student finds that they are better at or enjoy a particular type of case more than all of the others, it’s time for them to consider choosing that as their legal specialty.

Lawyers can have any of dozens of different subjects as their specialty — public defense, taxes, corporate law, sports law, finance, personal injury, juvenile defense, and many more. These are not something to make a snap decision about. Depending on which specialty a lawyer has, their activities at work can vary greatly, and so making a sound choice of law specialty requires some research.

If you are a law student who is considering which specialty to go into, don’t fall into the most common trap that others make — choosing based on your own perception of that job. Many people choose international law because they think it will involve travel to exotic places, for example, only to discover that most of that specialty’s work consists of translating heaps of paperwork into other languages while staying right there in their home town.

Specialties are all about what you want out of your career, and what you want to put into it. If you love translation and dealing with written documents, perhaps a specialized career in international law would be perfect for you. Before taking that big step and declaring your specialty, ask yourself what about your future job will be most important to you. Is it high wages? Seeing direct results of your work affecting people or the community? Doing intricate and very important research?

There is an area law that would delight someone with any of these preferences and many more, and knowing which you’re aiming for will help greatly in choosing a specialty.