Being a judge can be very rewarding too. You can do internships at courts to figure out if working in the court system is right for you. Also some judges are elected in some states and some are appointed.
Judges can be active in their communities as leaders (registering voters to bring them into the political process, working to translate court materials for different ethnic groups to make the court system more equitable, etc.); they can effect change in peoples’ immediate lives through sentencing and deciding civil cases; they can move into non-judicial political careers; they can move into the private sector after awhile. There are also many different types of judges, everything from criminal court that you seem to be familiar with to traffic court and family court. There’s a whole world out there.
- You can start the LSAT studies whenever you wish. Start now. It will feel impossible at first, but you can do it.
- As you move forward, think about debt. Try to go to a law school where your debt will be forgiven if you go into public interest or government work (look at a Top 14 law school and see what their policies are). Either that or go to a law school that will leave you with minimal debt. Those are hard to find.
- To get into a top law school, get As in whatever major that you choose and score about 172 on your LSAT. The trick to scoring high on the LSAT is to study and to practice and practice and practice some more. If you feel that you just can't do it, that means you need more practice. You can do this. Treat the LSAT like a fun puzzle that you will crack. You can crack this.
- Top law schools want students with different perspectives on the world. You sound like you may have a different perspective. If you pull good grades plus the 172+ LSAT, look at NYU, Columbia, and other top schools. Our legal system needs good people like you. Best wishes.