Am I ACTUALLY considering this???

Um. Yes.  I AM actually considering it.  

I'm actually considering making a relatively huge leap from the idea of practicing patent law to the idea of being a criminal prosecutor.  

There are a billion reasons I shouldn't.  The pay is WAAAAAAY less, yet the hours are about the same as what I would work at a law firm (except I'd get paid about three times more at a law firm).  Some might consider it dangerous.  It's a sort of thankless job, and the environment is not very cushy - I'd be sitting in a government building all day, surrounded by criminals.

All of these things are true.

And yet... I just can't describe the way I feel when I'm there.  It's like it's the most real thing I've ever done in my life.  More real than mixing molecules and creating chemical compounds.  More real than working at a social security law firm, staring at the medical records of sick people all day. 

Everyone always says you should do what you love.  That you won't be happy unless you do.  But then, the logical, reasonable side of me says that a job is still just a job.  That I want to be able to have a family and give my kids as much as I possibly can.  If I'm going to have to work long hours anyway, why not make more while doing it - even if it is less exciting?

I'm debating.  And what I REALLY need to be doing is praying.  So please be praying with me! And I'll keep you updated... :)