The question was about the book written by the Boston Women's Collective; before he finished reading it I said "Our Bodies, Ourselves."
"I wish my random knowledge could help me make money," he said.
"Mine doesn't." I replied. He looked at me funny, which makes sense, I guess, considering I work at a clinic and a just finished an internship with a pro-choice lobbying group, but these things don't help me make a living. I made more with just my Bachelor's. I'm almost done with my four years of grad school, and have tens of thousands of dollars of debt. The money I make at my jobs still doesn't put me over the poverty line, although, admittedly, student loans keep me warm & fed.
"This stuff you always know about, like the books and laws and stuff."
"Well, it's necessary, but let's say it's still not a sufficient condition to make money. Not like there's a lot of money out there."
Which got me thinking. I'm trained in economics, and in our society things are valued by their price. That includes salary; those of us who make less are considered less valuable to society. Yet, many people who volunteer their time or work for non-profits are respected, much, it seems, for their lack of salary. It's an interesting split from traditional economics - the respect is raised because the monetary value is not there.
Anyway, it got me thinking about what I'm doing, and how best to do it, and what I want my career path to be. I'm still thinking about it. In the meantime, unfortunately, I got whupped in the rest of our Trivial Pursuit game.