You often hear people talk about the ramifications of a DWI in terms of the legal sentence. You may spend time in jail, you'll pay fines and you could lose your driver's license. Penalties typically grow stiffer the more DWI convictions you have on your record.

However, the true ramifications could be much more dire. In some cases, a DWI can end your career. Counting that financial loss, you could be out hundreds of thousands of dollars, having to rethink your entire life.

For instance, maybe the company you work for has a firing policy saying that any conviction in a court of law means employees must be let go. You can plead your case all you want, but the company needs to fire you in order to adhere to its own policies. Not doing so suggests to other employees that the policies won't ever be upheld.

Or, perhaps you have a job that makes even a DWI case a high-profile case. For instance, when some police officers have been arrested and convicted. their departments have fired them simply because of the press that generates.

Even if the company doesn't have to fire you, a lost driver's license could still end your job. Maybe you're a truck driver, so there's no way for you to work without it. Even if you don't have to drive at work, perhaps your office isn't on a bus route. If you miss enough days, they're going to replace you.

The problem gets even worse after you lose your job, as some companies refuse to hire workers with DWI convictions on their record. Just like that, your entire career could be gone.

This is why it's so important to know all of your legal options when facing DWI allegations. Your future is at stake. Make sure you're fully aware of everything you can do to protect it.

Source: AOL, "9 Ways A DUI Will Destroy Your Career," Donna Ballman, accessed Feb. 27, 2018