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Don't go to law school, you will (probably) die alone and poor

Phokus

Phokus

Lifer
I ran across this NYT article about someone who ruined their life going to law school:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

I, myself, briefly entertained the thought of going to law school a few years back. But thanks to the SA forum, i basically said hell no.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3301274&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 <-- required reading for anyone even thinking of doing law.

Thank God I kept my job instead. Seems like even at the top 14 law schools it's no longer a guarantee that you'll get that $160K job.

It's absolutely batshit insane anyone would take on that kind of debt with no job prospects.
 
But inst selling your soul and converting from a human to a lawyer has major monetary benefits?
 
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Too many law schools in this country perhaps? I didn't go to law school because I can't speak or write.
 
DesiPower said:
But inst selling your soul and converting from a human to a lawyer has major monitory benefits?
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You mean 'monetary' benefits? I think with the workload that lawyers take on, it'd make more sense to sell your soul and go into banking since it pays better. Of course, you'll be the source of all that's wrong in America, but you'll be making bank.
 
Depends on a number of factors, but I would probably dissuade 99&#37; of anyone that asked me whether they should go.

- sjwaste, esq.
 
Propaganda.

Retract that or the law schools will sue you for slander :hmm:

Not enough lawyers? - the problem is that a lawyer can not earn enough nowdays to pay off the debts at the average wage for their skills
 
The problem doesn't seem to be too many law schools or lawyers, but indeed the costs of attendance to those schools. If they were more in line with traditional graduate schools, then those debts would be much more manageable. It would also allow the salaries of lawyers to become a little more realistic/affordable.
 
Shit so it's not just healthcare that's insanely expensive over there. Why is your education so expensive? Doesn't it get subsidised by the government?
 
"it's not the danger of going too far. it's that we aim too low and don't go far enough."

-as summarized by the painter of the 16 chapels.

quit bein' a scared little baby and do something with your gosh damn life.
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
I read that yesterday too. Didnt help that the guy paid $45k a year for a fourth tier law school.
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Whoa! Numbers like those are the reason I don't complain AT ALL about my tuition fees. My four-year EE degree will have cost ~22,000CAD by the time I graduate in May.

I can't believe the amounts of money people spend only to enter a career while being so far in debt. What a horrible feeling to accompany graduation.
 
University as a whole is BS. I actually do wish I had gone right to community college out of high school. Having a degree did give me some background information. For the money spent, it hasn't exactly helped my find a job.

As for law school, it can potentially pay a lot. Mind you, the USA certainly has no shortage of lawyers. Unless you're really good, it becomes easy to be the small fish in a gigantic pond.
 
If you arent going to a Top 14 its a waste of time/money.

Some people are actually cut out for it though, my best friend goes to UChicago on a full ride scholarship.
 
mmntech said:
University as a whole is BS. I actually do wish I had gone right to community college out of high school. Having a degree did give me some background information. For the money spent, it hasn't exactly helped my find a job.

As for law school, it can potentially pay a lot. Mind you, the USA certainly has no shortage of lawyers. Unless you're really good, it becomes easy to be the small fish in a gigantic pond.
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I fucking hate posts like this, and they always show up in any college-related thread. That's all I have to say.
 
I really hate timing. I wanted to go to law school when my kid graduated for my 'entire' life. I put it on hold long ago. I doubt I could get into a top tier school. I just wanted to do well, not be rich - and I love what lawyers do. I wanted to be a family law lawyer.

Is it really that hard to pass the bar and then just hang your own sign? That is what I'd want to do - work for myself.

Sigh.
 
The only reason there is a surplus of lawyers because lawyers were lumped in with doctors as being the "successful" profession. If you tell someone you're a lawyer, they're all "ooohhh wow."

An attorney is not an "prestigious" profession in my opinion. It was just hype of pop culture that put attorneys on a pedestal and now every quasi-intelligent highschool and college kid, looking more for bragging rights and parental approval, wants to be a lawyer (others want to be doctors).
 
JMapleton said:
The only reason there is a surplus of lawyers because lawyers were lumped in with doctors as being the "successful" profession. If you tell someone you're a lawyer, they're all "ooohhh wow."

An attorney is not an "prestigious" profession in my opinion. It was just hype of pop culture that put attorneys on a pedestal and now every quasi-intelligent highschool and college kid, looking more for bragging rights and parental approval, wants to be a lawyer (others want to be doctors).
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I knew there was a reason I hated Law&Order, Matlock, etc.! We are seeing the effect of network saturation of criminal procedurals. :thumbsdown:

As per the OP, my fiancée recently graduated law school. Law school is kind of a scam. Once she passes the bar, the job market probably won't be any better. She may not die alone (yay!), but I am a math teacher (also yay!), so we will likely die poor (boo!).
 
JMapleton said:
The only reason there is a surplus of lawyers because lawyers were lumped in with doctors as being the "successful" profession. If you tell someone you're a lawyer, they're all "ooohhh wow."

An attorney is not an "prestigious" profession in my opinion. It was just hype of pop culture that put attorneys on a pedestal and now every quasi-intelligent highschool and college kid, looking more for bragging rights and parental approval, wants to be a lawyer (others want to be doctors).
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That's not totally true, the AMA and medical schools restrict the supply of Doctors and that's why their salaries are high and why they don't face the same unemployment that law school grads face... Law schools are being built all the damn time and i've never heard of law schools being 'encouraged' to restrict the number of law students.
 
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JMapleton said:
The only reason there is a surplus of lawyers because lawyers were lumped in with doctors as being the "successful" profession. If you tell someone you're a lawyer, they're all "ooohhh wow."
Click to expand...

It has more to do with the fact that you only need a pulse to get in. There is no undergraduate requirement, other than graduating. You need only take the LSAT. Then, you're in. There are 200+ law schools, so there is literally one out there for anyone willing to fork 40k a year. It compounds an already poor outlook for liberal arts majors. Otherwise, you do have a professional license, assuming you pass the bar. There is some prestige in that. Whether it was worth the money is another issue.

The JD is simply the new MBA. It's something to do instead of actually working for a lot people. That's a really bad reason to go.
 
Doesn't this thread resurrect itself every few months here?

Is this just some kind of elaborate trap for us ATOT lawyers to crawl out of our lairs and identify ourselves?

D'oh!

- Jeeebus, esq.
 
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