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oh shit, I think I want to be a lawyer

Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
I'm back at school, getting an economics degree, minor in politics science, and they make us take a bunch of business classes, since Economics is part of the business degree program.. and shit, while its not hard at all, I REALLY don't care about MAXIMIZING PROFITS.
like, my heart will never be in that shit.
One class, a very demanding one, makes us get a mentor, attend mixer events, research business carreers etc. and none of that stuff interests me. Like, I might just get the economics degree cause it looks more difficult than the pole sci, and I want to be hired some day..

So, I know the field of law is saturated, but isn't every field?
I DON'T want to deal with traffic law, or murder or shit like that, honestly, I would like to work in economic law, finance law, or like constitutional law..

Lay it on me, why is this wrong and why shouldn't I?

anyone with a law degree in here that does something besides trial law?

also, ill probably never go to a PRESTIGIOUS school, so I know id be less desired in $100k jobs, but being honest, money aint the motivator. I just want to have a career I could look back on in 40 years and be like, I picked the right one!
 

Deleted member 2802

Community Resetter
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
33,729
Of the 10 people I know who went to law school only 2 still practice law.
Unless you have a job/career lined up it's risky af. Both those people were the type that wanted to be lawyers forever.
 
teague

teague

Member
Dec 17, 2018
1,509
This is not happy advice, but it's true of basically every type of graduate school (in the US--not sure where you are OP) at this point:

If you don't get into one of the top 10 schools in your field (mayyybe 25 for law), DO NOT PAY MONEY to get that degree. If you get into a lower-ranked school and they're paying for you to go, by all means go if your heart's in it. But absolutely do not blow ~200k on a degree in a field in which (generously) 50% of people will get a good, stable job after graduation.
 
OP
OP
Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
shira said:
Of the 10 people I know who went to law school only 2 still practice law.
Unless you have a job/career lined up it's risky af. Both those people were the type that wanted to be lawyers forever.
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did the others finish law school?


also, student debt isn't much of an issue for me, I already have an associates degree, and the GI Bill is going to pay for 4 more years of schooling
 
Shelbyville Milhouse

Shelbyville Milhouse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,378
Blue Skies said:
I'm back at school, getting an economics degree, minor in politics science, and they make us take a bunch of business classes, since Economics is part of the business degree program.. and shit, while its not hard at all, I REALLY don't care about MAXIMIZING PROFITS.
like, my heart will never be in that shit.
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You realize that there is more to economics than "MAXIMIZING PROFITS", right?
 
HamSandwich

HamSandwich

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,605
Not worth it unless you go to a top 15 law school. And even with that, your life will suck trying to make yearly billables, in a job you need to pay off your law school debt.
 
OP
OP
Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
Fantastapotamus said:
You realize that there is more to economics than "MAXIMIZING PROFITS", right?
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I know, but I read, well TRIED to read a professors Dissertation and it wasn't my cup of tea. Like, mathematical models and all that, don't truly interest me. id rather have to write and research about law/justice/precedents than statistics and hypothetical dynamic models
 
Azzanadra

Azzanadra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,804
Canada
Well, this is from a Canadian perspective, but every friend I've had that went to Law School who wanted to be a save-the-world kind of lawyer never really ended up doing that. In general, most starry-eyed college students quickly get a dose of reality and end-up doing corporate law, and, well, maximizing profits for their new corporate overlords.

That said, there is plenty of utility for an economics degree that has nothing to do with maximizing profits.
 
OP
OP
Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
also, my school has a shit small economics department.. during orientation only 2 of us raised our hands for it. everyone else was marketing or BA
 
FranktheRabbit

FranktheRabbit

Member
Dec 22, 2018
432
Blue Skies said:
research, forming arguments, dotting the i's, honestly the leg work doesn't sound that bad compared to engineering, or finance
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It can be interesting and intellectually stimulating, but it's a tough field to do well in. I know plenty of lawyers who are making a killing, but others who are just scraping by or who have had to give up on the profession entirely.

Also, one of your areas of interest (i.e. constitutional law) does NOT pay well at all. Be prepared to do a lot of pro bono work if you're representing plaintiffs, or getting paid peanuts if you represent government. I will say this though, it IS interesting. You'll very rarely be bored.
 

Deleted member 12224

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,113
Don't pay anything to go to law school unless it's public tuition discounted or T14, and then, don't pay full price unless it's T6, and even then...
 
spootime

spootime

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,429
Blue Skies said:
I'm back at school, getting an economics degree, minor in politics science, and they make us take a bunch of business classes, since Economics is part of the business degree program.. and shit, while its not hard at all, I REALLY don't care about MAXIMIZING PROFITS.
like, my heart will never be in that shit.
One class, a very demanding one, makes us get a mentor, attend mixer events, research business carreers etc. and none of that stuff interests me. Like, I might just get the economics degree cause it looks more difficult than the pole sci, and I want to be hired some day..

So, I know the field of law is saturated, but isn't every field?
I DON'T want to deal with traffic law, or murder or shit like that, honestly, I would like to work in economic law, finance law, or like constitutional law..

Lay it on me, why is this wrong and why shouldn't I?

anyone with a law degree in here that does something besides trial law?

also, ill probably never go to a PRESTIGIOUS school, so I know id be less desired in $100k jobs, but being honest, money aint the motivator. I just want to have a career I could look back on in 40 years and be like, I picked the right one!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's a poor investment unless you get a partial/full scholarship to a T14 law school and/or you have an engineering degree.

It's easy to say money isn't a motivator but I doubt its very fun to live on 50k a year working for a nonprofit while barely having enough money to service the interest on your 300k student loan debt.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,669
Feel free to pop into the Era Law Hangout. It's not really busy, but it has lawyers and law student that can answer questions.

I always advise against going to law school unless you are really passionate about it. It's an expensive, hard and unforgiving grind. I always say don't go into law unless you are willing to work hard. Really hard. Sometimes for people who won't give a shit about the blood and sweat you put in. Or that brief you wrote all weekend only to find the case settled that Monday (been there).

My wife and I are both lawyers (we met in law school almost 30 years ago!) so feel free to PM me if you have questions.
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,384
As others have said, don't do it unless you can get in a T14 school. Even then be prepared to hustle and work long hours. The lawyers you might know who golf on Friday and get home early are the outliers, not the norm. If you plan to go the nonprofit route, please spend a month or two volunteering at your local ACLU or legal aid to see what you are about to get yourself into.
 
OP
OP
Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
everyone saying be prepared to "hustle and work" doesn't that go for anything worth doing?

I'd rather hustle and work for something I prefer than anything else.

Honesty my life has been pretty easy, I had joined the navy looking for a challengw, and I ended up in a pretty cushy job working with the Air Force.. idk, I don't care if it's gonna be hard
Starting a business is hard, being an engineer is hard, finance is hard
Like, wtf is easy?
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,384
Blue Skies said:
everyone saying be prepared to "hustle and work" doesn't that go for anything worth doing?

I'd rather hustle and work for something I prefer than anything else.

Honesty my life has been pretty easy, I had joined the navy looking for a challengw, and I ended up in a pretty cushy job working with the Air Force.. idk, I don't care if it's gonna be hard
Starting a business is hard, being an engineer is hard, finance is hard
Like, wtf is easy?
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Click to shrink...

I have a science background, worked in pharma before law school. I have never worked harder in my life than law. Literally be prepared for months on end being in the office for 70-80 hours a week. Law (big law) makes for terrible work life balance. I love my current gig because I am only working about 50 hours a week or so.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,477
I thought that too, now I'm four years into Law school and

images
 
SaintBowWow

SaintBowWow

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,082
Blue Skies said:
everyone saying be prepared to "hustle and work" doesn't that go for anything worth doing?

I'd rather hustle and work for something I prefer than anything else.

Honesty my life has been pretty easy, I had joined the navy looking for a challengw, and I ended up in a pretty cushy job working with the Air Force.. idk, I don't care if it's gonna be hard
Starting a business is hard, being an engineer is hard, finance is hard
Like, wtf is easy?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I work in IT, make plenty of money, and work a consistent 40 hours a week. My brother is a lawyer who is at the office until at least 7 every day and probably makes less than me when you take into account his mountain of student debt.

Law is a pretty grueling field and the oversaturation of law degrees exacerbates the competition to get and maintain jobs. You come off like you recently had an epiphany about what you want to do with your life and are very excited about it, and that's great, but make sure you really understand what kind of lifestyle you'd be getting yourself into before you jump into it.
 
spootime

spootime

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,429
Blue Skies said:
everyone saying be prepared to "hustle and work" doesn't that go for anything worth doing?

I'd rather hustle and work for something I prefer than anything else.

Honesty my life has been pretty easy, I had joined the navy looking for a challengw, and I ended up in a pretty cushy job working with the Air Force.. idk, I don't care if it's gonna be hard
Starting a business is hard, being an engineer is hard, finance is hard
Like, wtf is easy?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

lol being an engineer is the same pay with half the hours.
 
Cat Party

Cat Party

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,402
teague said:
This is not happy advice, but it's true of basically every type of graduate school (in the US--not sure where you are OP) at this point:

If you don't get into one of the top 10 schools in your field (mayyybe 25 for law), DO NOT PAY MONEY to get that degree. If you get into a lower-ranked school and they're paying for you to go, by all means go if your heart's in it. But absolutely do not blow ~200k on a degree in a field in which (generously) 50% of people will get a good, stable job after graduation.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't think this is necessarily accurate advice for law school, because it depends on your goals. Best way to describe it is with an example. University of Oregon currently has the 83rd ranked law school. But the top graduates of that school will have no problem at all securing a fantastic first job out of law school if they want to work in Oregon. It's more important to excel at your school than that you to go one of the absolute top tier schools. And it's even better if you go to the most prominent school in the specific region you want to work in.

But the law is a brutal profession. It chews up a lot of very smart, very capable people. The rewards are absolutely there, but it's not necessarily worth the grind.

Last thing I'll say is that the saturation of law degrees has subsided for the most part. Still a very competitive field, but again, if you are going to excel at your school, you'll stand out.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,669
Kill3r7 said:
I love my current gig because I am only working about 50 hours a week or so.
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It's possible to find that right balance. I did as well by going in-house a long time ago using both business and law skills. I love being in-house, but it's not an easy gig to get. My wife loved being a trial lawyer, but I convinced her that in-house was better so now we are both General Counsel(s). lol.
 
RumbleHumble

RumbleHumble

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,128
OP, you sound pretty set on it, but I really advise against it. Law School sucks. Attorneys mostly suck. Jobs market ain't great. And good public interest work doesn't pay shit.
 

Deleted member 16516

User requested account closure
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,427
As someone who recently quit the law, if you have a genuine passion for it, then go for it, but be prepared for a time when you think to yourself, that it's just not worth it.
 

nitewulf

Member
Nov 29, 2017
7,191
First figure out what you are passionate about, and not in a fru fru hippie BS way like you are currently. What motivates you, etc etc.
 
LabouredSubterfuge

LabouredSubterfuge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,336
Me as a 5+ years qualified IP lawyer:

tenor.gif



There were definitely shaky times there. I'm a UK lawyer tho so I'm not sure if my comments would be too much help.
 
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,107
What interests you about economics? I have a Masters in econ and my program was much more focused on math, with stats and econometrics/ modeling making up a majority of the coursework. You're going to inevitably discuss some business school topics in Micro classes, but you can find a program that feels less like an MBA.

What do you see yourself doing with the econ degree? Consulting? Working at a think tank/ research institute? Data science? It's definitely dependent on the skills you learn during your program but again, you can do a lot more with an econ degree than get into business.
 
OP
OP
Blue Skies

Blue Skies

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
9,224
Clay said:
What interests you about economics? I have a Masters in econ and my program was much more focused on math, with stats and econometrics/ modeling making up a majority of the coursework. You're going to inevitably discuss some business school topics in Micro classes, but you can find a program that feels less like an MBA.

What do you see yourself doing with the econ degree? Consulting? Working at a think tank/ research institute? Data science? It's definitely dependent on the skills you learn during your program but again, you can do a lot more with an econ degree than get into business.
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That's the thing
Im starting to doubt the economics path. Only one that sounds appealing is consulting or a think tank
But how does one even get into that
 
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