explain so desu

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Raiha

wow, that bad huh?
i'm kind of committed at this point, but i hear plenty of stories about people who are graduated and have passed the bar, yet ironically they are now working at bars.
i'm more into the criminal side than anything but i was thinking about going into federal law enforcement.
i try to keep up with my japanese so i can move there once obama has bankrupted my country beyond repair, but i doubt my american law degree would do me much good there.

You of course do realize that Obama's fiscal policy is what Japan has been doing for years, right, only they recently stepped up the stimulus policy because they weren't going at it hard enough for it to be successful and now (so I've heard) it's working? Keynesian economic policy. I suggest you read up on the golden land of totally kawaii anime and panty vending machines before moving there: it sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, and not to mention that Japan's got that whole public option and universal health care thing going on already.

And you're not committed. You're a 2L and are falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy ("well, I'm already in this deep, I might as well finish digging"): Sunk costs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't know your situation, but you really should look to minimize your debt. Approximately $100K in student loan debt will very likely grow with interest faster than you can afford to pay it back. And also, man, the government isn't hiring, either. What law school do you go to? If it's outside of, say, the top 20 or so, you're going to have a hell of a time finding employment when you get out. I went to the #15 school in the nation, and almost all of my friends are unemployed right now. The ABA has recently approved outsourcing legal work to India (and it's happening), the boom years of 2007 are not coming back for at least a decade, and the median/average salary that most law schools post as evidence of their grads success is borderline fraud. UT's advertised numbers was $130K starting salary right out of school. But it turns out for my year if you weren't in, say, the top 15–20%, that wasn't happening. Just prepare yourself for the onslaught. But maybe we'll all get lucky and the legal field will boom again somehow.

But this isn't a career advice forum; it's a Japanese forum. I digress.

The one note I guess every other person reading this post can take away is that lawyers are not prestigious. Most of them make $50K/year and work insane hours just to stay afloat. Not prestigious at all. Stop thinking we are, and stop sending your kids to law school; it's a death sentence.

[jesselt]

That was a great read for someone planning on going to law school after next year =/

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by jesselt

That was a great read for someone planning on going to law school after next year =/

Law school as a fallback for liberal arts majors is ridiculous and should stop happening. You'll spend $180K in tuition and room and board and stuff (did you see California schools knock their tuition up that high?) for three years. In the meantime, if you get a $50K/yr salary out of college, you'll earn $150K in those three years.

So you'll be ahead $230K at the end of those three years. Then you've probably got about $50K in interest payments on those loans, if not more: $280K further in the hole because you went to law school. Unless you're at a top 6 school (if the economy were better, I'd say top 20), it's a lottery to get a job that pays $145K out of school. I currently have a fairly prestigious job clerking after graduating from a top law school, and I'm worried I won't be able to find work next year to pay off my loans.

In short, if you go to law school and don't go on scholarship, you'll probably be $230K worse off after school than if you'd gone straight out and worked. Then there's the fact that lawyers work insane hours compared to what you'd be working if you had a "regular" job. So 12-hour work days and $230K worse off. Sign me up for that!

I'm of the opinion everyone who wants to go to law school should get a real job out of university first. Those people are the ones who succeed in law school because they understand how screwed they will be if they're not in the top 20% of their class.

Google Autoadmit and read that board. Read Above the Law (a blog). Read this blog: Temporary Attorney: The Sweatshop Edition

Then tell me going to law school isn't super risky. I would strongly advise anyone not going to Yale/Harvard/Stanford/Columbia/Chicago/NYU not to do it.

[Raiha]

just to summarize my situation, i'll graduate in 2011 completely debt free. even if things don't turn around by then, i can't really fathom that i'd be better off without a law degree.
As i am attending a T2 school (albeit upper level T2), i quickly realized that pretty much anyone can get in, graduate, and pass the bar without really knowing how to do anything. it's amazing how isolated law school is from actual practice and how important internships are for developing actual practical skills. On that note, it's definitely a good idea to have worked a full time job going in. However, for people with undegrad degrees that don't entail any sort of marketable skill set, law school seems like the most viable option.
If i could go back and do it again i would certainly have gone into science and medicine, but i just can't justify throwing away 6 yrs of education at this point.

btw Kyle, i've gleaned from your earlier posts that your current job involves mainly contract work, but correct me if i'm wrong. i hated my contracts class more than anything, so i can understand why you'd be bitter if that's the case.

[futurebeast]

It is time to become a doctor. Those will continue to be in demand. Although, you will never vaccinate me doc!

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Raiha

btw Kyle, i've gleaned from your earlier posts that your current job involves mainly contract work, but correct me if i'm wrong. i hated my contracts class more than anything, so i can understand why you'd be bitter if that's the case.

I'm actually clerking for a federal judge. I don't deal with Ks at all. My job is awesome. I'm just saying that 99% of people who go to LS, and pretty much anyone outside the top 10 or 20 except #1 or #2 in the class, will not make much money as a lawyer.

Of course, if you graduate debt free then you've only lost what you could have made coming out of law school.