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I made the mistake of going to law school in 2005. Even if you have a full scholarship, you need to consider that the 3 years spent studying are basically lost wages and growth that you will also need to recoup. .
That's what I told my spouse when he was considering law school. I told him, you'll have a 3 year gap on your resume and if you don't get a job right away, it will soon become a 4 year gap. That's a big chunk of time out of the workforce.
My attorney friends tell me its not a good idea. Unless you're at a top-10 program or the top 10% of your class from a Tier 2 law school, you're likely not getting a coveted job at a large law firm (unless you already have connections). However, you will likely be $250k-$300k in debt and lucky to grab a paralegal job or some low paying role at a small firm. Not a good value proposition.
I think an MBA is a much better route. If you can get into a decent school (think top 100), you'll likely land a good job at a F500 corporation with lots of growth opportunities.
I think an MBA is a much better route. If you can get into a decent school (think top 100), you'll likely land a good job at a F500 corporation with lots of growth opportunities.
Think TOP 10. Not 100. (Again, unless you're going for free or part time while working at a good job where you can utilize the MBA.)
That's what I told my spouse when he was considering law school. I told him, you'll have a 3 year gap on your resume and if you don't get a job right away, it will soon become a 4 year gap. That's a big chunk of time out of the workforce.
In all fairness, though, it wouldn't really be a resume gap. The time spent going to school would be fine, insofar as a resume is concerned. But yes, the time afterward becomes worrisome if a good job isn't offered relatively quickly.
And, of course, the three years of foregone (or mostly foregone) income is a huge issue.
My attorney friends tell me its not a good idea. Unless you're at a top-10 program or the top 10% of your class from a Tier 2 law school, you're likely not getting a coveted job at a large law firm (unless you already have connections). However, you will likely be $250k-$300k in debt and lucky to grab a paralegal job or some low paying role at a small firm. Not a good value proposition.
Out of curiosity, any lawyers out there know how good the job market is for someone with a bachelor's and a paralegal certification? Are paralegal jobs increasingly being taken by those holding JD's, or is there the same bias which the corporate world holds that someone with a JD will jump ship too soon once they have some experience? I was initially dismissive when someone else suggested the paralegal cert up thread, but it could make a lot of sense for someone who doesn't have a firm footing in a professional track and is looking for a living wage job. Definitely less risk in terms of money and time than a JD for those who are interested in law but not sure if the investment in a JD is worthwhile. I know a few people that flirted with law school, went the paralegal route first to test the waters then ran far, far away from law.
The other issue with middling lawyers having difficulty landing jobs is the grunt work that junior associates used to handle while they were paying their dues is increasingly either being offshored or handled via automation / e-discovery. Perhaps even the cruddy temp document review work will become less available over time.
It would have been interesting if the OP set up a poll as to whether a JD is worthwhile - maybe with parameters for someone that is wishy-washy (ie, not necessarily passionate) and was an average student in undergrad. The results would probably be 95% no. If the same question were asked for becoming a non-MD medical professional like a physical therapist the results would probably be 95% yes.
That's what I told my spouse when he was considering law school. I told him, you'll have a 3 year gap on your resume and if you don't get a job right away, it will soon become a 4 year gap. That's a big chunk of time out of the workforce.
If you can explain a 3 or 4 year gap in employment as "I was in law school" and have passed your bar exam and are ready to go to work as a lawyer - to me that is a perfectly good explanation.
If you spend the time and you eventually drop out, yeah, that does not look as good, although, I don't see it as a reason to refuse to hire a person. They tried, they failed. At least they do not have to[SIZE=3], [/SIZE]as Roosevelt the Great put it: "take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat".
Now if your point is that you take 4 years out of your earning, working life, that is true, and you have to weigh the higher salary you should be able to pull down when you can put "esquire" after your name, and the satisfaction of doing a job you really like, against the loss of 4 years of your "old job" income, and probably going into student loan debt.
Something else to consider, is that you can get (or make) a job as a lawyer almost anywhere, while a lot of MBA/CPA type jobs are *mostly* in larger cities (or at least that's my impression, perhaps I am wrong?) Probably the "big money" jobs working for big law firms are mostly in big cities.
Again (IMHO) if you don't think you would really like practicing law, at least a few aspects of practice, it's not a good fit *for you*. And I would again repeat that getting some sort of intern or paralegal experience with a practicing lawyer would be one good way to figure out if you have any real basis to think you would like and be good at the job. Like "riding along" with a cop for a few nights, to see how the job is in real life, as opposed to Hollywood entertainment that is loosely based on the job (and Hollywood is going to omit the boring, repetitive, routine aspects of any job, because their aim is to entertain, not to educate).
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Out of curiosity, any lawyers out there know how good the job market is for someone with a bachelor's and a paralegal certification? Are paralegal jobs increasingly being taken by those holding JD's, or is there the same bias which the corporate world holds that someone with a JD will jump ship too soon once they have some experience? I was initially dismissive when someone else suggested the paralegal cert up thread, but it could make a lot of sense for someone who doesn't have a firm footing in a professional track and is looking for a living wage job. Definitely less risk in terms of money and time than a JD for those who are interested in law but not sure if the investment in a JD is worthwhile. I know a few people that flirted with law school, went the paralegal route first to test the waters then ran far, far away from law.
The other issue with middling lawyers having difficulty landing jobs is the grunt work that junior associates used to handle while they were paying their dues is increasingly either being offshored or handled via automation / e-discovery. Perhaps even the cruddy temp document review work will become less available over time.
It would have been interesting if the OP set up a poll as to whether a JD is worthwhile - maybe with parameters for someone that is wishy-washy (ie, not necessarily passionate) and was an average student in undergrad. The results would probably be 95% no. If the same question were asked for becoming a non-MD medical professional like a physical therapist the results would probably be 95% yes.
I have long thought that a paralegal job is actually quite a good choice and it varies a whole lot. But, there are some very well paying paralegal positions out there that have great job stability. I've seen many instances where good paralegals make more than many lawyers (sometimes more than lawyers in the firm), and in some cases they are more valuable. Paralegals (and sometimes legal secretaries) run the entire gamut -- some are barely literate, glorified receptionists. Others are extremely capable, smart and competent employees and know more than many lawyers. I think going the paralegal route is a very good choice for someone who perhaps thinks they may be interested in law, but isn't certain or isn't ready to commit the money. Sometimes it works out well -- either the paralegal ends up happy as a paralegal, or sometimes they decide to go to law school, but they are better informed about what the law is all about, often do quite well in law school, and sometimes have an "in" with a firm. And if it doesn't work out, well, not all that much has been lost -- it isn't as difficult to explain a career change and there isn't the issue of law school debt.
And yes, a lot of the "grunt work" is farmed out to doc review temps. I've actually seen rates for doc review *fall* over the last 10-15 years. I've seen some ads that just make me wonder -- pay rates as low as $15-$19/hour. Sometimes they've even been in cities where they ask people to move to the city (having advertised nationwide), but don't pay for any sort of housing. For a job with zero security -- that could end literally at any time, that's a big ask for low pay. But, I'm sure they found people desperate enough to do it.
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Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
Something else to consider, is that you can get (or make) a job as a lawyer almost anywhere, while a lot of MBA/CPA type jobs are *mostly* in larger cities (or at least that's my impression, perhaps I am wrong?) Probably the "big money" jobs working for big law firms are mostly in big cities.
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This is a little bit true, but also not really. It isn't really that easy to just pick up and move a legal career -- first, there is the obvious issue of bar membership. You might be able to waive into another state's bar under certain conditions, but, even then, it is a PITA. If not, you have to take the other state's bar exam and jump through all the hoops that applying to the bar entails. And, even after gaining admission to the state bar, you don't have the contacts you had in the old location, you don't know the local rules of the courts, you don't know the procedures as far as filing, serving process, and all the other technical details that you learn not in law school, but during clerkships and during your early working years.
It can be done, and people do it, but it's not really so easy.
And law jobs do tend to be in big cities. But there are some small town lawyers, just like there are small town CPAs and small town businesspeople.
If you can explain a 3 or 4 year gap in employment as "I was in law school" and have passed your bar exam and are ready to go to work as a lawyer - to me that is a perfectly good explanation.
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The issue is if they can't get a lawyer job with their law degree. That's what I was referring to. Then trying to find say, a non legal corporate job, the gap will harm them. Not necessarily just because it looks bad on a resume to have a gap, but they have missed out on three years of work experience. The people who graduated college with them will be 3 years ahead of them in their careers. That's fairly significant.
Are paralegal jobs increasingly being taken by those holding JD's, or is there the same bias which the corporate world holds that someone with a JD will jump ship too soon once they have some experience? .
There are tons of people applying for paralegal jobs. There are no actual requirements to work as a paralegal, as in, the state doesn't require any kind of certification to work in this job category. A lawyer can hire whoever they want. There are even convicted felons who work as paralegals. Since the field is wide open to so many people, there are lots of people competing for paralegal jobs. That means it's fairly difficult to get one.
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