I regret having gone to law school Forum

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nycparalegal

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by nycparalegal » Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:15 pm

nealric wrote:
If you don't want to be a lawyer or hate law, then even going to Yale won't get you hired: interviewers can smell apathy from a mile away.
Going to Yale will get you a biglaw job as long as you can at least do a reasonable job of feigning interest in the law. For all practical purposes, nobody graduates from Yale without a job unless they don't want one. What graduating from Yale won't do is make your career.
I hate myself for replying to this.. and I know as a pre-0L people are going to jump on me, but from this thread it seems that most of you grossly misunderstand what networking is. As a high performing minority I have had the opportunity to be a part of professional diversity programs (legal and non-legal) that have allowed me to go a bit into the business world. From what I have seen and been told, networking means to keep in touch with/update the places you have worked or interned for, staying in touch with professors and professional friends and making sure to send at least a "thank you" to people you have been directly introduced through a professional acquaintance(i met you with *acquaintance* the other day and would like to say thanks for your time, etc.). This whole just meeting someone and talking your way into a job thing doesnt exist..
This is right. Nobody is going to offer you a job because you talked a good game at a "networking" event. You have to build relationships over time.
Which is almost impossible to do unless you know people or you're already in a network where you can be able to build those relationships

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Cleareyes

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by Cleareyes » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:48 pm

Matthies wrote:


Proactive Job Search Strategies:

Getting involved in the legal community outside of school so you can hear about potions before others do

So just to be clear, black magic should be part of any reasonable JDs job search strategy? He who gets the potions gets the jobs!

keg411

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by keg411 » Mon Jun 28, 2010 5:53 pm

OP never answered my questions :(.

nycparalegal

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by nycparalegal » Mon Jun 28, 2010 5:55 pm

keg411 wrote:OP never answered my questions :(.
OP didn't say anything after the first page.

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nealric

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by nealric » Mon Jun 28, 2010 5:59 pm

Which is almost impossible to do unless you know people or you're already in a network where you can be able to build those relationships
I think it's very possible for certain personality types. There are certain people who are just good at making connections. I have an aunt like this. She never graduated from college, but makes really good money because she has an amazing personality and works connections like nobody's business.

That said, I think for people who don't have a personality like my aunt, it's going to be an uphill battle. Telling someone who is naturally an introvert to get a job by networking is probably no better than telling someone who does poorly academically to just get smarter. While everyone can benefit from networking, it's not a trump card if you aren't socially inclined.

The good news is I think that the vast majority of people are somewhere in the middle. There are things that even an introvert can do to get their name out there and build relationships.

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Matthies

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by Matthies » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:32 pm

Cleareyes wrote:
Matthies wrote:


Proactive Job Search Strategies:

Getting involved in the legal community outside of school so you can hear about potions before others do

So just to be clear, black magic should be part of any reasonable JDs job search strategy? He who gets the potions gets the jobs!
Did you not read my other post about the Biglaw fairy and how you make partner at a huge firm? They are all related.

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romothesavior

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by romothesavior » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:34 pm

Seriously, blame it on the economy:

http://www.youtube.com/user/LegalFollie ... 36FAYJ1I04

r6_philly

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by r6_philly » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:10 am

It is very hard to get any entry level jobs right now, in any career field.

That said, there are many open (and continue to be open) positions in the tech sector. The problem is most candidates do not qualify for those positions. I had no trouble find a great job as soon as my schedule freed up (2 weeks, 5 interviews, multiple offers, no stress, mid to big law money). It almost make it seem like there is no financial incentive at all for me to go to law school. Well at least I will have a great back up should I not find a job after ls.

If you look on http://www.careeronestop.org/, the growth are indeed in the tech and healthcare industries. I think they listed top 10 careers and more than half are software engineering/programming related. If people are looking for a decent career, look into CS/SE. The thing is, most people I ever worked with are B-C students. so you can do well even if you don't do the best in school.

Law isn't the golden ticket, there are better options. Go to LS if you like the field, not for the promise of money.

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artichoke

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Re: I regret having gone to law school

Post by artichoke » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:25 am

Sorry to hear this. I hope the job market is better when I graduate, I wish you well.

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