Consulting vs. Law School Forum

mdrunner23 · Post by **mdrunner23** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:24 pm

Hi all.

Recently just received an offer for a consulting firm (not Big 3). I've always wanted to go to law school, but with this offer I figure that I'll at least defer for the next 2 years. Is it worth it to go back to law school after? I have no real aspirations for big law.

My ultimate goal would be to open up a small practice and mainly do real estate law.However with getting a decently paying job, it seems like it may not be worth it to go.

thoughts?

dongdong · Post by **dongdong** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:35 pm

Nope nope nope. You don't want 200k~ in student loans and 3 years out of the workforce for a shot at maybe paying back a law school via private practice real estate law.

Take the job and be happy. The rest of us are the suckers.

bizzybone1313 · Post by **bizzybone1313** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:51 pm

I did consulting for a year. Consulting is cool if you actually want to do the work and are happy there. I kind of just fell into a consulting job. I didn't plan to work there since my freshman year in college. The worst thing you can do is not have a LSAT score before beginning work as a consultant. Being a consultant is a demanding and stressful job. You have to be fully committed to it if you wish to do well. I couldn't properly prep for the LSAT, so I had to quit my consulting job. I was making $60K at the time.

jingosaur · Post by **jingosaur** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:20 am

OP, I've been a consultant since graduating undergrad in 2011 and I'm applying to law school this year. Consulting was a pretty good start for me and I'm getting out because management has a very different plan for me than I have. On the surface, it looks like consulting may be a better path for you for now. You'll learn a lot, make some nice money, and have some time in the real world to decide what you want to do in life. You can always go from consulting to law school, but law school to consulting is incredibly difficult.

PM me if you want to know more. Also, don't listen to BizzyBone. You can get a good LSAT score while working full time. And good work experience early on is really important if you want to develop a good career. Whatever you do, don't quit your consulting job to study for the LSAT full time.

bizzybone1313 · Post by **bizzybone1313** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:28 am

jingosaur wrote:OP, I've been a consultant since graduating undergrad in 2011 and I'm applying to law school this year. Consulting was a pretty good start for me and I'm getting out because management has a very different plan for me than I have. On the surface, it looks like consulting may be a better path for you for now. You'll learn a lot, make some nice money, and have some time in the real world to decide what you want to do in life. You can always go from consulting to law school, but law school to consulting is incredibly difficult.

PM me if you want to know more. Also, don't listen to BizzyBone. You can get a good LSAT score while working full time. And good work experience early on is really important if you want to develop a good career. Whatever you do, don't quit your consulting job to study for the LSAT full time.

He hasn't started working yet. He should delay his start date. OP, you are going to have a very difficult time getting a top notch LSAT score while working full-time.

During my time in consulting, I traveled to Singapore, Norway, Michigan, Chicago, Wisconsin and a bunch of other places. When I was in the airplane on my way to Singapore, I was chugging through LR problems. Sounds like fun, huh? In consulting, you will probably be working 50ish hours per week, especially if you are in a high demand division.

20141023 · Post by **20141023** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:17 am

mdrunner23 · Post by **mdrunner23** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:51 am

Thanks everyone for the replies! They are much appreciated. I will probably have a lot of down time over winter break/spring semester to get started on the LSAT. I agree that it may be best to take the test before I start my job in the summer.

As far as consulting- I will be working with the fed gov't. The salary is pretty good and the hours may be a bit better than say commercial consulting. It definitely aligns with my major, just not my career goals as much. Honestly, I never anticipated I would get a job right after college. Law school is a goal of mine, I just thought I would go sooner rather than later.

How difficult is it to attend a part time program such as Georgetown or GW? I will be working in DC.

20141023 · Post by **20141023** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 2:12 am

dnptan · Post by **dnptan** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:43 am

+1 to Regulus. As a consultant myself (since 2012) I find that having no gap in my resume makes the application look stronger. Despite the long hours, it is intellectually stimulating work. You get tired, but your mind always stays sharp - this is something you can use to help you with the LSAT. Taking time off to do the LSAT, while effective for some people, can actually be a disadvantage.

But at the end of the day, the fact that you will get (hope!) a good score in the LSAT while doing consulting is more impressive on the resume. This is only for getting into law school. Undeniably when you get OUT of law school, your work in consulting will A) make it easier to land a job and B) give you connections in the professional world.

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