Interesting Overview of Law as a Profession Forum

[gustrock]

Hey guys. I came across this broad overview of Law as a profession from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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What caught my eye is the bit on Job Outlook, where it states that between 2008 and 2018, the employment of lawyers is expected to grow about 13 percent. Although a daunting figure, this is on par with all occupations. Furthermore, an increased demand for lawyers is also supposed to be prevalent, due to the complexity of the profession.

What this tells me is that yes, of course there is competition amongst law school graduates. However, whatever profession you choose is going to be competitive. Nothing in life worth achieving is going to be easy.

[SamSeaborn2016]

This is good info and worthwhile for everyone to keep in mind. I think the primary concern for many potential law students is the cost of getting a legal career, though. Many other career fields don't require the costly investment (3 years of law school tuition and cost of living) to start. The usual debate on the boards stems from students spending $150-200k on school to end up making far less than the (relatively) rare BigLaw $160k/yr.

Law school, like everything else in life, is another exercise in cost/benefit analysis.

[Chichaca]

If this were facebook I would "like" your post.

[Herb Watchfell]

If this were facebook I would "like" your post.

If you were my child, I'd spank you for being such a useless fool.

[Renzo]

Reading a little further down the report:

Competition for job openings should continue to be keen because of the large number of students graduating from law school each year. Graduates with superior academic records from highly regarded law schools will have the best job opportunities.
...
As in the past, some graduates may have to accept positions outside of their field of interest or for which they feel overqualified. Some recent law school graduates who have been unable to find permanent positions are turning to the growing number of temporary staffing firms that place attorneys in short-term jobs. This service allows companies to hire lawyers on an “as-needed” basis and permits beginning lawyers to develop practical skills.

[gustrock]

Damnit

[leron]

Law school, like everything else in life, is another exercise in cost/benefit analysis.

not everything in life is a cost/benefit analysis. just sayin

[SamSeaborn2016]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily a cold, calculating person but it seems to me any decision we make is a cost/benefit analysis of some sorts. Some decisions have negligible cost or nebulous benefits but they are still there.

That said, I don't think the legal community is as doom and gloom is it is made out to be but I also don't think the employment prospects are nearly as good as schools try to make them out to be.