Will attending law school be worth it in 3-5 years? Forum

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gladiator04

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Will attending law school be worth it in 3-5 years?

Post by gladiator04 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 11:53 pm

As the title suggests, I'm interested in applying to law school in the future. I'm a recent graduate working in the telecom industry, in a non-law related role, and I'd like to continue working for a few more years before I start applying.

Obviously, no one can predict the future, but based your experiences and knowledge, what's everyone's opinions on going to law school in a few more years and the how the legal-field is going to change? I feel like the morale for going to law school has been decreasing for a while, especially if not attending a high-caliber school, and it seems - I've actually heard this from a few older attorneys - that the legal industry is waning down, though I hope someone corrects me wrong.

As much as I would like to study law, I have to be practical, and frankly I'm not brave enough to "go" without realistic affirmation, which is why I set aside a few years (also for financial reasons).

Anyhow...insights, comments, criticisms, and life-advices are appreciated. Thanks

QContinuum

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Re: Will attending law school be worth it in 3-5 years?

Post by QContinuum » Fri Nov 16, 2018 1:03 am

Well, it boils down to, why are you considering law school? I always tell people, don't go to law school for the money. To make a BigLaw paycheck, you'd want to attend a Top 13/Top 20 law school - and even then, you'd have to work ridiculously long & unpredictable hours for the money, and likely have a hefty student loan to pay off. If you can get into a Top 13/Top 20 law school, you very likely have the background & skills to make a great living in some other field with much better QOL. If you can't get into a Top 13/Top 20 law school, you very likely wouldn't be able to get a BigLaw paycheck anyway out of law school. So, don't go to law school for the money.

Go Nats!

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Re: Will attending law school be worth it in 3-5 years?

Post by Go Nats! » Wed Dec 05, 2018 6:27 pm

QContinuum is right. He's posing the right question too. I've been out of law school for five years now and I'm very happy with what I've done with my degree. It was "worth it" for me, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do and I sort of did it. You're asking the wrong question. It's not about whether the people in this forum think law school will be worth attending. The question you should be asking yourself is whether law school will bring you closer to what you want to achieve in your career and in your life. You could go to a great law school, the legal market could be excellent and you could get a biglaw job with ease but if you don't have a firm conception of what's going to make you happy or feel fulfilled then no I don't think law school will be "worth it" to you.

Npret

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Re: Will attending law school be worth it in 3-5 years?

Post by Npret » Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:02 am

gladiator04 wrote:As the title suggests, I'm interested in applying to law school in the future. I'm a recent graduate working in the telecom industry, in a non-law related role, and I'd like to continue working for a few more years before I start applying.

Obviously, no one can predict the future, but based your experiences and knowledge, what's everyone's opinions on going to law school in a few more years and the how the legal-field is going to change? I feel like the morale for going to law school has been decreasing for a while, especially if not attending a high-caliber school, and it seems - I've actually heard this from a few older attorneys - that the legal industry is waning down, though I hope someone corrects me wrong.

As much as I would like to study law, I have to be practical, and frankly I'm not brave enough to "go" without realistic affirmation, which is why I set aside a few years (also for financial reasons).

Anyhow...insights, comments, criticisms, and life-advices are appreciated. Thanks
The only future guarantee about law school is that tuition will keep increasing. I thought law school was too expensive when people had $150,000 or so of debt, now people are looking at twice that amount.
If you can build a career with the credentials you have, you should look to that first.

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