Aloha4 wrote:Great Satchmo wrote:LawandOrder wrote:You certainly are right about it being a case of difference of expectations and outlook on life. You consider $60k starting plus low debt as at least not failing, but if I am going to invest $150,000 in debt plus a similiar forgone amount in income from the three years spent in law school, I think I am fully justified in expecting a job paying deep in to the $100s starting.
I guess I don't get it. I am about a year out of undergrad with one of those "practical majors" making closer to 60 than to 30 and I certainly don't feel like I've succeeded. Why would I want to go to law school and end up in the same position I am now? That's a massive waste of time and money.
This is not meant to be a touchy-feely reply, but more so a mature reflection:
Success isn't defined by the salary you make your first year out of school. If you are motivated by level of compensation, drop law and go to medical school and pick a specialty that pays highly.
Surely making a solid living is a goal for most, if not all. However, if you don't derive happiness or meaning from where you spend 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week...no matter how much you make, you won't be a success.
Agree that success should be derived from something else in addition to money. Disagree with the Med School point. Med School is much more competetive and cuthroat than law school is ( Except maybe 1L). To make it through med school or any grad school really, you have to have a passion about the subject, or you need to become passionate while in school.
I personally think money is pretty important, and would strive for big law, but you are correct that it isn't big law or busy at all. I mean yes it does suck in a way to be making only 60k when you come out since you could have made that before law school. But you can gain valuable experience and eventually open a practice which can be very lucrative.
It's so easy to focus on first year salary with schools trying to show it off and the debt accumulated in school being so central and in the forefront of life considerations.
However, if you start at $60k a year, but end up closer to $100k within 3-5 years of working, it's likely not something you would be able to do with just the UG degree (assuming). Earning POTENTIAL is going to be higher, in most cases, having a JD than just a BA/BS.
Trust me, I believe money is important. I definitely want to make as much as possible. However, I've worked jobs that I can't stand, and there is no amount of money worth hating waking up knowing you have to go to a job you abhor. Especially considering what I hear about the highly paying, and competitive law jobs, regarding the massive amount of time you will spend in the office.
I'm not some altruist and I don't wear rose-colored glasses. Money matters. However, it seems there is a contingent of posters here whose interest in law school seems to be purely salary-driven. If it works out, good for them, but for the majority of us (with souls), what we actually do matters.