My wife makes 110k, 27 years old and wants to go to Law sch Forum

[ViIIager]

Part-time law school FTW in this case. Keep the income and let her sweat the night school while you play Xbox.

I mean, if you're willing to give her up for four years while she hits work then school then sleeps for an hour each night.

[dudester]

Is her MBA in Finance from U of Phoenix online?

[ViIIager]

Is her MBA in Finance from U of Phoenix online?

USNWR puts Pheonix Online's Pantless Law School as a T-14 in the soon-to-be-released 2011 rankings. I totally saw it on a blog, which means it must be true.

Even if its an MBA in Proctology, she's still scoring a decent salary.

[itsmytime10]

thanks for your input I will be showing her this link

[itsmytime10]

Is her MBA in Finance from U of Phoenix online?

USNWR puts Pheonix Online's Pantless Law School as a T-14 in the soon-to-be-released 2011 rankings. I totally saw it on a blog, which means it must be true.

Even if its an MBA in Proctology, she's still scoring a decent salary.

lol. It is actually from a top20

[Apple Tree]

Man, I chose the wrong filed!

[UFMatt]

OP, if your wife wants to go, then you should support her. That being said, I can understand your hesitation given the short-term financial swing.

I'm 27 with a PhD and have a comfortable salary. I'm going to law school this fall. A person should choose the career that they believe will suit them the best. "You only live once" is a cliche that has factored into my decision. There is also reason to believe that a JD will complement other advanced degrees, so long-term earning potential will be higher.

[yourdadcalled]

if i were a 20-something making 110K, no way in hell would i go to law school. too bad i came out of undergrad with a worthless degree.

[HiLine]

if i were a 20-something making 110K, no way in hell would i go to law school. too bad i came out of undergrad with a worthless degree.

It's not about the salary but the kind of job you wish to do.

[fenderjsm88]

She has her MBA, now it's your turn. Tell her no.

Something tells me that if she is the one bringing in 110k a year, she's gonna do whatever the hell she wants.

But, personally, I would still try to dissuade her from doing it, since she's gonna add to your collective debt and there goes the 110k a year that you are benefiting from.

[SteelReserve]

OP, can your wife even list the reasons she wants to go to law school and make a good case for why she wants to go?

The vast majority of people working in big firms hate it, and many if not most private practitioners hate it as well. The people that tend to like their jobs in the law work for government, non profits or in the judiciary like perma-clerks.

Obviously going to law school will very likely be a financial loser for her, so the only rational argument is that she has some passionate, well-thought out reason for becoming a lawyer at 30. So she needs to be able to describe what lawyers do day to day, evaluate if she likes legal research and writing, likes long hours, etc. Some nagging desire to "be a lawyer since I was a kid" is a ridiculous justification for going to school for anyone, let alone someone who is making bank at a young age and excelling in their field of work.

[FLS08]

If being a lawyer would really make her significantly happier over the course of her career (enough to outweigh the probable financial hit), then I think it is worth it. However, my concern here is that she may *think* it'll make her that much happier, but realize several years later that she was wrong. Is there any way she can wait a few years to apply, or maybe apply but defer matriculation for a year? That way she could kind of experience the process through you and gather more concrete information before making a final decision. Also it would make the finances easier to swallow--she could accumulate some savings to decrease her reliance on high-interest loans, and you would be out in the workforce making money while she is wrapping up her degree.

[r6_philly]

if i were a 20-something making 110K, no way in hell would i go to law school. too bad i came out of undergrad with a worthless degree.

It's not about the salary but the kind of job you wish to do.

I second that. I have the potential to make near big law money now that I went back and finished school. I have no interest what-so-ever. I will take a 50k a year teaching job over the $120-150 software development management positions that I over qualifies for. Stress and quality of daily life is important, which is probably also why I wouldn't seriously pursue big law. But at least big law is new and different, novelty may not wear off in a little while.

To OP: support her in anyway you can, at long as it is practical enough that won't sacrifice both of your living standards unnecessarily. You will be done school in 3 years, at which time you should be able to replace her 110k income. If you buys learn to live off 100k (your salary - loan repayments) then she can go and pursue her dream. I am going to support my wife the same way, she wants to go for a PhD and I will absolutely support her the whole way - after I finish law school. As a matter of fact, as long as I can provide a comfortable living, she can get a PhD and not use it to get a new job, I would not have a problem with it.

The best advice for a couple: you guys are going to go down that road together, so work with each other and see how much/what you can BOTH accept. Money isn't everything, happiness between you is more important.

[dudester]

if i were a 20-something making 110K, no way in hell would i go to law school. too bad i came out of undergrad with a worthless degree.

It's not about the salary but the kind of job you wish to do.

I second that. I have the potential to make near big law money now that I went back and finished school. I have no interest what-so-ever. I will take a 50k a year teaching job over the $120-150 software development management positions that I over qualifies for. Stress and quality of daily life is important, which is probably also why I wouldn't seriously pursue big law. But at least big law is new and different, novelty may not wear off in a little while.

To OP: support her in anyway you can, at long as it is practical enough that won't sacrifice both of your living standards unnecessarily. You will be done school in 3 years, at which time you should be able to replace her 110k income. If you buys learn to live off 100k (your salary - loan repayments) then she can go and pursue her dream. I am going to support my wife the same way, she wants to go for a PhD and I will absolutely support her the whole way - after I finish law school. As a matter of fact, as long as I can provide a comfortable living, she can get a PhD and not use it to get a new job, I would not have a problem with it.

The best advice for a couple: you guys are going to go down that road together, so work with each other and see how much/what you can BOTH accept. Money isn't everything, happiness between you is more important.

Meh, happiness is overrated. Show me the money!

[r6_philly]

Meh, happiness is overrated. Show me the money!

I presume you are going to spend the money instead of sitting on it forever - to buy something that makes you happy

Edit: also I didn't quite mean personal happiness (although I do feel this way anyway), I meant happiness within the marriage.

[cubswin]

You can heckle her by telling her she's going to be a "degree collector." Ask her if she's going to want to do a PhD or go to Med school once she's been a lawyer for 3 years.

On a serious note, I sort of agree with the T5 comment, but I would include Chicago as a possible option.
~HYSCNC --> ~ Law School for Wife

[goldschlager]

she already has a salary of 110k, and lets assume law school is gonna be 100k.

she clearly can't work during law school (unless i guess she does a 4 year evening program) so that 330k in lost income.

to pay she would need to take out loans, so thats 100k in the hole.

so after 3 years you will have costed yourself 430k, and best case scenario she graduates at the top of HYS and makes 150k as a starting associate in biglaw. In the same three years, she could be promoted and make near the same amount of money, without the lost income, or debt.

[kalvano]

I like how you ask us, as if your opinion actually matters.

[ughOSU]

Meh, happiness is overrated. Show me the money!

i'm happiest when I can buy what I want any time that I want.

OP, going to law school will likely make no financial sense for your wife (depending on the field she's in and earning potential, schools she gets in to, etc.). You should try to convince her that you need it to make at least a little financial sense. She'll probably do whatever she wants to anyway, so it might not even be worth it to try though.

[sanpiero]

T10, T30 w full/close to full scholly, or remain in finance FTW

[keg411]

If it's something she really wants to do, convince her to wait until you are finished. If she still wants to go then, after seeing what you go through, then she can. She may decide after that to stick with finance or to go to LS.

I'm leaving a job, but I don't make anywhere even close to the money she does (more like 30-40k/year).

[MJMD]

If she doesn't enjoy what she's doing now, and practicing law has always been her dream, then she should do it, and, as some have said, the sooner the better.

But if I were her I wouldn't be doing it too soon. I would say that she should at least delay her decision until after your 1L year: the extra 110k would greatly reduce your worries about your savingsm, and could make all the difference in remaining solvent.

If this is really her dream, something she's going to do eventually with or without you, then you could potentially stagger it further, getting a legal job near the school she eventually chooses to attend and starting work either one year or just before she begins school. Because clearly, given her current salary, it doesn't make sense for her to go anyplace other than a T14, and that may entail a move. Delaying a year or more would give more than enough time for her to attain her maximum possible LSAT score.

[SBimmer]

Not to hijack this post but I make more than OP's wife, have her by eighteen years and I'm married with a child, and yes, I'm seriously considering law school. I know, most of you would say, "Stick with your current job/career." However, life is too short to go through it wondering "I should have gone to law school when I had a chance." I'm shooting for T14/T28 and BigLaw. I'm going for it if accepted to T14/T28. No looking back.

[itsmytime10]

Not to hijack this post but I make more than OP's wife, have her by eighteen years and I'm married with a child, and yes, I'm seriously considering law school. I know, most of you would say, "Stick with your current job/career." However, life is too short to go through it wondering "I should have gone to law school when I had a chance." I'm shooting for T14/T28 and BigLaw. I'm going for it if accepted to T14/T28. No looking back.

Nice. what kind of job do you do? did you not like it?

[itsmytime10]

If it's something she really wants to do, convince her to wait until you are finished. If she still wants to go then, after seeing what you go through, then she can. She may decide after that to stick with finance or to go to LS.

I'm leaving a job, but I don't make anywhere even close to the money she does (more like 30-40k/year).

Well, waiting till i am finished doesnt seem to be a good idea to her because, we want to have kids and she rather get done with school before we have kids