IvyGrad/BigLaw: Law School Worst Decision in Life Forum

[firstpagegrad]

If he could do it all again, he wouldn't.

"Going to law school was the biggest mistake of my life," he says. "Yes, absolutely the worst decision I've ever made. It's not a complete mistake, I just wish I'd gone about it differently. I probably would have gone to a lower ranked school with a bigger scholarship. I would have also gone to business school maybe. It's one year shorter."


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/law-scho ... ake-2013-1

[cinephile]

And he's one of the lucky ones; at least he has a job.

[toothbrush]

Perhaps the sentiment / salient point is real, but this is up there for one of the worst articles I've ever read.

Anyone else agree?

[Hattori Hanzo]

I can't remember the last time I read an article that was as bad as this one.

[toothbrush]

I can't remember the last time I read an article that was as bad as this one.

[Tiago Splitter]

Perhaps the sentiment / salient point is real, but this is up there for one of the worst articles I've ever read.

Anyone else agree?

It read like an article from The Onion.

[AllTheLawz]

Funny thing is.. that dude thinks he would like his job better if he went to B-school. Wrong. Corporate jobs are all boring. If he wanted some excitement he should've been a fire fighter.

[hume85]

I don't think this article needed to be written.

[StylinNProfilin]

I want the time back I spent reading this article

[toothbrush]

I want the time back I spent reading this article

30 seconds ? It took longer to load.. that was the first warning.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Some guy with no concrete ideas about what he actually wants to do professionally ("Maybe I should have gotten an MBA instead" = no fucking idea) who thinks he deserves to be paid lots of money to do something he finds interesting at 25, 26, 27. Cool.

[cinephile]

This was my favorite part:

"I'm pretty sure they're about to find me out. I mean I'm not really a lawyer: I'm a moron. If you task me with anything that is remotely important, because I couldn't care less about it, I'm not going to be able to do it and everyone will get mad at me — so before I get found out I have to leave," he says. "Right now I have a good reputation there, but it's going to turn sour in another month or two."

This is something I feel like almost anyone who's had any position of responsibility can identify with. It's terrifying and real and human. And honestly, I wish people discussed this sort of thing more, because then we could all feel safe in knowing that we have no idea what we're doing rather than think you're just the outlier and all your colleagues are so much more secure.

[hume85]

This was my favorite part:

"I'm pretty sure they're about to find me out. I mean I'm not really a lawyer: I'm a moron. If you task me with anything that is remotely important, because I couldn't care less about it, I'm not going to be able to do it and everyone will get mad at me — so before I get found out I have to leave," he says. "Right now I have a good reputation there, but it's going to turn sour in another month or two."

This is something I feel like almost anyone who's had any position of responsibility can identify with. It's terrifying and real and human. And honestly, I wish people discussed this sort of thing more, because then we could all feel safe in knowing that we have no idea what we're doing rather than think you're just the outlier and all your colleagues are so much more secure.

I can definitely relate to this.

[NinerFan]

This was my favorite part:

"I'm pretty sure they're about to find me out. I mean I'm not really a lawyer: I'm a moron. If you task me with anything that is remotely important, because I couldn't care less about it, I'm not going to be able to do it and everyone will get mad at me — so before I get found out I have to leave," he says. "Right now I have a good reputation there, but it's going to turn sour in another month or two."

This is something I feel like almost anyone who's had any position of responsibility can identify with. It's terrifying and real and human. And honestly, I wish people discussed this sort of thing more, because then we could all feel safe in knowing that we have no idea what we're doing rather than think you're just the outlier and all your colleagues are so much more secure.

Hell, I felt like that during my SA summer and I barely got anything that was all that important to do.

[dextermorgan]

Except that a lower ranked school with a bigger scholarship probably would have prevented him from getting biglaw.

[JCougar]

Except that a lower ranked school with a bigger scholarship probably would have prevented him from getting biglaw.

I think that was his point. That he'd be happier graduating with less debt, even if he got a different job that didn't pay nearly as much.

[JCougar]

That guy is not saying anything different from the handful of people I know that are in Biglaw. Despite the high pay, associate turnover is 75% after 5 years. From what I gather, about half of that is people leaving on their own, and the other half is people getting pushed out.

How bad does a job have to be to turn down $200K/year in an industry where the people that even make it as a lawyer average about $100K in salary long-term?

[fatduck]

That guy is not saying anything different from the handful of people I know that are in Biglaw. Despite the high pay, associate turnover is 75% after 5 years. From what I gather, about half of that is people leaving on their own, and the other half is people getting pushed out.

How bad does a job have to be to turn down $200K/year in an industry where the people that even make it as a lawyer average about $100K in salary long-term?

what are you asking? why do people leave biglaw?

[JCougar]

That guy is not saying anything different from the handful of people I know that are in Biglaw. Despite the high pay, associate turnover is 75% after 5 years. From what I gather, about half of that is people leaving on their own, and the other half is people getting pushed out.

How bad does a job have to be to turn down $200K/year in an industry where the people that even make it as a lawyer average about $100K in salary long-term?

what are you asking? why do people leave biglaw?

It was a rhetorical question.

[NoodleyOne]

That guy is not saying anything different from the handful of people I know that are in Biglaw. Despite the high pay, associate turnover is 75% after 5 years. From what I gather, about half of that is people leaving on their own, and the other half is people getting pushed out.

How bad does a job have to be to turn down $200K/year in an industry where the people that even make it as a lawyer average about $100K in salary long-term?

what are you asking? why do people leave biglaw?

It was a rhetorical question.

Because it's the one plausible outcome that allows people to service the colossal debt load? BigLaw is grueling work, but it pays the (large) bills. I'm 0L so I know exactly shit, but I honestly think it's something that I would be fine with. I'm already used to working really long hours, it's the just responsibility that is daunting.

[cinephile]

[quote="NoodleyOne" It allows people to service the colossal debt load? BigLaw is grueling work, but it pays the (large) bills. I'm 0L so I know exactly shit, but I honestly think it's something that I would be fine with. I'm already used to working really long hours, it's the just responsibility that is daunting.[/quote]

I thought the problem was that it was simultaneously stressful and boring, so you get the worst of all possible worlds.

[firstpagegrad]

[quote="NoodleyOne" It allows people to service the colossal debt load? BigLaw is grueling work, but it pays the (large) bills. I'm 0L so I know exactly shit, but I honestly think it's something that I would be fine with. I'm already used to working really long hours, it's the just responsibility that is daunting.

I thought the problem was that it was simultaneously stressful and boring, so you get the worst of all possible worlds.[/quote]

Don't forget that most of the people are really unpleasant, too. So you have the trifecta of misery.