LS vs 55-65K job Forum

[PapantlaFlyer]

I was offered a position with a small but rapidly expanding company for 55-65K/yr. I've been accepted to a T10, non-HYS, LS and need to make a decision. Any thouhts? This is a really tough decision for me, so any input would be appreciated. Oh, and I'm a recent college grad.

[ogman05]

If you need the money take a year off and defer. If not don't. I am currently leaving a job with similar pay to go to a T10. Just depends on your situation. Definitely nothing huge to be worth staying long term. And the job could fall out if it takes a turn for the worst. Something to consider. The company I work for is fortune 500 so wouldnt be going anyhwere

[Borhas]

I was offered a position with a small but rapidly expanding company for 55-65K/yr. I've been accepted to a T10, non-HYS, LS and need to make a decision. Any thouhts? This is a really tough decision for me, so any input would be appreciated. Oh, and I'm a recent college grad.

If I were in your position, I'd go with the job

[chadwick218]

As a recent college grad, I would encourage you to accept the job upon the condition that the law school you were admitted to allows you to defer. Personally, I believe that just having a little equity and experience behind you can go a long ways.

[iShotFirst]

Do you think you'll like the job? Is it in a field you are interested in? Experience is definitely great but if you really want to be a lawyer and finances arent a concern, just go for law school. I am in a situation where staying and working another year would definitely be to my advantage, I make a very good salary, but I'm just not interested in the field anymore. Of course I have several years of work experience already, but looking back, if finances wasnt an issue, I would've loved to just start law school earlier in life and end up starting my law career earlier, rather than working for 5 years in a field I have very little interest in.

[reasonable_man]

Not that this should have any impact on your decision (never does in TLS land), but do you want to be a lawyer?

[zanyventer]

i'm leaving a job with similar pay to go to probably a T10. in my case i want to be a lawyer more than i want to stay.

[secant]

Doe the actual work interest you or is it just the money?
-If not, it's not that much money and I would say go to school.

Are you really sure you want to study law?
-If not then by all means take a job. You will likely incur a serious amount of debt in school and a year or two (with pay) to increase your certainty one way or the other would be a great investment.

Will the experience be relevant to areas of law that interest you and therefore help with a post-law school job search?
-If yes I think the experience would be useful. It may help you identify areas of practice that interest you and better equip you to gain employment in those areas. If you are just graduating from college you are probably young (compared to me) and a year or two working, especially with pay, might be well worth it.

Once you factor in your personal habits and the location of the job will the salary enable you to save/pay down existing debt or will it essentially be a break-even situation?
- If it's just the money you should really think about whether or not $65k will allow you to save or pay down debt at all. It may sound like a lot, but after taxes and expenses (depending on where and how you live of course) it would be easy to imagine breaking even.

[zanyventer]

Doe the actual work interest you or is it just the money?
-If not, it's not that much money and I would say go to school.

Are you really sure you want to study law?
-If not then by all means take a job. You will likely incur a serious amount of debt in school and a year or two (with pay) to increase your certainty one way or the other would be a great investment.

Will the experience be relevant to areas of law that interest you and therefore help with a post-law school job search?
-If yes I think the experience would be useful. It may help you identify areas of practice that interest you and better equip you to gain employment in those areas. If you are just graduating from college you are probably young (compared to me) and a year or two working, especially with pay, might be well worth it.

Once you factor in your personal habits and the location of the job will the salary enable you to save/pay down existing debt or will it essentially be a break-even situation?
- If it's just the money you should really think about whether or not $65k will allow you to save or pay down debt at all. It may sound like a lot, but after taxes and expenses (depending on where and how you live of course) it would be easy to imagine breaking even.

TITCR on all points. to elaborate on my post, my job really did help me to figure out why i wanted to be a lawyer AND i might even go into the same field after law school. BUT, if you just want to make some money to offset the cost of law school it's really not worth it. after nearly 2 years i have less than 1/4 of a year's T10 COA. and this is living in TX with no state income tax and low COL.

[katjust]

I think the thrust of the advice above is correct.

If you would enjoy the job as a career, and you don't really really want to be a lawyer, I (if I had the offer) would take the job. I have a family to support, and the most that I have ever earned in a year is around $20,000. I hope to earn that much out of law school. Obviously, the prospects out of a T10 may be a higher salary, but they may not be also.

[PapantlaFlyer]

Thanks a lot for all of the advice. The job is not something that particularly interests me, altough it is law related, but I'd take it for the experience and, yes, the money. It does sound like a lot to me (I'm young and fresh out of college) but I live in NYC, so you're right that it's easy to imagine breaking even.

I've been thinking about going to LS the past few years but as it gets closer, I've begun to question myself and my motives. The law is something that truly interests me, but to be honest it's not something I'm passionate about. Like a lot of other applicants, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted after college. So I took the LSAT, did relatively well, and managed to get into a T10. What I'm trying to say is no, I'm not absolutely sure I want to be a lawyer - but then again I'm not sure what I want to do. That's why I think entering the job market, gaining some WE, could be beneficial in my case. But it's really hard for me to turn down a T10 acceptance...

[BruinsFan]

I'm going to leave my job to go to law school, although my job only pays $30,000 a year and I'm only going to a top 100 school. I made the decision and even booked travel for next summer already. I've always been interested in being a lawyer, I come from a family of attorneys, but wanted to explore another career path first.

Sometimes I question my decisions. I'm leaving a job (and an industry) that are pretty unrelated to law and also that I'm not all that interested in.

Which ever you decide, it's a leap of faith. No matter how prepared you are, there are going to be unexpected turns and challenges.

[keg411]

I'm going to leave my job to go to law school, although my job only pays $30,000 a year and I'm only going to a top 100 school. I made the decision and even booked travel for next summer already. I've always been interested in being a lawyer, I come from a family of attorneys, but wanted to explore another career path first.

Sometimes I question my decisions. I'm leaving a job (and an industry) that are pretty unrelated to law and also that I'm not all that interested in.

Which ever you decide, it's a leap of faith. No matter how prepared you are, there are going to be unexpected turns and challenges.

Wow, you are in almost the same exact cirumstances as me (though I do make a bit more than $30k but not as much as the OP will).

[fathergoose]

It depends entirely on you. I am in a similar position. I got offered a good job last Friday with a bank and I was happy I got it but then I got the call for my first law school acceptance today and I literally had to go outside to run around the parking lot.

I thought it was going to be a much harder decision but I gotta go with my gut on it and so should you.

[secant]

I think it is important to recognize that there is not one right answer and a bunch of wrong ones; it's an optimization problem and only through experience will you learn what to optimize and how to do it. Most jobs will have elements you enjoy and all will have elements you do not. If you dislike a choice you make you can typically change it; there are very few decisions which you cannot correct. If you're unsure I really believe you should work at some job for a couple of years and see how your inclinations change. Getting paid $65k/yr while you think about law school is much better than paying $40k/yr to think about it especially as it is reportedly grueling. As far as the t10 acceptance goes, you will have the same LSAT score and GPA in two years + two years of work experience. I think your attractiveness to t10 schools would increase rather than decrease. You may end up going to a better law school in two years with more confidence that it is a good choice for you. Good luck.

[tallboone]

please defer and take the job. you won't regret taking an extra year before starting law school. and the economy in 2012 will likely be better than 2011 when you are a 2L. everyone should take time off before starting school again. it will put your life in perspective.

[PunjabiLower]

65K a year job with 50 hour weeks is better than a 100K+ job with 70-80+ hour weeks. Think about it. I personally value time over money.

[englawyer]

take the job, but do not become "settled in":

-do not buy a car
-do not buy a condo
etc etc

that will enable you to try out the other career for a bit. if it is too slow paced and what have you, you can apply to law school next year or use your deferral. just don't become too attached to your possessions, community, workplace, etc. live like you can just drop everything and move to a new city next year.

while you are looking to break even $-wise (you probably wont really save all that much for law school, maybe 10-15 thousand if you really try), it can still be a great idea. I would think that your grades will be much better if you take a year off from schooling.

I went right to grad school after undergrad and my academic performance/drive in school was not nearly as high.

[chadwick218]

take the job, but do not become "settled in":

-do not buy a car
-do not buy a condo
etc etc

I think that this is very good advice. Take the job, but do everything that you to financially position yourself for law school.

[Altoids]

My advice, from someone who will have 2 years WE entering LS this fall, is to take the job, especially considering the fact that you're not entirely sure you even want to be a lawyer. As another poster said, you will likely be able to get into a T10 again when you re-apply. It'll be nice to make the money (I lived in NYC with a salary in that range and saved a good chunk - you won't just be "breaking even") and get a break from academia. Even if it wasn't law-related, there would be things you'd learn on the job that would be applicable to any job - things you can't learn in law school.