should i still go to law school or sit out for min 2 years Forum

[diane23]

out of sheer 0L summer boredom, i went to some rotary event and chilled with my girlfriend's ex-boss's husband who is a big deal at a big bank (ml). we got to talking about how i was going to law school and i was telling him how shitty everything is and that i'm worried i'll be making 40k after 3 years of education. he told me to apply as a financial adviser even though i have a degree in english and know jack shit about finance.

i applied maybe a week ago, took a few borderline retarded tests, emailed the guy and told him i applied, and after a few interviews got an offer. it is kinda messed up because they let you "choose" how much you want to make, ~45 or ~60 a year based on howmuch you think you can bring in. basically, i think all you do is cold call and try and manage rich peoples money for money - it is a terrible fucking job - but with some upward mobility if you're a grinder and a smooth dude.

my other option is law school. now i don't want to out myself too hard but w/e. i committed to a regional school in Texas that is ranked in the 50's but is not baylor... tuition will cost me under 35k for all three years (pretty sig scholarship + in-state) and i figure living expenses will be another ~25k because i plan on living at home for 2L or 3L. another factor is that my scholarship is a lot bigger the first year. i don't plan on transferring but if i am lucky enough i will do it without even considering.

i have no real desire to take the job. i wanted to go to law school because i was working a dead end full time job that i truly hated for 2 years. i think i will hate being a financial "adviser" even more. i actually want to go to law school but i am even more worried that i will hate being a lawyer AND be making <40k a year or even worse, unemployed.

tl;dr - solicit rich people to manage their money and make just under 50k vs go to law school (financial risk isn't that bad)

[northwood]

there is nothing wrong with trying out a career for some time then goin gto law school. you may like it- or you may learn that you really want to go to law school. try to get a deferment ( you want to accept a promotion) and work. if you hate the job( or arent good at it)- leave and go to law school knowing you wont have to answer the what ifs. if you like it- then great

[LoyalRebel]

Your upward mobility in financial advising might be pretty severely hampered by your English Degree.

[diane23]

Your upward mobility in financial advising might be pretty severely hampered by your English Degree.

nah, you have to take a few $$$ tests that ml will pay for (which is why it is a min. 2 year commitment if you don't want to be an asshole)

[LoyalRebel]

I'm not saying you won't be qualified, it will just be difficult to compete with someone who has a finance degree/MBA.

[CanadianWolf]

Totally disagree with the advice offered in the post above. Finance degree is not common in insurance & financial planning sales. Primary qualification is to be money oriented & next most important is people & sales skills. Nothing else matters.

[yngblkgifted]

Dude you have a bull shit English Degree and you can still make around 50k straight out of college? I'd say go for it and like the previous poster said, if you find out that you don't like it, leave. At least you will have no regrets. Also, you may be able to retake the LSAT and get a higher score all while gaining more experiences to put on your resume. Having additional w/e could only be a plus when you do OCI at your future school. You also mentioned the possibility of transferring, but improving your LSAT and your application would be a much more predictable and reliable way to end up at a higher ranked school. Law school isn't changing or going anywhere. The only thing that will change (hopefully) will be the economy that you are placed in upon graduation.

[diane23]

i have to be honest and say i really don't know that much about the job or upward mobility but from what i heard from the rotary hoss, the basic idea is...you try and get some clients and you hand them over to the big boys and if you're good enough, after awhile they'll throw you a bone.

i don't think a finance degree is that important. i'm not going to lie and say this is a glamorous job. i think it is like telemarketing except you have to wear a suit

[CanadianWolf]

Finance degree is irrelevant. Work toward ChFC and/or CFP degrees--both of which require a minimum of 3 years experience in the insurance/financial planning field & 10 tests & 6 tests respectively. An LLM in taxation or estate planning is also useful & sought for certain positions within the industry. Rarely see anyone with a finance degree. There are MBAs, but that is not as useful as the other degrees in insurance & financial planning. Typically, the most successful tend to be sales & people oriented sometimes without any degree beyond high school.

[diane23]

Dude you have a bull shit English Degree and you can still make around 50k straight of of college? I'd say go for it and like the previous poster said, if you find out that you don't like it, leave. At least you will have no regrets. Also, you may be able to retake the LSAT and get a higher score all while gaining more experiences to put on your resume. Having additional w/e could only be a plus when you do OCI at your future school. You also mentioned the possibility of transferring, but improving your LSAT and your application would be a much more predictable and reliable way to end up at a higher ranked school. Law school isn't changing or going anywhere. The only thing that will change (hopefully) will be the economy that you are placed in upon graduation.

i'm not straight out of college. i was working at a nonprofit making a hair about 40k but i hated the job so much and the way to nonprofit operated (10 females out of 13 employees).

retaking is absolutely not an option. haha. because of my low gpa, the best i could ever hope for is something like WUSTL, and even if i got WUSTL with $$$$ and a COA of $100k, i would still rather go to the law school i got into...

one problem is i'm already 25. i can't exactly dick around for another 2 years and then decide to go to law school and dick around for another 3 years... lol i have to get married soon or else my gf is going to leave me (semi-kidding).

[diane23]

Finance degree is irrelevant. Work toward ChFC and/or CFP degrees--both of which require a minimum of 3 years experience in the insurance/financial planning field & 10 tests & 6 tests respectively. An LLM in taxation or estate planning is also useful & sought for certain positions within the industry. Rarely see anyone with a finance degree. There are MBAs, but that is not as useful as the other degrees in insurance & financial planning. Typically, the most successful tend to be sales & people oriented sometimes without any degree beyond high school.

right. my contact guy went to a community college, i think. he started from where i would be starting and in 8 years is making 250k a year (in houston) w/ fridays off. now this sounds like a !!! boner !!! - but in the same way that NYLS median salary is $160k !!! boner !!! - most people get axed, most people are stuck kicking up, and like i said, it is a dirty grind.

[blehGPAgoodLSAT]

I'd like to echo the advice of trying the job out and if you don't like it, go to law school. You'll likely be more competitive with some work experience Edit: in finance to diversify your profile.

I think you need to go into this job considering the fact that finance isn't a easy game by any means. I did some work as a portfolio manager for my UG's endowment as an undergrad & afterwards at a major bank and if you want to make money for your client/get big commission checks, there is a ton of information to learn--mainly accounting and market history. However, I have met people, rarely, who are innately amazing fundamental investors and absolutely love the job so it doesn't hurt to take a shot at it. Also, if you are able to pick up analytical stats/calc quickly you might have a future at the merrill quant department. Good luck with your decision.

[CanadianWolf]

OP has not been offered a finance position. It is a marketing & sales position.

[Oglethorpe]

sounds like a "personal banker"....go to law school

[TommyK]

OP has not been offered a finance position. It is a marketing & sales position.

+1 to pretty much anything CW says.

These guys usually know very little about finance, really. It's just about building relationships, trying to get in front of people, and promoting products that in the end offer significantly less value than the cut the bank and FA take on it. You'll probably have to pick up your Series 7, which I've heard isn't the easiest test, but certainly passable if you study. You already have a solid feeling that this job is going to suck, so why bother? I vote going to law school. The comp you're making isn't enough imo to warrant postponing your career two more years unless you're not sure you want to go to law school, in which case the two years may provide good perspective.

[TommyK]

sounds like a "personal banker"....go to law school

close. Personal bankers are often unlicensed, and when they are licensed, they have their series 6. This is probably a series 7 position, which will deal more with IRA transfers, specific stock orders, etc. But I agree with your conclusion.

[Oglethorpe]

sounds like a "personal banker"....go to law school

close. Personal bankers are often unlicensed, and when they are licensed, they have their series 6. This is probably a series 7 position, which will deal more with IRA transfers, specific stock orders, etc. But I agree with your conclusion.

"Senior Personal Banker"

[Anomaly]

I would bet big against this job leading to a career at the "merrill quant department." Your job will primarily be to meet and call rich people and convince them to invest their money with the bank. Memorizing some buzzwords and regurgitating bullet-points about the market is hardly finance.

[bmili]

.

[yngblkgifted]

Dude you have a bull shit English Degree and you can still make around 50k straight of of college? I'd say go for it and like the previous poster said, if you find out that you don't like it, leave. At least you will have no regrets. Also, you may be able to retake the LSAT and get a higher score all while gaining more experiences to put on your resume. Having additional w/e could only be a plus when you do OCI at your future school. You also mentioned the possibility of transferring, but improving your LSAT and your application would be a much more predictable and reliable way to end up at a higher ranked school. Law school isn't changing or going anywhere. The only thing that will change (hopefully) will be the economy that you are placed in upon graduation.

i'm not straight out of college. i was working at a nonprofit making a hair about 40k but i hated the job so much and the way to nonprofit operated (10 females out of 13 employees).

retaking is absolutely not an option. haha. because of my low gpa, the best i could ever hope for is something like WUSTL, and even if i got WUSTL with $$$$ and a COA of $100k, i would still rather go to the law school i got into...

one problem is i'm already 25. i can't exactly dick around for another 2 years and then decide to go to law school and dick around for another 3 years... lol i have to get married soon or else my gf is going to leave me (semi-kidding).

Oh. oK gotcha. Looks like you already did what some on here are suggesting on here which is just take a job and try it out. It also sounds like your heart wouldn't really be in the financial job. After careful re-evaluation with the extra info, I'd say law school might be the better option. Especially because

1) You got into a school you want to go to
2) You want to go to law school
3) You have a nice size scholarship

Good Luck!

[scammedhard]

Take the job and see how it works out; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. Law schools are going to be there for a long time, and you can always use the extra money to lower your debts and have greater flexibility down the road. In the meantime, you can also retake so that you have better options and/or greater scholarships.

EDIT: I would also be very cautious when interpreting your poll results. This is a forum for people who want to go to law school, so your audience is very biased. Talk to family and friends and see what they say.

[bk1]

If you don't want to work in this job then you should go to law school. But there are 2 caveats:

1. You probably won't make any more coming out of school than this job pays you right now.
2. Even going to a T2 for cheap has inherent risks. Like the fact that only 2/3 of Houston grads get full time jobs as lawyers.

If you're okay with a 33% chance or so of not becoming a full time lawyer and a high likelihood of making $30-60k then go to Houston.

[northwood]

trying out a new career option that you dont need to invest a ton of money in to see if you like it is always a good idea when you are thinking about investing a ton of money and time to break into a new career. IF you dont like it- law school will still be there- and as long as you are not a prick about why you are deferring or withdrawing the school wont hold it against you. Just be upfront and honest and tell them that its a great opportunity that you want to explore and they should respect that. At minimum it will give you something else to talk about. Plus you can save the money to put aside.