going straight to law school after undergrad. Yes or No? Forum

[v_san]

I know it's a bit early to ask but I just stated my undergraduate and I know some take 2-3 years off after completing their undergraduate before joining law school. They get jobs, do community service, acquire leadership skills and what not. But is it recommended to spend some time off before entering law school? A guy told me it was difficult to get re-adapted to school because you are not used to anymore. What do you guys think?

[Kimikho]

I know it's a bit early to ask but I just stated my undergraduate and I know some take 2-3 years off after completing their undergraduate before joining law school. They get jobs, do community service, acquire leadership skills and what not. But is it recommended to spend some time off before entering law school? A guy told me it was difficult to get re-adapted to school because you are not used to anymore. What do you guys think?

Work, being a KJD sucks

[stillwater]

I know it's a bit early to ask but I just stated my undergraduate and I know some take 2-3 years off after completing their undergraduate before joining law school. They get jobs, do community service, acquire leadership skills and what not. But is it recommended to spend some time off before entering law school? A guy told me it was difficult to get re-adapted to school because you are not used to anymore. What do you guys think?

Work, being a KJD sucks

second this. your friends and professors will not respect you. at all. without such qualifications.

[LSATSCORES2012]

I'm a K-JD... I definitely wish I had taken a year off. If I could go back, I'd probably work for a few months to save up money, then spend a few months as a ski-bum, then spend a few months hiking the Appalachian Trail or thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Obviously this is a very personal decision... and this is possibly not the kind of thing you're interested in... but if you are, keep in mind that you probably won't have a chance to do this kind of stuff again (that is, stuff that involves dropping off of the radar for several months) without jeopardizing your career.

[Cicero76]

I'm a KJD and it's been perfectly fine for me. YMMV

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

I'm a KJD and it's been perfectly fine for me. YMMV

OP, just go Yale and law school will be perfectly fine for you too

[Cicero76]

I'm a KJD and it's been perfectly fine for me. YMMV

OP, just go Yale and law school will be perfectly fine for you too

Law school is still law school wherever you are. Overall I'd say taking a year off is a better experience, but being a KJD isn't totally awful.

[TigerDude]

people who spent three years in entry level BS positions will think they got awesome experience because they don't want to have to justify their 3 year career lag.

[blackbirdfly]

Summary: Everybody is different. There is no right or wrong way. You should know better than us if you're ready or no (though majority opinion is to take time off )

[stillwater]

people who spent three years in entry level BS positions will think they got awesome experience because they don't want to have to justify their 3 year career lag.

lol. i thank (enter diety) everyday i took years off after UG. also, the BEST YEARS ever.

[fltanglab]

I'm K-JD and it's fine. And most people just assume I had work experience, so no disrespect from my profs or peers. I really don't think it matters as much as people say it does (and I spent a lot of my 1L year freaking out over it). If you have a great opportunity between college and law school then pursue it. Otherwise, just go to law school.

[ph14]

Benefits of going straight to law school:
1. Certainty. Some people want to go to law school but once they start working don't end up wanting to switch.
2. Momentum/Interia. You're used to being a student.
3. Energy. Law school can be a lot of work, depending on what you want to get out of it. It may be easier to do this when you are younger.
4. Less tied down. For many, law school involves a cross country move. If you clerk, that might be another year in another city. Your firm/government/public interest job might take you to yet another city. You might want to study abroad. For many people, this is easier when you are less tied down to family or otherwise.
5. No wasted time. Lots of people who go to law school might not have attractive alternative jobs available. If you're just going to be working a filler job, you might as well go straight through. Plus, if you want to be a lawyer, might as well get your career started if you are otherwise indifferent.

Benefits of taking time off/work experience:
1. Maturity/Perspective. Working may, depending on the job, introduce you to the professional work and mature/transition more to being a young professional.
2. Save money. Working for a few years allows you to save some money.
3. Do "bucket list" items/volunteer. If you want to travel, the time between undergrad and law school is a good time to do so. Unfortunately, the way that the legal world works for the most part is that it is difficult to just take time off once you start on the legal career track. Besides some time after you take the bar, this might be your last time of sustained free time to travel. And moreover, likely your last real opportunity to do a program like Teach for America.
4. Make sure that you really want to go to law school. Make sure that you aren't just going because you don't know what else to do.
5. Relax/enjoy yourself. The legal world is, for many people, a grind. I think there is something to be said to simply relax and enjoy yourself before law school.
6. Work experience is a minor plus for interviewing. Gives you some credibility and allows you to develop some experience you can discuss in interviews (in addition to growing as a person/profession, see point #1).

There are many, many more points you could make. I just wrote up a few off the top of my head.

[deebanger]

I know it's a bit early to ask but I just stated my undergraduate and I know some take 2-3 years off after completing their undergraduate before joining law school. They get jobs, do community service, acquire leadership skills and what not. But is it recommended to spend some time off before entering law school? A guy told me it was difficult to get re-adapted to school because you are not used to anymore. What do you guys think?

Work, being a KJD sucks

second this. your friends and professors will not respect you. at all. without such qualifications.

Hey! do think they will have a different outlook if I have taken a year off after high school, but came straight to law school after college.

[drawstring]

^

That's my case and in my admissions interviews I've gotten a lot of questions raising the issue of whether I'm ready for law school now w/o post-UG work experience. I got the sense that my WE after high school but before UG graduation wasn't valued much, even though it was fairly substantive.

[Yea All Right]

Undergrad here, attending law school in the fall. I decided to become a lawyer a long time ago and don't want to waste time by postponing when I get on that track. OP, do what's best for you and your personal situation!

Seeing what some people have said in this thread, I'm hoping that I don't get looked down upon. IMO it'd be silly for an older person with post-grad experience to look down on a K-JD when they ended up at the same place.

[TheSpanishMain]

I think the calculus is something like:

When you graduate undergrad, do you have an opportunity to do something cool/work a substantive job? If yes, then do that for a few years. It can only help you.

Do you have no option besides delivering pizza? Then just go straight through. Working some filler job won't help much, even though you technically won't be a K-JD.

It just depends on what your options are.

[spleenworship]

Personally I think a year or two off might help. Of the people in my class who are about to graduate and yet aren't going to be lawyers, hate their legal jobs, and regret going to law school, 70% are the K-JDs. I think a few years at some entry level shit job gives some perspective to legal work and law school. YMMV.

[Cicero76]

I think the calculus is something like:

When you graduate undergrad, do you have an opportunity to do something cool/work a substantive job? If yes, then do that for a few years. It can only help you.

Do you have no option besides delivering pizza? Then just go straight through. Working some filler job won't help much, even though you technically won't be a K-JD.

It just depends on what your options are.

+1. I would also add my two cents with regard to peers "looking down" at you. Nobody at my school disrespects the KJDs, even though there's very few of us and most people have insanely awesome WE

[beepboopbeep]

I think the calculus is something like:

When you graduate undergrad, do you have an opportunity to do something cool/work a substantive job? If yes, then do that for a few years. It can only help you.

Do you have no option besides delivering pizza? Then just go straight through. Working some filler job won't help much, even though you technically won't be a K-JD.

It just depends on what your options are.

My job was a bit better than delivering pizzas, but it was still a filler job. I gained a lot of perspective and motivation from doing it for two years even though it sucked. I think part of the calculus as well has to be whether you 1) sufficiently grasp the difficulty/cutthroat nature of the employment marketplace, and how few shits the world gives about getting you a job if you're not offering something of value in return, and 2) whether you're really motivated to come back to school after doing only school for pretty much the entirety of your life up until that point. I satisfied neither condition at the end of undergrad. Working a shit job can teach you things about yourself that you're never going to learn in cozy academic life.

+1. I would also add my two cents with regard to peers "looking down" at you. Nobody at my school disrespects the KJDs, even though there's very few of us and most people have insanely awesome WE

To be honest I just don't know who is K-JD. Also, the opinions of your potential future classmates are one factor that should absolutely not be considered when deciding whether or not to go K-JD.

[TheSpanishMain]

My job was a bit better than delivering pizzas, but it was still a filler job. I gained a lot of perspective and motivation from doing it for two years even though it sucked. I think part of the calculus as well has to be whether you 1) sufficiently grasp the difficulty/cutthroat nature of the employment marketplace, and how few shits the world gives about getting you a job if you're not offering something of value in return, and 2) whether you're really motivated to come back to school after doing only school for pretty much the entirety of your life up until that point. I satisfied neither condition at the end of undergrad. Working a shit job can teach you things about yourself that you're never going to learn in cozy academic life.

Fair point. I think you can make a strong case for it just as a matter of personal growth. I was more thinking of the value of work experience (as in, the value on paper) when looking for legal jobs.

+1. I would also add my two cents with regard to peers "looking down" at you. Nobody at my school disrespects the KJDs, even though there's very few of us and most people have insanely awesome WE

To be fair, your school is Yale. Even the KJDs presumably have some awesome, non-WE stuff on the resume or they wouldn't be there.

[phireblast]

I'm in a gap year now, and I'm glad I took a year off. I needed a break from academia. You don't magically forget how to perform in school in a year or three years time.
Also, I'm reminded how much working sucks I'm now wanting to go back to school.

[PepperJack]

There's no clear right answer. For people who go straight through and get a good legal job, it's good to go straight through. There are many people who go straight through to bad schools, because they are afraid of stopping. Generally, they are screwed.