Crazy?? Leaving FAANG Engineering for Law Forum

[legalpotato]

Seems crazy to me. And I'll bet 9/10 attorneys you talk to would say the same. But everyone is different I guess.

[attorney589753]

I work at a software company. There are some important differences between being a software engineer and being a lawyer that you may be underrating.

The legal industry is incredibly competitive, and a lot turns on prestige. Others have already mentioned that you need T14 law school, but maybe even higher (like T3 or T6) to get the legal jobs you read about in the newspaper. I can speak more from a corporate front: There's just a handful of partners at each firm who work on the deals you read about in the newspapers. They have been grinding for 15 or 20 years, probably average 60 hour weeks with plenty of 80+ hour weeks. A lot of associates and junior partners exist for the purpose of supporting them. Factoring in the time of law school, you are probably looking at 8-10 years "best case" scenario before you might start having real world impact, even longer for high prestige matters, and that is a pretty uncertain outcome (certainly less than 50% chance).

Rather than a wholesale change, I would instead recommend first looking into ways you can pivot and tweak your existing career to fulfill your current unmet needs and desires. You love shipping product? A smaller company is going to have a lot faster ship times. Also there are startups and companies with more mission-driven projects, such as trying to solve an issue in health care, climate, etc. It's possible you might feel more fulfillment working at a company with a slightly bigger vision than "get people to use this website more".

But the reality of practicing law is that lawyers are much less likely to innovate something new than a software engineer. That's on purpose (a risky legal strategy, which might generate cool headlines, is often a desperate one with low odds of success.).

Finally, consider reaching out to a senior associate or partner IP lawyer in a major market and ask if they would be interested in getting coffee sometime. You suggest that they lack the correct technical skills to impact - I think you might be surprised. You can also get a sense of how much of their work is unique and high impact versus how much is just the day to day.

[Anonymous User]

I did something similar to what you're considering (leaving a high-paying tech/engineering job for law) for similar reasons (wanting to leverage a technical expertise in law). It's turned out well for me, at least so far: I went to a top law school, got good (but not incredible) grades, summered at a top litigation firm that does a significant amount of tech-related work, did a federal appellate clerkship, and will soon start working a firm. I anticipate my practice will contain a large amount of tech/patent work, but it also include other general commercial litigation cases. I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

But, I had a few things going for me that helped: I went to one of HYS for law school, as well as for undergrad, and I had spent 5+ years in industry in between, which gave me a decent amount of business-sense that I think is really helpful for doing well in law school (and, incidentally, law firm interviews). Also, though my prior career was not law-related at all, I had a relatively early interest in law and (I think) I communicate well. So, independent of my tech background, I was able to do well in law school. It's a distinct advantage for certain legal roles to have a tech background, but you can't rely only on that if you aren't willing to do the hard work of the law side of things too. After all, most litigation will be law work, not tech/engineering work. (I don't know as much about, say, policy work, but my sense is that if you want to go into policy, law school is not necessary for that.) All this is not to say that you can't do well without my background, but it certainly would have been tougher for me without it.

I totally understand wanting to change careers because you're just interested in working in a different field. As others have noted, though, there is significant financial cost. It's been about four years since I left industry, and the opportunity cost so far has been that I'm probably around $2-3 million poorer than I would have been had I stayed, given that I went from a large income to a negative income. I probably won't earn more in a year in law until (if) I make partner at a firm. I don't know that I'll even "break even," though it's possible if I end up very lucky/successful as a lawyer. But all that is a long ways away, and it'll take a ton of work to get there.

In the end, you should strongly consider why you want to leave a good, comfortable job, for law. If you truly think that's where you'll find more meaning and happiness, go for it. (I'd recommend reading a book like Designing Your Life to figure this out, if you haven't already.) But having a meaningful legal career will be a lot easier if you can set yourself up for success, which, as others have noted, means improving your LSAT score and getting in to a top law school. It can be done otherwise, but it will be much harder.

[KEbro93]

2021 graduate here. Graduated near the top of my ABET accredited computer science program at a top 10 engineering school in the country with a 3.87 GPA, and have since worked for one of the prestigious big tech companies (google/facebook/apple/amazon). Though, while the work has been intellectually stimulating and I work with a great team and manager along with reasonable hours (40-50) average, decent compensation (200k), I sometimes feel as though I am seeking a little more.

I've always been a big politico follower and want to leverage my relevant experience in the legal field, so what practice areas allow me to do so and how lucrative/in demand are they? Given my strong existing academic credentials could I simply just enroll part time in a mediocre/part time law program cheaply and expect a decent gig afterwards or would it make more sense to shoot my shot at the t13 even with a somewhat below median GPA? Is this a major case of grass is greener? Could doing this ever expect a financial break even point?

For LSAT I have a mid to high 160s on record. I am getting near perfects each time I do LG and LR but RC has been hard for this english as a second language speaker.

you are living the american dream of wealth accumulation and low hours for white collar work. do not give it up.

[Anonymous User]

Yes that would be crazy, especially since with mid-160 and below median GPA, very unlikely you even make BigLaw.

[lavarman84]

Very very few people manage to have a legal career that satisfies their ideological/political goals. The typical biglaw path is silly for you since you already make that money. Are you going to be happy making 50k as a public defender or something?

If you get into Yale, maybe you can be the next Lina Khan or JD Vance, depending on your ideological leanings. But you're not getting into Yale with a sub 175. And even if you do, the majority of yalies still have relatively boring careers.

As somebody who has this, I recommend sticking with your current career, OP. The odds of you getting it in the legal profession aren't great. And the odds of you getting it in the legal profession with a job that pays as well as the job you have now are much, much longer.

[Anonymous User]

T14 law school, former biglaw senior associate and now FAANG in house counsel here to say keep your day job OP. The grass is not greener. Actually the grass died a long time ago

No job is fulfilling before you’re financially independent. Stack as much cash as possible while working as little as possible then FatFIRE young to whatever you actually want to do (which can even be law school, if you really wanted).

[Anonymous User]

Yes that would be crazy, especially since with mid-160 and below median GPA, very unlikely you even make BigLaw.

This isn't entirely true. If OP goes into IP/IP lit, OP will have an excellent shot from the schools mid-160s and a high 3.8 gpa will get you. Maybe recent cycles have made that harder, but that's the exception, not the rule.

[Anonymous User]

Not just crazy, but certifiably batshit insane. If you do this, you should get 5150'd.

[Anonymous User]

Research the field more. If you really wanted to do something like work for DOJ or a tech public interest group like EFF it might make sense. If you only have vague goals of working at a firm or "making an impact" it could be one of the worst decisions of your life. At the very least, wait until you have a good idea of what lawyers actually do, save a couple hundred grand, and get into a T13 school for free or close to it. You seem smart enough to get the requisite LSAT score.

[Anonymous User]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

[Anonymous User]

I did something similar to what you're considering (leaving a high-paying tech/engineering job for law) for similar reasons (wanting to leverage a technical expertise in law). It's turned out well for me, at least so far: I went to a top law school, got good (but not incredible) grades, summered at a top litigation firm that does a significant amount of tech-related work, did a federal appellate clerkship, and will soon start working a firm. I anticipate my practice will contain a large amount of tech/patent work, but it also include other general commercial litigation cases. I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

But, I had a few things going for me that helped: I went to one of HYS for law school, as well as for undergrad, and I had spent 5+ years in industry in between, which gave me a decent amount of business-sense that I think is really helpful for doing well in law school (and, incidentally, law firm interviews). Also, though my prior career was not law-related at all, I had a relatively early interest in law and (I think) I communicate well. So, independent of my tech background, I was able to do well in law school. It's a distinct advantage for certain legal roles to have a tech background, but you can't rely only on that if you aren't willing to do the hard work of the law side of things too. After all, most litigation will be law work, not tech/engineering work. (I don't know as much about, say, policy work, but my sense is that if you want to go into policy, law school is not necessary for that.) All this is not to say that you can't do well without my background, but it certainly would have been tougher for me without it.

I totally understand wanting to change careers because you're just interested in working in a different field. As others have noted, though, there is significant financial cost. It's been about four years since I left industry, and the opportunity cost so far has been that I'm probably around $2-3 million poorer than I would have been had I stayed, given that I went from a large income to a negative income. I probably won't earn more in a year in law until (if) I make partner at a firm. I don't know that I'll even "break even," though it's possible if I end up very lucky/successful as a lawyer. But all that is a long ways away, and it'll take a ton of work to get there.

In the end, you should strongly consider why you want to leave a good, comfortable job, for law. If you truly think that's where you'll find more meaning and happiness, go for it. (I'd recommend reading a book like Designing Your Life to figure this out, if you haven't already.) But having a meaningful legal career will be a lot easier if you can set yourself up for success, which, as others have noted, means improving your LSAT score and getting in to a top law school. It can be done otherwise, but it will be much harder.

Are you me? OP, as someone with virtually identical background and outcomes to this poster, TITCR.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love my job, and am one of the most satisfied people at my biglaw firm. But to get here I had to waste 3 years with terrible human beings and rude professors, all with political and personal axes to grind. OP should avoid that unless he truly hates what he does now.

[Anonymous User]

To put things simply, it's probably not a good idea to leave a well-paying job that leaves you (and many others) unfulfilled for another well-paying job that many others despise. I'd take unfulfilling over unbearable any day.

To be sure, there are some that find being a lawyer fulfilling. But those people are few and far between, and they're often in lower paying roles. Unless you know for sure that there's an obtainable legal job out there that you'd love, take the W and stay at you FAANG.

[Anonymous User]

While I agree that the switch doesn't really make sense financially and I think the reasons you articulated are somewhat naive and would cause you to end up unfulfilled, it's always sad to see so many other lawyers despise what we do. I actually enjoy my job. I bill 1800-1900 a year, get paid fat stacks, and get to engage with content I find intellectually challenging (Tax/ERISA). I moved to a boutique, but I was getting away with the same just fine in biglaw. I think you've failed your year if your aggregate billable hours begin with 2. If that's your case in biglaw, reduce your hours. You won't get fired for billing 1800-1900 hours at 95% of shops, because you'll be wildly profitable.

[lavarman84]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love what I do. I'm happy and fulfilled. But OP is in a good place, doesn't seem to know how a law degree/being a lawyer will improve things for him, and has some unrealistic goals. Odds are he won't get what he wants out of law, so I don't think it's a good use of his time. I know enough miserable lawyers to know that my career isn't the median outcome.

[Anonymous User]

I don't want to discourage you like the other 50 lawyers have already done, but in my experience, lawyers generally fall into 1 of 2 buckets.

Bucket 1 - The extremely passionate / targeted job seekers:
They came into law school with an extreme passion for a specific career path and have a very focused idea regarding the jobs they want (ie working for ACLU, working prison reform, being a public defender or prosecutor etc.)

Bucket 2 - Smart but unskilled and no passion:
These are the folks who are good test takers and reasonably smart, but they largely have no technical skills, most likely studied liberal arts in college and have no passion for any specific field or cause. They know that their only other option outside law school is to make $60-80k/year in some low-level corporate grind and try to rise up the corporate ladder. The goal for these individuals is to get into biglaw so we can stack cash and avoid the misery of white collar averageness.

You don't seem to be in either bucket. Your career goals are too uncertain/vague to claim bucket 1 and you certainly don't fall into bucket 2.

I'd really drill down on what legal jobs you want coming out of law school, why you want one of those jobs, whether you're okay making the salary offered by that kind of job and what your ultimate ideal and median career trajectory looks like and whether you're okay with shooting for the ideal but ending up with the median.

After you've answered all of that, I would then consider whether there is another degree/path that will ultimately get you to your ideal situation (business school, master in public policy, medical school, changing jobs to go to a startup or a non-profit etc.) The biggest advantage you have is that you're young and (presumably) unburdened. You have the opportunity to make drastic career changes without it hurting you much, so if you're unhappy with your current situation, I'd recommend taking that plunge and changing things up, I just think you should fully think this through before going for law school.

[Anonymous User]

I don't want to discourage you like the other 50 lawyers have already done, but in my experience, lawyers generally fall into 1 of 2 buckets.

Bucket 1 - The extremely passionate / targeted job seekers:
They came into law school with an extreme passion for a specific career path and have a very focused idea regarding the jobs they want (ie working for ACLU, working prison reform, being a public defender or prosecutor etc.)

Bucket 2 - Smart but unskilled and no passion:
These are the folks who are good test takers and reasonably smart, but they largely have no technical skills, most likely studied liberal arts in college and have no passion for any specific field or cause. They know that their only other option outside law school is to make $60-80k/year in some low-level corporate grind and try to rise up the corporate ladder. The goal for these individuals is to get into biglaw so we can stack cash and avoid the misery of white collar averageness.

You don't seem to be in either bucket. Your career goals are too uncertain/vague to claim bucket 1 and you certainly don't fall into bucket 2.

I'd really drill down on what legal jobs you want coming out of law school, why you want one of those jobs, whether you're okay making the salary offered by that kind of job and what your ultimate ideal and median career trajectory looks like and whether you're okay with shooting for the ideal but ending up with the median.

After you've answered all of that, I would then consider whether there is another degree/path that will ultimately get you to your ideal situation (business school, master in public policy, medical school, changing jobs to go to a startup or a non-profit etc.) The biggest advantage you have is that you're young and (presumably) unburdened. You have the opportunity to make drastic career changes without it hurting you much, so if you're unhappy with your current situation, I'd recommend taking that plunge and changing things up, I just think you should fully think this through before going for law school.

I had never thought about bucket two in quite these terms since I am a bucket one person and really liked both law school and enjoy my job, but this is a really good description of a LOT of people in the profession, and people who go into the field to chase $$ do seem to be the unhappiest of the bunch. But also agree that if you think you fall into bucket one, do some serious thinking to make sure that the way to do what you want to do is through law school and not some other avenue, because it is a big time commitment to come out on the other end and realize it doesn't actually get you where you want to go.

[Anonymous User]

I did something similar to what you're considering (leaving a high-paying tech/engineering job for law) for similar reasons (wanting to leverage a technical expertise in law). It's turned out well for me, at least so far: I went to a top law school, got good (but not incredible) grades, summered at a top litigation firm that does a significant amount of tech-related work, did a federal appellate clerkship, and will soon start working a firm. I anticipate my practice will contain a large amount of tech/patent work, but it also include other general commercial litigation cases. I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

But, I had a few things going for me that helped: I went to one of HYS for law school, as well as for undergrad, and I had spent 5+ years in industry in between, which gave me a decent amount of business-sense that I think is really helpful for doing well in law school (and, incidentally, law firm interviews). Also, though my prior career was not law-related at all, I had a relatively early interest in law and (I think) I communicate well. So, independent of my tech background, I was able to do well in law school. It's a distinct advantage for certain legal roles to have a tech background, but you can't rely only on that if you aren't willing to do the hard work of the law side of things too. After all, most litigation will be law work, not tech/engineering work. (I don't know as much about, say, policy work, but my sense is that if you want to go into policy, law school is not necessary for that.) All this is not to say that you can't do well without my background, but it certainly would have been tougher for me without it.

I totally understand wanting to change careers because you're just interested in working in a different field. As others have noted, though, there is significant financial cost. It's been about four years since I left industry, and the opportunity cost so far has been that I'm probably around $2-3 million poorer than I would have been had I stayed, given that I went from a large income to a negative income. I probably won't earn more in a year in law until (if) I make partner at a firm. I don't know that I'll even "break even," though it's possible if I end up very lucky/successful as a lawyer. But all that is a long ways away, and it'll take a ton of work to get there.

In the end, you should strongly consider why you want to leave a good, comfortable job, for law. If you truly think that's where you'll find more meaning and happiness, go for it. (I'd recommend reading a book like Designing Your Life to figure this out, if you haven't already.) But having a meaningful legal career will be a lot easier if you can set yourself up for success, which, as others have noted, means improving your LSAT score and getting in to a top law school. It can be done otherwise, but it will be much harder.

Are you me? OP, as someone with virtually identical background and outcomes to this poster, TITCR.

Glad to know there are others out there that have made this work!

[Anonymous User]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love my job, and am one of the most satisfied people at my biglaw firm. But to get here I had to waste 3 years with terrible human beings and rude professors, all with political and personal axes to grind. OP should avoid that unless he truly hates what he does now.

Could you explain by what you mean by most t14 law students being low lives. If average GPA is an indicator of intelligence and moral standards, then surely it can't be that bad. Like what are the characteristics of them that make them lowlives?

[wjz3by]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love my job, and am one of the most satisfied people at my biglaw firm. But to get here I had to waste 3 years with terrible human beings and rude professors, all with political and personal axes to grind. OP should avoid that unless he truly hates what he does now.

Could you explain by what you mean by most t14 law students being low lives. If average GPA is an indicator of intelligence and moral standards, then surely it can't be that bad. Like what are the characteristics of them that make them lowlives?

sorry for the anon above . that was me, the OP above. need to get used to the features of this site.

[Anonymous User]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love what I do. I'm happy and fulfilled. But OP is in a good place, doesn't seem to know how a law degree/being a lawyer will improve things for him, and has some unrealistic goals. Odds are he won't get what he wants out of law, so I don't think it's a good use of his time. I know enough miserable lawyers to know that my career isn't the median outcome.

Is OP really in a good place? He seems unsatisfied with what he has. I think we all know the perfect profession for someone like that...

[Anonymous User]

I don't want to discourage you like the other 50 lawyers have already done, but in my experience, lawyers generally fall into 1 of 2 buckets.

Bucket 1 - The extremely passionate / targeted job seekers:
They came into law school with an extreme passion for a specific career path and have a very focused idea regarding the jobs they want (ie working for ACLU, working prison reform, being a public defender or prosecutor etc.)

Bucket 2 - Smart but unskilled and no passion:
These are the folks who are good test takers and reasonably smart, but they largely have no technical skills, most likely studied liberal arts in college and have no passion for any specific field or cause. They know that their only other option outside law school is to make $60-80k/year in some low-level corporate grind and try to rise up the corporate ladder. The goal for these individuals is to get into biglaw so we can stack cash and avoid the misery of white collar averageness.

You don't seem to be in either bucket. Your career goals are too uncertain/vague to claim bucket 1 and you certainly don't fall into bucket 2.

I'd really drill down on what legal jobs you want coming out of law school, why you want one of those jobs, whether you're okay making the salary offered by that kind of job and what your ultimate ideal and median career trajectory looks like and whether you're okay with shooting for the ideal but ending up with the median.

After you've answered all of that, I would then consider whether there is another degree/path that will ultimately get you to your ideal situation (business school, master in public policy, medical school, changing jobs to go to a startup or a non-profit etc.) The biggest advantage you have is that you're young and (presumably) unburdened. You have the opportunity to make drastic career changes without it hurting you much, so if you're unhappy with your current situation, I'd recommend taking that plunge and changing things up, I just think you should fully think this through before going for law school.

I had never thought about bucket two in quite these terms since I am a bucket one person and really liked both law school and enjoy my job, but this is a really good description of a LOT of people in the profession, and people who go into the field to chase $$ do seem to be the unhappiest of the bunch. But also agree that if you think you fall into bucket one, do some serious thinking to make sure that the way to do what you want to do is through law school and not some other avenue, because it is a big time commitment to come out on the other end and realize it doesn't actually get you where you want to go.

Generally agree with the buckets and the advice. I am one of those few weirdos in the small third bucket that OP may be in. I left big tech (non-engineer role) but I did have technical ability. I'm definitely not in the larger second bucket, but I also am not so focused like the first bucket (somewhat jealous of those people *knowing* what they want to do). I just like the Law (I'm a litigator). I like thinking about it, reading about it, studying it, and generally following it, keeping up with law review articles, etc. I went to school for free so to me, it's been more than worth it.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love my job, and am one of the most satisfied people at my biglaw firm. But to get here I had to waste 3 years with terrible human beings and rude professors, all with political and personal axes to grind. OP should avoid that unless he truly hates what he does now.

Could you explain by what you mean by most t14 law students being low lives. If average GPA is an indicator of intelligence and moral standards, then surely it can't be that bad. Like what are the characteristics of them that make them lowlives?

GPA is definitely not an indicator of moral standards, and is barely an indicator of intelligence.

As for why they’re lowlives, it’s hard to pin down — but if you’ve been around better quality people and then step into a T14 law school you’ll know it when you see it. There’s a certain bitterness, meanness, lack of individuality, no twinkle in the eyes, and lack of a sense of humor. It’s not everybody — I’d be considered really cool at any MBA program, for example — but there’s a lot of lowlives.

[wjz3by]

OP, this forum will regularly tell even normal college kids that being a lawyer sucks and no one should ever do it, much less successful and rich professionals. This post is like a perfect scheme (though I don’t think it’s trolling) to get everyone to pile on and dissuade you. I learned early on that lawyers, more than maybe any other profession, love to shit on what they do. This post is an especially vivid example:

Most of the people at law school, even at a T14, are lowlives who had no other career prospects. They will relish dragging you down to their level. Imagine a bunch of (bitter, emotionally stunted) zombies chanting “one of us, one of us” or perhaps crabs in a bucket. At Y/S the people are smart, but are also insufferable to the max, ready to stab you in the back with an ethically sourced fair-trade knife.

So counterpoint: if this is your dream, go for it! But “grass is always greener” thinking is especially dangerous in a situation like yours, when you have more or less already won the lottery of the 21st century economy. Tread carefully.

I actually love what I do. I'm happy and fulfilled. But OP is in a good place, doesn't seem to know how a law degree/being a lawyer will improve things for him, and has some unrealistic goals. Odds are he won't get what he wants out of law, so I don't think it's a good use of his time. I know enough miserable lawyers to know that my career isn't the median outcome.

Is OP really in a good place? He seems unsatisfied with what he has. I think we all know the perfect profession for someone like that...

President Trump?