Anyone else considering other careers? Forum

[erin6]

I graduated this year and am doing a clerkship with a biglaw job lined up after this. Even though I liked law school, I've been a lot less happy with my summer jobs and clerkship than I expected. I know I'm fortunate to have a good job in this economy and plan to stick with it for at least a couple of years to see if my experience changes, but I've also started to think about other options.

The alternatives I'm considering are consulting and med school. I was choosing between those two options and law school four years ago, and now I feel like I made the wrong decision. Consulting would obviously be the easier transition, since it wouldn't necessarily require more school, but I'm leaning toward the med school route if I decide to switch.

Anyone else thinking about doing something else? What are you considering? I ask more out of curiosity than to get advice, but feel free to tell my I'm crazy if you'd like.

[mvp99]

What makes you think you'll like consulting?

[erin6]

What makes you think you'll like consulting?

I did an internship in consulting in college and enjoyed it, although I realize an internship isn't the same as doing it full time. The main thing that appeals to me about it is that it's more social than the law jobs I've had. I get bored sitting in my office reading and writing alone all day, and consulting seems a little better in that regard. I'm sure the grass is always greener, but that's why it's on my list.

[KD35]

I graduated this year and am doing a clerkship with a biglaw job lined up after this. Even though I liked law school, I've been a lot less happy with my summer jobs and clerkship than I expected. I know I'm fortunate to have a good job in this economy and plan to stick with it for at least a couple of years to see if my experience changes, but I've also started to think about other options.

The alternatives I'm considering are consulting and med school. I was choosing between those two options and law school four years ago, and now I feel like I made the wrong decision. Consulting would obviously be the easier transition, since it wouldn't necessarily require more school, but I'm leaning toward the med school route if I decide to switch.

Anyone else thinking about doing something else? What are you considering? I ask more out of curiosity than to get advice, but feel free to tell my I'm crazy if you'd like.

I feel like debt may make med school a crazy option. What's your thoughts considering the double debt?

[fats provolone]

fed loans only go up to $999,999. if you go over it resets to $0

[sinfiery]

Yes

Plan is to pay off loans + set up an annuity for 20k/yr for 35 years in the next 5 years then use that time to figure out what I want to do with my life while I live comfortably in the south

[WhiskeynCoke]

What makes you think you'll like consulting?

I did an internship in consulting in college and enjoyed it, although I realize an internship isn't the same as doing it full time. The main thing that appeals to me about it is that it's more social than the law jobs I've had. I get bored sitting in my office reading and writing alone all day, and consulting seems a little better in that regard. I'm sure the grass is always greener, but that's why it's on my list.

Have you considered trying to gun for practice areas that involve more human interaction after your clerkship? Though I only spent one summer working for a Judge (extern), it seemed like being a clerk sucked if you enjoy interacting with other humans occasionally.

Maybe you would like some types of corporate work more? It can't possibly be lonelier than clerking. Well, except for the fact that you'll be working 24/7 I guess.

[WhiskeynCoke]

Accidental anon (I'm above post).

[lhanvt13]

Consulting. SO is in consulting and seems pretty great. Interesting field as well.

[Hopefully2012]

Also, fwiw, there are projections that MD salaries in the next decade may plummet. Might affect your decision to go to med school if money is a factor.

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the process of making a transition out of the law after about 2 years practicing (at 2 different firms). The actual practice of law is awful. Since you have a job lined up, you might want to try it out for a while but you should seriously start to ask yourself why you didn't enjoy your summer experience. I have many friends who are sticking around praying they start to enjoy their jobs more or who secretly wish they would/could also leave the profession.

If you really don't like it, then you should try to leave. Life is short and there are many, many very unhappy attorneys out there.

[lhanvt13]

I'm in the process of making a transition out of the law after about 2 years practicing (at 2 different firms). The actual practice of law is awful. Since you have a job lined up, you might want to try it out for a while but you should seriously start to ask yourself why you didn't enjoy your summer experience. I have many friends who are sticking around praying they start to enjoy their jobs more or who secretly wish they would/could also leave the profession.

If you really don't like it, then you should try to leave. Life is short and there are many, many very unhappy attorneys out there.

what's on the other end of the transition/

[Anonymous User]

Anon from above, going into a biz dev role at a venture-backed startup.

[IsThisForReal]

Considering just getting my MBA and going into management somewhere. Coupled with my engineering undergrad I should be able to do alright. I'll probably have better offers from b schools anyway.

[fats provolone]

do it

[mvp99]

the grass (complete the phrase)

[Anonymous User]

the grass (complete the phrase)

That phrase seems less applicable when you're comparing almost anything else to the practice of law. Let's be real - the daily grind of being a practicing attorney is just a lot worse than the daily grind of most other professions, regardless of the (maybe) higher pay/prestige (lol)...

[erin6]

OP here. Like I said, I'm not trying to make this a thread about my situation, but here are my thoughts on the questions folks asked.

I'm in good shape on the debt front. I picked a slightly lower-ranked law school with a scholarship and am glad I did. I have about $70k in debt right now, which I expect to pay off soon after starting at a firm (the clerkship bonus really helps). Of course, going to med school would entail borrowing again, but I'd likely have a good amount saved by then--at least enough to pay for a postbac year.

I think working at a firm would be better on the whole human-interaction front, and I may give corporate work a shot for that reason. That's not my only problem with law though. Not to be too negative, but here are my two main issues: (1) Frankly, I just find a lot of this stuff boring. Social isolation is part but not all of that. (2) I'd like something that has more of a direct impact on the world. I know law is important, but I have trouble getting excited about things like which state's law applies to some duty-to-defend clause.

I've heard the predictions about MD salaries, but I think I'd still be happy with whatever they end up being. I really don't need much money to be happy.

[jbagelboy]

1) consider other careers? every damn day. Although not consulting so much after my stint before law school, and certainly not med school (ugh). I think about academia and editing/publishing for a major paper or journal though. The debt certainly serves as a constraint.

2) part of this might just be you getting older and realizing work, especially at the junior level, is generally uninspiring/uninteresting. This applies whether you're in law or otherwise. So it's not necessarily true that you'd have found starting as an analyst or going to postbac -> med school more interesting overall, it's very possible you're romanticizing the roads not taken, which we all do at the expense of our current perceived boredom/misery. In other words, shit is generally disappointing (although personally I've found my time in law thus far to be fairly rewarding at times).

3) now for the sappy part: your career is not your clerkship plus a few years at a large firm; it will span decades and challenge you and motivate you in ways you can't predict right now. So try to be a little more optimistic in the short term, since who knows what will happen? You've worked hard to open up opportunities for yourself, and more are sure to come.

[Anonymous User]

jbagelboy makes some good points, but one other thing to keep in mind. You seem to be hinting at the fact that you think you might not like legal work. If that's the case, then the problem won't necessarily be that you're doing boring work as a junior - it'll be the nature of the practice of law itself. If you do go into corporate with the hope of one day going in-house, that might change the work environment but the nature of the substantive work you're doing will still be legal.

Consulting is different in the sense that it can be a stepping stone to go into a pretty wide range of other operations/strategy roles at a company. Being an attorney doesn't give you nearly the same range of career paths to go down in the long run.