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I finished my first year of law school at the top of my class. But I'm starting to realize law isn't a good fit. I have >20 screeners coming up at OCI, but I'm realizing I don't want to do big law. I really don't want to go through 2 more years of debt for a low-paid public interest law, especially since the public interest loan forgiveness seems unlikely.

I will graduate with $100,000 in debt. I came to law with the intention of doing big law. But after going to receptions, talking to people, I realize I have no interest in it. I'm also terrible at faking the passion to get call backs. For me the financial benefits of big law don't outweigh the soul-sucking drudgery.

I'm passionate about work with children and would love to drop out and get a teachers credential but that would mean more debt. What should I do?

I mean law isn't right for a lot of people, and many come to realize that too late. But that said, do you have much work experience? Because every job has aspects that suck, and from what I've heard being a teacher has its own whole set of issues that aren't what people expect either. The debt is a real consideration though.

What did you do this summer?

If you are legitimately good at what you’re doing and have a lot of firms interested in hiring you, why not give it a shot. You have never worked as an associate in a law firm, managing your matters and working with your colleagues to complete your projects. If you are really this skilled, why not continue pursuing this, work for a firm over the summer and get paid. You should make $30,000+ before tax. Live frugally and pay down some of your debt. If you really hate the experience, go get an MBA.

How much student debt do you currently have? While my advice will depend on the amount of debt you already have, if your student debt is relatively low, I encourage you to drop out of law school now.

I would also encourage you to dismiss any "wait and see" or "try it out because you might enjoy it" advice. When it comes to biglaw, you don't need to experience it for yourself to get a pretty good idea of what your life will look like. There are so many threads on this site, and online articles from other sources, that paint a pretty clear (and accurate) picture. So many people get trapped in biglaw because they convince themselves (naively in my opinion) that their experience is going to be significantly better than the experience of all those people in biglaw who wish they were doing something else.

If you had finished two years I'd say force yourself through the third, but at this point move on to something you'd enjoy.

You don't have to do biglaw forever. Also are you counting your potential summer associate salary towards debt total? Because that would defray a singificant chunk of that. You'd probably end up more in the $80-90k range, which you could pay down in 1-2 years of biglaw and then you'd have a lot more flexibility. At a minimum, I'd go through OCI and hold off this decision until the last possible date to get a refund on tuition for next semester. Even if you do end up dropping out, at least you'll have a lot of valuable interview experience. Along the same lines, if you don't end up getting an offer by that time then your decision will be easier.

Also, how do you know law isn't a good fit? What did you do this summer? Being a 1L isn't at all like being an attorney, and most summer jobs aren't really that similar either. Transactional jobs, for instance, are often fairly removed from the actual law.

Do it, OP. I had the thoughts you're having and didn't, and really wish I had.

try to transfer to Yale or Harvard and stick it out