Are any of you unhappy? Forum

[ilovesf]

I liked 1L. 2L is miserable.

[JCougar]

What I am very unhappy about is the necessity of have to take a third year of LS. Instead of making $$ you wind up paying the school for a useless year. The swing on that is around $200K. . . . money you lose by not working and $$ you pay because the system is gamed (IMHO).

True. I am doing an externship right now that can count for up to 4 credits. I'm doing substantial and significant litigation work, and it's great experience...yet not only am I providing this work for free, but I am paying 4 credits worth of my tuition to my school...which does next to nothing to actually earn this money.

[JCougar]

Law school is absolutely miserable. But being a lawyer is pretty fun, and I liked my summer job a lot. Too bad law school and being a lawyer have so little to do with each other.

I'm in this camp. I loved my summer job, I like my externship this semester, but law school itself is kind of like a weird religious cult where everyone is forced to go through ancient, painful rituals that make close to zero sense--but everyone has to do because "that's the way things are done."

My favorite part is actually being on a law journal. It allows you to actually think creatively, critically, and practically (when you are writing your note, at least). I also really appreciate the opportunity to hang out with and chat with some of the most brilliant people I've ever met in my life.

Dealing with the constant career uncertainty and the poverty that goes with being a grad student can be REALLY tough though. I worked a corporate job for 4 years before coming to law school, and got really used to being financially independent. Also, dealing with the randomness of grading and yet the importance of grades is nothing short of maddening. Law school exams/grading is too sloppy a process to justify the outcomes it creates.

But I do have to add that on balance, law school has been probably the most depressing years of my life. There are bright spots and redeeming qualities, but overall, the stresses and crazy nonsensical system make it very bad. The best part is knowing that it is a path to a career that will make me happier than my old one--and that has a far higher ceiling for advancement. I just wish the school part were over. 3L is additional torture that no one needs.

[philly_law]

3L, have hated every second of every day at law school. There are no words to describe how much I hated LR. I've decided to take a job that does not use the law degree.

[Perseus_I]

Law school is absolutely miserable. But being a lawyer is pretty fun, and I liked my summer job a lot. Too bad law school and being a lawyer have so little to do with each other.

Liked 1L ok. Hate 2L/LR. Isn't being a lawyer more like 2L/LR than 1L? And why is the attrition rate at big firms so high when the exit options available after half a decade of work often pay less than a first year associate salary?

[Flash]

3L, have hated every second of every day at law school. There are no words to describe how much I hated LR. I've decided to take a job that does not use the law degree.

What are you doing?

[istara]

I liked 1L. 2L is miserable.

+1

Zero motivation. LR sucks.

[philly_law]

3L, have hated every second of every day at law school. There are no words to describe how much I hated LR. I've decided to take a job that does not use the law degree.

What are you doing?

Working with financial advisors. I'm hoping to get all my licensing so I can trade securities. No lawyers where I work, no Westlaw/Lexis, no citations, life is good.

[keg411]

Loved 1L, hated 2L, ambivalent about 3L. But my unhappiness is only tangentially related to law school itself (I don't mind the work and I have a job) and is more how much being in law school set me back personally/emotionally from where I was when I was working prior to law school. But then again, that could also have less to do with law school and more to do with just getting older in general, so it's hard to say.

[northwood]

1L is good beause you learn basic doctrinal things. 2L and 3L are a waste of money because the things you need to know you will learn when you start practicing.

to be honest- i try to spend as litle time as possible doing LS related things. being away from it makes it tolerable, and better.

[minnbills]

1L- I am really liking it. The constant fear or being unemployed makes it rough though.

I am planning on going abroad either spring of 2L or fall 3L, so hopefully that will boost the experience.

But yeah the employment anxiety is the worst part of all this.

[jess]

.

[PDaddy]

2L here. Are any of you unhappy while in law school? So last year, I was pretty much really depressed most of the time and it got so bad that I even went to see a therapist by my second semester. We got pretty close to figuring things out but then my free sessions ran out and the semester had ended. The thing was... I never thought my unhappiness was because I was in law school. I thought that this was something internal going on just in me because come on... who likes life during 1L? I never thought it was the external circumstance. I can think of many reasons why I like the law and many reasons why I'm in law school (I like the concept of needing different elements to argue for a certain issue, I like having the opportunity to read and write, I like the idea of writing a story/argument based on a specific set of facts that must be used to convince others, I like the idea of helping society be functional) but maybe I'm depressed for a reason - that I actually don't like this, that this isn't what I want out of my life, and I'm just afraid to do what I really want.

To people that "hate" law school or are unhappy right now, why do you stay?

So...do you really want to be a rock star or an actor? Go do it and don't look back. If you spend your life doing what is expected of you, or doing something just because you want financial stability...a "safety net", you will never be happy. Do some soul-searching. I would tell almost any 20-something to go have fun, explore the world and try to live out your dreams. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to law school. They aren't going anywhere.

[FeelTheHeat]

Sit around and read fantasy football shit all day. Drink a lot, hit the gym. November on will suck, but nbd.

[prezidentv8]

Pretty sure I can't stand anything about law.

Whoooooops!

[rouser]

neck pain, anxiety, lack of sleep, drinking every night. yet I like it aside from the neck pain.

[northwood]

there is something to be said about transferring. For most people, the safety net of friends that you made 1L year is a big reason why Law School doesnt totally suck. When you transfer, you are giving that up, and have to work a little bit more to make new friends- and even then you dont have the shared experience of going through the same "initation" year together. How that may affect you, is obviously up to each individual, but it is something to take into consideration.

As for me, I miss my 1L friends terribly, but I know that I made the right choice in transferring. If I only went to this school from the beginning, it would most likely be a better 2L year.. However, what is done is done, and you should only look forward, not back.


but law school in general sucks. School in general sucks. I'm just ready to re-enter the workforce and stay.

[JCFindley]

I actually like everything about being back in school.... (Except legal writing which I am ambivalent towards.)

I like the others students. Like the professors. Like the classes. (Not sure I have a clue what's going on in property, but I like it.)

[reasonable_man]

Writing my third motion this week. I am fucking unhappy. lol.

[northwood]

well, to be fair, im much happier than those that are on journals.... they always seem stressed out, and are forever rushing ot do things...
So glad I decided against that time trap....



( maybe LR would be another story....)














ETA; after further review no it would not

[JCFindley]

well, to be fair, im much happier than those that are on journals.... they always seem stressed out, and are forever rushing ot do things...
So glad I decided against that time trap....



( maybe LR would be another story....)



ETA; after further review no it would not

You are my hero Nwood.

I simply have NO desire to be on any kind of journal including LR.

[northwood]

I may be in the minority here, but I honestly dont see the point of any journal, unless you want to go into academia. Id rather have a part time job, or use that time for other things ( while being as far away from the law school as possible) than doing doc review, and cite checking and researching and writing on a topic that may or may not interest you. All of that doesnt add up in my book. You need some balance, and you need to find out what works best for you to get that balance.

[20130312]

Law students complain too much.

[nygrrrl]

So...do you really want to be a rock star or an actor? Go do it and don't look back. If you spend your life doing what is expected of you, or doing something just because you want financial stability...a "safety net", you will never be happy. Do some soul-searching. I would tell almost any 20-something to go have fun, explore the world and try to live out your dreams. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to law school. They aren't going anywhere.

THIS. I think the main reason that I'm not miserable in lawl skool is that first I went out and DID the crazy stuff I'd dreamed about. I had a blast, fulfilled my goals and came to school absolutely certain that this was what I wanted to do. Starting law school over 30 has its drawbacks, but I know that I'm doing this leaving nothing on the table.

[keg411]

So...do you really want to be a rock star or an actor? Go do it and don't look back. If you spend your life doing what is expected of you, or doing something just because you want financial stability...a "safety net", you will never be happy. Do some soul-searching. I would tell almost any 20-something to go have fun, explore the world and try to live out your dreams. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to law school. They aren't going anywhere.

THIS. I think the main reason that I'm not miserable in lawl skool is that first I went out and DID the crazy stuff I'd dreamed about. I had a blast, fulfilled my goals and came to school absolutely certain that this was what I wanted to do. Starting law school over 30 has its drawbacks, but I know that I'm doing this leaving nothing on the table.

I think I would've absolutely loved all of law school if I went back in my position but married/in a long-term relationship. Or didn't go to a school in a community where even the young law students are "olds".