1L. Already thinking of leaving. Forum

[Avian]

I would absolutely wait until you get at least one semester's worth of grades back first before making a decision. First, your parents have already paid for it, so no point wasting their money. Second, if you do very well it might change how you evaluate your situation. Yes, biglaw lawyers work long hours, but there are not many jobs out there that will pay you 160K with basically zero experience right out of school. Finally, the amount of time you would "save" to start working on another career path at this point would be like two months. If you decide after the break to drop out you'll be in basically the same position career-wise but you'll have a lot more information to make your decision.

[Wingtip88]

The legal industry is contracting, there are hordes of un/undermployed JDs fighting for available jobs, lawyers have some of the highest rates of depression/substance abuse in any professional industry, and "lawyer" is generally understood to be a career with high levels of stress and low levels of personal satisfaction.

These realities, in conjunction with the fact that lawyers seldom have lucrative career exit options from practicing law, ought to weigh in your decision making as to whether dropping out is the right choice.