good job + mediocre job prospects from part time law school Forum

[Anonymous User]

also, im kind of tired of dc but i think appreciate your point-- i should suck it up.

Sorry, off topic, but would you mind sharing why this is? I am going there this summer so any info is appreciated. Thanks.

As for what to do, take the GW evening prog and run with it. This "T14 or bust" mentality that is prevalent here is thankfully less so in the patent field. However, your bio undergrad is less than optimal. They usually want advanced degrees for bio. But I think in your situation, the risk is worth it. Not withstanding your feelings about DC, the area is a patent hub, and a quick search will show that GW places very well at firms in the area. Your personal connections are also a great asset.

Whatever happens, do NOT quit your job unless it is for a summer associate gig leading to a full time job.

this is a tough one to explain. i don't want to ruin your experience here but it's really all about personalities. if you are only here for a summer, dc in the summer is great. its fun, upbeat and there's a ton to do with the influx of ppl.

after a while though, i personally get tired of all up the up tight and pretentious name dropping (yeah i worked on the hill too but i'm not dropping the sen. name every time). also, ppl are a lot more calculated here than any other city i've lived in. most will only talk to you if they think you can help them. housing is incredibly and unnecessarily expensive. it's a transient place and very competitive. people come for school, their first job, etc.

again, i've been here for about 3 years and it doesn't mesh well with me. yes, i can handle it for now and i have the education/work experience/personality to fake it with ppl here but no, i do not want to stay here much longer. some people love it here and could never live anywhere else. i'm not one of those.

it's really what you make out of it. if you can get a solid group of friends who aren't insanely annoying about politics or what ngo they work for, it can be a great place for a few years.

[Anonymous User]

also, im kind of tired of dc but i think appreciate your point-- i should suck it up.

Sorry, off topic, but would you mind sharing why this is? I am going there this summer so any info is appreciated. Thanks.

As for what to do, take the GW evening prog and run with it. This "T14 or bust" mentality that is prevalent here is thankfully less so in the patent field. However, your bio undergrad is less than optimal. They usually want advanced degrees for bio. But I think in your situation, the risk is worth it. Not withstanding your feelings about DC, the area is a patent hub, and a quick search will show that GW places very well at firms in the area. Your personal connections are also a great asset.

Whatever happens, do NOT quit your job unless it is for a summer associate gig leading to a full time job.

Dc is a city of transients. It lacks character and charisma. No wonder we have so many lawyers.

this is how i feel too but, again, its all about your personality.

[Anonymous User]

to be honest, im leaning toward the deferred admission in the fall of 2013 to the mvpb choice. fyi, my #'s are around their 25%.

its in my home state, which is where i'd ultimately like to practice. most (~80%) of the state's politicians went to this school or yale.

i was on scholarship for college and grad school so my parents will cover law school tuition. i'm still going to take out some loans so that i burden some of the finances.

it'd also offer a top 10ish mba program as well and jd/mba has been pretty attractive for me.

i've almost reached the pay limit for my fed job. i was/am in a fellowship that offers for accelerated promotions which is why my pay is so high early on. it won't increase in the same way after the fellowship ends this summer. when i leave, i'd have 3 years of govt full time work experience.

[danquayle]

to be honest, im leaning toward the deferred admission in the fall of 2013 to the mvpb choice. fyi, my #'s are around their 25%.

its in my home state, which is where i'd ultimately like to practice. most (~80%) of the state's politicians went to this school or yale.

i was on scholarship for college and grad school so my parents will cover law school tuition. i'm still going to take out some loans so that i burden some of the finances.

it'd also offer a top 10ish mba program as well and jd/mba has been pretty attractive for me.

i've almost reached the pay limit for my fed job. i was/am in a fellowship that offers for accelerated promotions which is why my pay is so high early on. it won't increase in the same way after the fellowship ends this summer. when i leave, i'd have 3 years of govt full time work experience.

Why on earth do you want a JD/MBA?

[Selfridge]

You have a well paying job that seems to be somewhat interesting with good benefits and a high quality of life - why would you want to leave that to be a lawyer? How realistic is that move to the private sector down the line? I guess law might lead to a higher salary than you have now but at what initial cost to your wallet (or your parent's wallet) and quality of life? You seem fairly well accomplished and connected, even if your fears of stagnating at your current government job are legitimate, is law your only option?

Law school is plain boring and for the most fortunate (!) law students leads to a very boring career that, while well paid, can drain the soul. People often enter law school because they have a worthless degree in the humanities and have very poor earning potential/don't feel like working in the service industry anymore. You have no such problems.

From personal experience and a lot of lurking on these boards it seems like a very tall feat to talk a person out of going to law school. If you must go I'd say go to GW during the evenings, if you think its doable with your job. I understand your well grounded dislike for DC but the expense of going to law school elsewhere doesn't seem to be worth it. But I guess a deferred admission to the other schools would give you a year to mull it over/weigh other options.

[nygrrrl]

I am moving this thread to the "Ask a Law Student/Graduate" forum.
On a personal note?
0L/OP? Don't go to law school unless you're sure you want to be a lawyer.
Seriously.

[Law Sauce]

Good luck. I think that either mvp or gw with the job could be a good choice (I would lean towards gw with the job, but it seems that that is much less attractive to you and that is fair). Only you can make the best call for you.

Ultimately, its not what choice you make but what you make of the choice.

[danquayle]

Good luck. I think that either mvp or gw with the job could be a good choice (I would lean towards gw with the job, but it seems that that is much less attractive to you and that is fair). Only you can make the best call for you.

Ultimately, its not what choice you make but what you make of the choice.

GW with the job is the only way to go if that's he must do law school. It's crazy to give up a good post in a decent to field to take a gamble on a future career.

I get that OP thinks his career is at a ceiling, getting the JD allows him to make a career move if that becomes the reality. However, going to law school full time is nothing but a gamble. You can weigh the die a little in your favor by going to be a better school, but it's still a gamble.

As far as foregoing the MBA, I don't really see what OP gets out of doing a JD/MBA with his background, unless he clearly wants to target a narrow job market in government consulting (Booz Allen type outfit).

[score12905]

?

[Dr. Review]

If you're doing patent law, the school's rank isn't nearly as important. Also, what is your technical background? If it's electrical engineering, then great. If it's not, then your marketability in patent law is not assured.

However, there's no reason not to wait and retake to get a scholarship. There's no reason to go to law school immediately right now. GW without a scholarship is too expensive, IMO. [Edit: Sorry, didn't read that you had retaken twice. I withdraw this comment]

Also, an 80k government job is more desirable than a generic 80k job.

Since you have a job already, I would go to part time law school over MVP or even CCN. Losing the job for full time law school isn't worth it unless it's HYS.

undergrad degree not ee or cs. basic bio. 3 years of research experience (undergrad and grad school) and im slowly learning that everyone has at least that...

i received a ~$10k/yr scholarship to gw part time. it would make tuition around $25K and i make enough to support myself while in law school (rent, car, food).

Just a note, the bolded section is a bit of a tough sell for prep and pros work without an advanced degree.