Please just tell me I'm not stupid to do this Forum

[MidwestLifer]

So today I was offered a job in the financial services sector to start after I graduate this May. The pay will come out to around $90k annually to start, for 40-50 hour work weeks, with growth potential within the company or through outside opportunities.
While my numbers (3.9+/178) suggest I'll have some very juicy scholarships to some great schools, I'd still be an idiot to turn this job down, right? Especially since I'm K-JD?

[patogordo]

yes. law school isn't going anywhere.

[McAvoy]

Do you have UG debt? I would err on the side of getting some work experience.

But I would accept it and still apply this cycle either way. If you get a fully to CCN they'll understand if you jilt them.

[KMart]

It will only help your application and you're still young. I'd take it and see where it goes. If you don't like it you can always go back to law school. Great job on the numbers and offer.

[loomy78]

do not turn this job down. many ex biglaw lawyers would kill for a job like that without law school debt/ 3 years of opportunity costs.

work for a few years, if you hate it, then go to law school.

[MidwestLifer]

My UG debt is a very servicable level.
Everything you guys are saying is echoing the thoughts in my head. I'll just be withdrawing all my applications though, I would never be able to back out of something like this without it weighing heavily on me.

[patogordo]

I have never heard anyone regret working before law school

[dowu]

Take the job.

[baal hadad]

You'd be an idiot to turn that down

[FSK]

Take these year(s) to make sure you really want to be a laywer too.

[Nomo]

You would be crazy to turn down this job. There are plenty of 2nd year biglaw lawyers who wish they could exit into a job like that. Try it out. If you like it stay. If you don't like it then at least you'll have a sense of what you didn't like and whether law might be a better fit (or a worse fit).

[03152016]

if i were offered that i would drop out of law school tomorrow
congrats man
work a few years, gain some experience, put some money away
remember, lsat scores last five years, there's no rush

[JenDarby]

Take the job and run. You can still apply just to see your options, but as others have said there's a lot to be said for work experience.

[BrazilBandit]

Take the Job. Your numbers (GPA/LSAT) will be there for at least 5 more years. If you end up going to Law School later on in life, this work experience would count as a Plus not only in some admissions (Read: Northwestern) but also for employers that are active in the financial field!

[badaboom61]

I'll go against the grain here and say you should go ahead and apply and at least weigh your offers against the job. Going K-JD is great if you can get the job same job or even a similar job out of law school as you would if you wait 2-3 years to apply. If you go K-JD, at age 30 you'll have more experience in your relevant field (law), be making more money, and have made a total greater amount of money in the last 7 years than if you took 2-3 years off to work a 90k job.

Of course, all this is contingent on being able to get the same job either way upon graduating law school. For most people, getting experience first will greatly improve your chances of getting the job they want. For someone with a 3.9/178, you're realistically very likely to get biglaw either way. If you're interested in clerking, judges don't really care about your previous work experience as much as they do your law school grades and post law school experience.

Granted, taking the job and waiting will make you more likely to get the job you want, and you will likely be (marginally) more successful once you get there, especially if you're interested in transactional work / financial work. But if you're set on law school, you're foregoing quite a bit of money and relevant experience by delaying.

[Crowing]

I have never heard anyone regret working before law school

[McAvoy]

I'll go against the grain here and say you should go ahead and apply and at least weigh your offers against the job. Going K-JD is great if you can get the job same job or even a similar job out of law school as you would if you wait 2-3 years to apply. If you go K-JD, at age 30 you'll have more experience in your relevant field (law), be making more money, and have made a total greater amount of money in the last 7 years than if you took 2-3 years off to work a 90k job.

Cosigned. As I mentioned, I think it's still a good idea to play this cycle out. I would rarely give such advice in this situation but you have pretty much impeccable numbers. If you can get debt-free CCN the extra years lawyering over pre-lawyering will be a greater boon to your earning potential and career development, assuming you're positive you want to be a lawyer in the long term.

[MidwestLifer]

Thank you for all the responses. To McAvoy and badaboom - while I would love to see what kind of money CCN throws my way, the offer will expire well before I hear a peep from any of these schools. So unfortunately that's just not an option.

I'm interested in transactional work and my long-term goal is to end up in the same city as this job. So I think the job will help on both counts.

[McAvoy]

Thank you for all the responses. To McAvoy and badaboom - while I would love to see what kind of money CCN throws my way, the offer will expire well before I hear a peep from any of these schools. So unfortunately that's just not an option.

That's not what we said -- accept the offer and then throw out the applications.

If you end up getting a ls offer that you (or any of us) would have difficulty refusing, that's when you'd make this kind of decision. If you don't end up getting a great offer, you have your job, and you have experience going through a full cycle of law school admissions (and hence should be able to do your real cycle rather flawlessly).

[Br3v]

It will only help your application and you're still young. I'd take it and see where it goes. If you don't like it you can always go back to law school. Great job on the numbers and offer.

[Betty Smith]

I don't think it is intelligent to turn this job down, this would have helped your application :/
But since you have made the decision, I hope the damage is not done. Look for more and improve.

[r6_philly]

Take the job. If you still want to be a lawyer, go to law school in 2 years. It would be easy to get in a good school, easy to get a job out of a good law school, and easy to move up once you get to biglaw. Everything would really be a lot better after a couple of years if you want to work in law.

[Retake3X]

OP, congrats on winning at life!

[r6_philly]

OP, congrats on winning at life!

I wouldn't go so far as he is asking TLS for advice on this situation.

[2x2Matrix]

sorry I'm super late to the game here (don't go on these forums that much anymore), but OP, have you already withdrawn? Have you considered seeing what you get, and if you get something you like, deferring that acceptance while you go work?