LS -> FAANG software engineer -> biglaw: possible? Forum

[lotionbasktet234]

Rising 2L at a T6 with comfortably above-median grades, also just finishing up an internship at a FAANG (Facebook / Amazon / Apple etc) company as a software engineer. The company I intern for has a tradition of grandfathering interns for return internships and eventually full-time jobs unless you really screw things up bigtime, so I really want to pursue that avenue for a while: great work-life balance, free food, and good pay (mid-100 range starting with most people making 200+ after two years).

However it's well-known that software engineers tend not to age well so I also want to have the option to go into law (either IP lit or tech transactional) eventually, but taking the FAANG position would mean giving up summer associate positions. Since the majority of biglaw hiring is through summer associate programs, would working for a few years as a FAANG engineer close the door on biglaw? Does the answer change for midlaw and IP litigation boutiques? (I know some patent prosecution practices like ex-software engineers but I have zero interest in pros work.)

It seems like the general consensus is that biglaw is pretty much impossible for those who miss both the 2L OCI boat and also those rare 3L positions, but I'm wondering if someone who has good enough grades to get biglaw during 2L OCI can get a biglaw position a few years after graduation. (Ie. does not having a 2L summer position make one inherently a weaker candidate, or is it because the same factors that caused one not to land a 2L SA would cause one not to be an attractive candidate after graduation?)

[totesTheGoat]

I'm confused. Why are you interning as a software engr when you're in law school? If you want to do software engineering for a while, drop out of law school and do it. If you want to be an IP lawyer, do a SA. If you're not interested in pros, then you're really setting yourself behind by not doing an SA, because IP lit doesn't really care about the fact that you were a software engineer. Transactional only half-cares, and most of the IP transactional attorneys I know have done a stint in pros first.

However it's well-known that software engineers tend not to age well

?? Most senior sw engineers I know make $200k+ and have a better work-life balance than I do. What exactly do you mean here?

Frankly, I think you have things going ass backwards right now, and I'd be confused as hell if I got your resume, whether for an engineering job or for a legal job. I remember having an engineering manager who thought it was a liability to have me going to law school even though I had been in the role for 2 years already, so I can't imagine anybody being super happy having a new hire engr who just graduated law school. That screams flight risk.

[HopefulSplitter0000]

However it's well-known that software engineers tend not to age well

Most senior sw engineers I know make $200k+ and have a better work-life balance than I do. What exactly do you mean here?

I think what OP is referring to is the fact that once you leave software engineering, you cannot really return because new developments release quickly, and older software engineers cannot catch up unless they have been continuously working in the industry.

[albanach]

However it's well-known that software engineers tend not to age well

Most senior sw engineers I know make $200k+ and have a better work-life balance than I do. What exactly do you mean here?

I think what OP is referring to is the fact that once you leave software engineering, you cannot really return because new developments release quickly, and older software engineers cannot catch up unless they have been continuously working in the industry.

So Totes is spot on. Op should take time off now and get the software engineer out of the system. Talk to the school now and find out options for an extended leave of absence.

Or go be a lawyer.

But this strategy of a computing internship during law school seems like a strategy geared to land neither a software nor a biglaw job.

[totesTheGoat]

I think what OP is referring to is the fact that once you leave software engineering, you cannot really return because new developments release quickly, and older software engineers cannot catch up unless they have been continuously working in the industry.

Ah, makes sense. It's more true for some specialties than others. I've looked at whether I could go back to software engineering after being out of the loop 5 years, and I could, but it wouldn't pay anywhere close to what I can make as a patent attorney. Thus, I get my coding fix by automating my paralegal's job away.

[dabigchina]

Your plan doesn't make much sense to me. Either go be an FAANG engineer (which would be my strong recommendation) or go be a lawyer.

Do engineers age out quickly? Yes.

Will any big firm be willing to take a 50 year old ex engineer who went to school 10+ years ago and has never practiced law for a day in their life as a first year? Unless there's a sea change in the legal profession, unlikely.