Pursue law school or new-found passion? Forum

[reaisan]

Hello!

How many of you had several dreams before deciding on law school? What made you choose?

I've been certain most of my life that I would become a lawyer. Then, I began working for a maternal health public policy group. I feel like I could be a better advocate for these causes and have a more fulfilling career with as a certified nurse midwife.

This switch will mean starting from near-scratch. I haven't completed any required courses to become a registered nurse and begin a midwifery graduate program. So obtaining the credentials may take longer than going to law school. On the plus side, midwife job prospects are good, it may not cost more than law school to take the required courses, and the starting pay isn't bad at all when compared to a new lawyer. As a new midwife, I can expect around 68k versus 35K as a fresh lawyer... if I get a firm job at all.

I'm not sure if it's worth switching careers, staying on track toward law school, or figuring out a way to combine my two passions.

What are your thoughts?

[RedBirds2011]

Hello!

How many of you had several dreams before deciding on law school? What made you choose?

I've been certain most of my life that I would become a lawyer. Then, I began working for a maternal health public policy group. I feel like I could be a better advocate for these causes and have a more fulfilling career with as a certified nurse midwife.

This switch will mean starting from near-scratch. I haven't completed any required courses to become a registered nurse and begin a midwifery graduate program. So obtaining the credentials may take longer than going to law school. On the plus side, midwife job prospects are good, it may not cost more than law school to take the required courses, and the starting pay isn't bad at all when compared to a new lawyer. As a new midwife, I can expect around 68k versus 35K as a fresh lawyer... if I get a firm job at all.

I'm not sure if it's worth switching careers, staying on track toward law school, or figuring out a way to combine my two passions.

What are your thoughts?

Thre certainly isn't any rush to go to LS. Pursue your passion and gain experience/make and save money and then later decide if going to law school would make sense. LS isn't going anywhere you have time.

[aekea]

So, you think that being a midwife would be more fulfilling than being a lawyer, and you'd be making more money. I'm not sure why you're still considering law school at all. It seems like what's holding you up is that you've had the plan to go to law school for a long time and it's hard to adjust to a new plan. But, honestly, if you're only going to be making $35k as a lawyer and you found something else that you are more passionate about, this is an easy choice.

[fruitoftheloom]

Go to nursing school. You know what makes a crap load of money? Legal nurse consultants. You can always go to law school later in life, then move over to offering legal/medical advice for litigation!

[annet]

Hello!

How many of you had several dreams before deciding on law school? What made you choose?

I've been certain most of my life that I would become a lawyer. Then, I began working for a maternal health public policy group. I feel like I could be a better advocate for these causes and have a more fulfilling career with as a certified nurse midwife.

This switch will mean starting from near-scratch. I haven't completed any required courses to become a registered nurse and begin a midwifery graduate program. So obtaining the credentials may take longer than going to law school. On the plus side, midwife job prospects are good, it may not cost more than law school to take the required courses, and the starting pay isn't bad at all when compared to a new lawyer. As a new midwife, I can expect around 68k versus 35K as a fresh lawyer... if I get a firm job at all.

I'm not sure if it's worth switching careers, staying on track toward law school, or figuring out a way to combine my two passions.

What are your thoughts?

A few questions, if you don't mind, what are your stats in general? Have you taken any hard science courses and, if so, how did you do? Could you keep working as you made up the pre-reqs for nursing school? Have you shadowed a midwife and are sure you can handle the work?

It sounds like a good idea. My sister had Grand Plans about one career and stumbled into a similar health/service career that she absolutely loves. One nice thing about health sciences is that because of the high demand, community colleges are set up to help you. Depending on where you live there may even be some courses that are guaranteed to transfer to the nearest major university and save you significant $$.

[reaisan]

Thre certainly isn't any rush to go to LS. Pursue your passion and gain experience/make and save money and then later decide if going to law school would make sense. LS isn't going anywhere you have time.

I think that's the route I want to take: try it out and see what happens. I guess my biggest hesitation is that I've plotted for years about LS, and only a few months with midwifery. I'm a very risk-adverse person, so this switch is almost too big to handle. Thanks for the encouragement!