Sunday, April 20, 2014

"The Job Market for Law Grads is So Bad..."

HOW BAD IS IT!?

It's so bad employers actually have the balls to post a want ad for VOLUNTEER LAWYERS!

6 comments:

  1. PeppermintPanda2:30 PM

    I wish more people understood the reality of higher education ...

    If you graduate from one of the top 50% of schools, in a field in the top 50% for job prospects, in the top 50% of your class, and are in the lowest 50% of student loan debt your education will probably be worth it. The further you get away from this ideal the worse of a payoff there will be.

    Unfortunately, a lot of people made bad decisions about their education and are doubling down by entering into law school. When they don't graduate from one of the top 50% of law schools, with one of the top 50% of disciplines for job prospects, in the top 50% of their class, and in the bottom 50% of debt it won't work out for them.

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  2. Jesus, $40,000 for a kid with 6 figure debt? I've got 20 year olds who can barely read working for me who make double that. I should be recruiting law school grads for deckhand jobs on my boat. They could pay their loans back.

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  3. So why do lawyers still charge so much money?

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  4. Anonymous6:08 PM

    What would your advice be for a second-year law student (one more year to go) with about $50k in law school debt? Seems stupid to drop out now, but . . .

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  5. Bones6:16 AM

    Anon 6:08

    Get out of law school. Cap will correct me but I believe you are making an analytical mistake called 'the sunk cost fallacy.'

    Every law specialty is saturated, including patent law and tax law.
    Besides, even if you manage to get a job, you will hate, hate, hate it in five years. Law is hard, grinding, uninteresting work for the most part. You will be putting in 50-60 hour weeks. Thanks to the cell phone your clients will call you seven days a week, day and night.

    I practiced law for twenty five years and going into the field was the single worst decision I ever made. 80% of lawyers I know would agree with that.

    Assuming, of course that you are actually able to find work, which, in this market is highly unlikely unless you went to a top 5 law school. Otherwise If you don't practice law, that J.D. will actually hurt you when applying for other jobs.

    You should take a look at blogs like 'First Tier Toilet' for the modern reality of law school.

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  6. Anonymous11:49 AM

    Bones, I totally agree with you. I practiced law for over 25 years, and I hated it. Even when it was (mostly) lucrative it was (barely) tolerable. I quit the profession, went to technical school, and got an A&P license. I now work as an aircraft mechanic, and I love what I do. I currently make in a year what I made the first year I was a lawyer in the mid-1980s, and I don't care at all. I actively work to discourage anyone from going to law school. EVERY lawyer I know would rather be doing something else.

    Anonymous 6:08, here's a suggestion: drop out of law school, get a welding certification, and make a lot of money. Pay off your law school loans and enjoy your life.

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