Law School Discussion

What is your purpose in posting this here?  We've all made the decision (for better or worse) to go to law school.

Like I said, I wanted to know what are the advantages of becoming a lawyer as opposed to working in financial services? I am positive there are people on this board that have the same feelings as I do since many graduates go into the financial path, but decide there's no point on dwelling on it.

I recently spoke to a couple of lawyers. They said that they regret being lawyers and that there are way better options out there to make big bucks and have flexible hrs. If they could start over, they would go into business. The starting salary for Goldman Sachs, Smith Barney, Ernst & Young, etc. is $55,000 - $60,000 for college grads and after a few yrs 125-150k (plus bonuses). And this is not limited to NYU or Columbia graduates. Public state college graduates can achieve this. Most of law school graduates can't even make $40,000 as starting salary (besides top 20s of course) and they just wasted 3-4 years of their life where they could've earned 4 times as much if they went into business.

They also said many law students go into law b/c they are not good at crunching numbers and don't understand stocks (statistics do show the avergage american do worse in college math courses as oppose to liberal arts (where it's easier to simply write bs papers and talk in class for participation. The students that tend to do better at math/accting/finance are asians, indians, europeans, and other foreigners).

Could this be one reason why law students choose the lawyer path even though it requires a lot more work to make $$$ and less time to spend with your family, have a social life, etc (unless you're a hermit and family and loved ones are the least of your priorities) and not to mention the general public thinks lawyers are liars and scumbags (the minute u tell them ur a lawyer, they give u the cold shoulder)?

Otherwise, why would people forego the opportunity of making so much money at financial services and not have to waste 3-4 years of their life in a grim law institution where everyone has a frown and the professors never smile??

Let's face it. Not everybody that go into law school for the simple reason that they like the law - for many it's about choosing a career path b/c there really aren't that many choices out there & money (whether it's for their loved ones, children, etc). Besides, nobody likes to work more than they have to whether it's for financial services or as a lawyer. I hate to mention that law students have the highest depression rate.
Any feedbacks would be appreciated. I just want some positivity that I'm making the right choice and that there are advantages over what those lawyers said.