1 year later....still glad u went to law school?

[RootBrewskies]

so, lots of people have finished 1L now.  hey, lots of people are finishing 2L and 3L now.  so the question to everyone is, are you still glad you decided to go to law school? 

there are countless things you could have been doing this last 1,2, or 3 years so are you happy you decided to spend the time at your respective law school?  also are you happy knowing that you've spent this recent time preparing for a career in law? 

[tellmeaboutit]

Absolutely not. I tend to believe most people stick to law despite being miserable because they can't figure out how they will pay their student loans if they quit law school.

[Italian2L]

Absolutely not. I tend to believe most people stick to law despite being miserable because they can't figure out how they will pay their student loans if they quit law school.

You have been stinking this place up with negativity. What is it about the law that you hate so much? I realize that there is a very high rate of dissatisfaction in the profession, but do you really believe that 'most people' are 'miserable?'

[melvin]

What is it about the law that you hate so much? I realize that there is a very high rate of dissatisfaction in the profession, but do you really believe that 'most people' are 'miserable?'

procrastinator, there's not that difficult to figure out what is it about law that makes some (or should I say most) people hate it .. I, for one, do believe that most lawyers are miserable; some of the latter may be well-off financially, but their lives suck.

[Italian2L]

What is it about the law that you hate so much? I realize that there is a very high rate of dissatisfaction in the profession, but do you really believe that 'most people' are 'miserable?'

procrastinator, there's not that difficult to figure out what is it about law that makes some (or should I say most) people hate it .. I, for one, do believe that most lawyers are miserable; some of the latter may be well-off financially, but their lives suck.

Yeah okay, I guess it's not difficult to understand what it is about the law that makes some people hate it, I still don't buy that 'most' lawyers are miserable though. Maybe its just luck that most lawyers and law students that I know aren't miserable and actually enjoy their lives.

[melvin]

Maybe the law students and lawyers you know do not want to advertise the fact that their lives suck? Just a suggestion ..

[RootBrewskies]

find a job where there arent miserable people doing it.  no matter what it is, someone is always complaining about their job and saying how much their life sucks. 

i'm not asking you guys if there exists a culture of people who would probably be unhappy no matter what they did.  i'm asking if you guys are satisfied with your decision.  do you think you will be happy with your life/career?  are you happy with your life now?  if you could time travel back a year what would u realistically do differently?  would u not go to school?  and do u find yourself sticking with law school simply because you dont think you could pay off your loans if you dont?

[Italian2L]

find a job where there arent miserable people doing it.  no matter what it is, someone is always complaining about their job and saying how much their life sucks. 

i'm not asking you guys if there exists a culture of people who would probably be unhappy no matter what they did.  i'm asking if you guys are satisfied with your decision.  do you think you will be happy with your life/career?  are you happy with your life now?  if you could time travel back a year what would u realistically do differently?  would u not go to school?  and do u find yourself sticking with law school simply because you dont think you could pay off your loans if you dont?

I'll be a 3L in the fall and personally I am very happy with my life right now, including my decision to go to law school. I usually enjoy the material and I have made a lot of good friends. I don't know how I will feel about practice, but I'm not expecting to be particularly unhappy. Loans have nothing to do with me sticking it out because I came in with a full ride. In fact, if I could do one thing differently I probably would have gone to a higher ranked school and incurred more debt in order to have better employment prospects instead of taking the safe approach in accepting a scholarship....Or perhaps I would have taken another year or two to goof off. Either way, no serious regrets here.

[Italian2L]

Maybe the law students and lawyers you know do not want to advertise the fact that their lives suck? Just a suggestion ..

I suppose thats possible, but in my experience most truly miserable people are not all that great at hiding the fact that they're miserable, at least not from people with whom they are more than just casually acquainted. In any case, this is all just anectdotal.

[Shadowalker]

I will go on record and say it:

Choosing to attend law school was the worst mistake of my life.

I just finished 2L at a tier 1. My GPA is right at the top 10% cutoff and I am also on Law Review. So, my displeasure does not stem from my accomplishments in a classroom. Instead, I have found that with each passing day, I simply just like the law a little bit less. There is no particular reason except I am just not interested in it any longer. The possibility that I may have to deal with law every single day until I die is almost enough to have me pull the trigger and withdraw. But, b/c of the loans, I am sticking it out. I have to pay them back and cannot figure out how I could do so if I quit law school now.

But, in answer to the OP's question, NO -- I am not glad I went to law school. Further, I would encourage every single person thinking about law school to NOT apply until you have dealt with the law in some capacity and know without a doubt that you want to pursue a JD.

If I could do it all over again, I would go to med school, or dental school, or hell . . . maybe just make cocktails on the beach ala Tom Cruise in "Cocktail."