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

[Kazzzzzzzzaaam]

Wow, actually I've only had one screen name. Oh, good one- I haven't been to law school. I guess that precludes me from sharing my personal experience of deciding whether or not to attend. And you are exactly the kind of feminine hygiene product bag who belongs in law school! Congrats. Enjoy your loveless existence!

Share all you want. But if you notice, this board is for Students (of lawschools) and Graduates (of lawschools). Go post your negativity on the kiddy board.

Also, if the Student's and Graduates sign wasn't enough, this particular is entitled "1 year later....still glad u went to lawschool". It's not entitled "Please tell me why you were too big of a female private part to go to lawschool."

Damn...  that was uncalled for...  FTR, I appreciated his input

[Budlaw]

Wow, actually I've only had one screen name. Oh, good one- I haven't been to law school. I guess that precludes me from sharing my personal experience of deciding whether or not to attend. And you are exactly the kind of feminine hygiene product bag who belongs in law school! Congrats. Enjoy your loveless existence!

Share all you want. But if you notice, this board is for Students (of lawschools) and Graduates (of lawschools). Go post your negativity on the kiddy board.

Also, if the Student's and Graduates sign wasn't enough, this particular is entitled "1 year later....still glad u went to lawschool". It's not entitled "Please tell me why you were too big of a female private part to go to lawschool."

d**mn...  that was uncalled for...  FTR, I appreciated his input

Neither was him calling me a feminine hygiene product. Also, I can't stand it when someone who really has no idea what lawschool or the law is about decides to comment on it.

[jason1114]

Share all you want. But if you notice, this board is for Students (of lawschools) and Graduates (of lawschools). Go post your negativity on the kiddy board.

Also, if the Student's and Graduates sign wasn't enough, this particular is entitled "1 year later....still glad u went to lawschool". It's not entitled "Please tell me why you were too big of a female private part to go to lawschool."

TITCR... Put rather bluntly, but really, the "I decided not to go to law school" rants probably belong on the other board.

[hookslaw]

Well, well, well, it looks like jason1114 has fallen in love with Budlaw! LOL

[jason1114]

Yeah, we're going to have f-in' babies... haha

[sine qua non]

After investing a good deal of time and money on the lsats and applications, I've decided not to attend law school. For the last 6 months, I've worked in a law office and have been grossed out by the unhappy, greedy, elitist people that work here. In talking to people currently in law school I've heard the phrase "biggest mistake of my life" too many times to brush it off as mere "negativity." For many it's reality. Just look at the statistics on job-related depression. Law is #1 by far. A majority of lawyers say they wish they had gone into something else. That is not the norm. I couldn't ignore that.
From talking to many people who've had careers in law or are currently in law school I've learned one thing- whether or not you'll like law school and the profession that follows has a good deal to do with your personality. I would have been the worst person to attend law school. I don't take myself particularly seriously. I don't care much about money, status, etc. I enjoy interacting with people in a more personal way. I am much better suited toward psych/teaching type professions than law. There are academic articles you can read about how law school seeks to strip away your personality. It’s not as nefarious as it sounds, but the point is to get you to “think like a lawyer.” That isn’t a joke. The ultra-competitive atmosphere is by design. The curves are in place to breed a certain type of professional. If you have a more rigid, business-oriented personality than you might love the law. Or if you are truly passionate about going into public interest it may be a great choice.
Having checked these boards regularly for the last year, I’ve noticed a few oft repeated fallacies. One is that “the 40 hour work week is dead. All jobs are at least 50-60 hours, so you might as well get a law degree and clean up monetarily.” What world do these people live in? Are the only careers in the world doctors, lawyers and dentists?
Another fallacy is that people believe the law is incredibly interesting work, while careers in, for example, the government are nothing but “paper pushing.” In some areas, I’m sure this is true. But having seen what corporate lawyers and tax lawyers actually do- shoveling crap would be just as interesting and at least you don’t have to do it 70 hours a week.
Don’t choose your career because it sounds good to your friends and family. Choose what you love or at least what doesn’t make you miserable. Obviously I’m not a law student, so take my advice for what it’s worth. Just because you are smart doesn’t mean you have to go to law school. That being said, I wish all of you the best who choose to attend.

i don't see the problem with anything von has said. I almost doubt that he HASN'T attended law school, because his depiction is pretty accurate.

It is elitist. Lawyers DO have higher rates of depression/ substance abuse. It os made to make rabidly competitive professionals... tax law and corporate law ARE boring as hell...and you CAN have a satisfying career and comfortable lifestyle working 40 hours a week. no doubt about it!

so, i say congrats von, because you've made a good decision for you and I promise you there are many law students on this board who deep down HATE law school and the law but are simply too spineless to give up the prestige factor and find jobs they would really love.

[mi]

Yeah, we're going to have f-in' babies... haha

Don't take the babies thing lightly! Take a look here,

http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,33732.0.html

[Bored 3L]

After investing a good deal of time and money on the lsats and applications, I've decided not to attend law school. For the last 6 months, I've worked in a law office and have been grossed out by the unhappy, greedy, elitist people that work here. In talking to people currently in law school I've heard the phrase "biggest mistake of my life" too many times to brush it off as mere "negativity." For many it's reality. Just look at the statistics on job-related depression. Law is #1 by far. A majority of lawyers say they wish they had gone into something else. That is not the norm. I couldn't ignore that.
From talking to many people who've had careers in law or are currently in law school I've learned one thing- whether or not you'll like law school and the profession that follows has a good deal to do with your personality. I would have been the worst person to attend law school. I don't take myself particularly seriously. I don't care much about money, status, etc. I enjoy interacting with people in a more personal way. I am much better suited toward psych/teaching type professions than law. There are academic articles you can read about how law school seeks to strip away your personality. It’s not as nefarious as it sounds, but the point is to get you to “think like a lawyer.” That isn’t a joke. The ultra-competitive atmosphere is by design. The curves are in place to breed a certain type of professional. If you have a more rigid, business-oriented personality than you might love the law. Or if you are truly passionate about going into public interest it may be a great choice.
Having checked these boards regularly for the last year, I’ve noticed a few oft repeated fallacies. One is that “the 40 hour work week is dead. All jobs are at least 50-60 hours, so you might as well get a law degree and clean up monetarily.” What world do these people live in? Are the only careers in the world doctors, lawyers and dentists?
Another fallacy is that people believe the law is incredibly interesting work, while careers in, for example, the government are nothing but “paper pushing.” In some areas, I’m sure this is true. But having seen what corporate lawyers and tax lawyers actually do- shoveling crap would be just as interesting and at least you don’t have to do it 70 hours a week.
Don’t choose your career because it sounds good to your friends and family. Choose what you love or at least what doesn’t make you miserable. Obviously I’m not a law student, so take my advice for what it’s worth. Just because you are smart doesn’t mean you have to go to law school. That being said, I wish all of you the best who choose to attend.

i don't see the problem with anything von has said. I almost doubt that he HASN'T attended law school, because his depiction is pretty accurate.

It is elitist. Lawyers DO have higher rates of depression/ substance abuse. It os made to make rabidly competitive professionals... tax law and corporate law ARE boring as hell...and you CAN have a satisfying career and comfortable lifestyle working 40 hours a week. no doubt about it!

so, i say congrats von, because you've made a good decision for you and I promise you there are many law students on this board who deep down HATE law school and the law but are simply too spineless to give up the prestige factor and find jobs they would really love.

Agreed.  Statistically, a large percentage of lawyers are unhappy in the law and regret their decision to go to lawschool.

Though I do think that if you want to lead a middle-class lifestyle in a major metropolitan area, 40-hour weeks are pretty much dead.

[brewha]

Wow, actually I've only had one screen name. Oh, good one- I haven't been to law school. I guess that precludes me from sharing my personal experience of deciding whether or not to attend. And you are exactly the kind of feminine hygiene product bag who belongs in law school! Congrats. Enjoy your loveless existence!

Share all you want. But if you notice, this board is for Students (of lawschools) and Graduates (of lawschools). Go post your negativity on the kiddy board.

Also, if the Student's and Graduates sign wasn't enough, this particular is entitled "1 year later....still glad u went to lawschool". It's not entitled "Please tell me why you were too big of a female private part to go to lawschool."

Haha, I couldn't agree with Budlaw more.  I'll stick up for anyone that HAS gone through that hellish first year of law school before anyone that couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't any day of the week.  Vonhayes, your useless justification for not personally attending lawschool is entirely irrelevant to the topic of this thread.  We have chosen to go through law school and have completed the most difficult part of the process.  What makes you think that any of us give a sh&t why you chose not to attend... let alone why you believe 80% of us made the decision to attend for the wrong reasons?  It seems to me that your continued posting on the STUDENTS AND GRADUATE side of the board is a lame attempt to become a part of something you lacked the courage to undertake. 

You have no basis upon which to hand out advice or words of wisdom to any of us on this side of the board and I hope you don't begin to post baseless garbage on the Pre-law side of the board to scare potential law students out of a tremendous opportunity. 

[John Galt]

Agreed.  Statistically, a large percentage of lawyers are unhappy in the law and regret their decision to go to lawschool.

Statistically, a large percentage of people, regardless of their profession, are probably unhappy with their profession at some point. I doubt job dissatisfaction is a phenomenon of the legal industry.