1Ls Don't Seem Worried about Economy. Why?

[Susan B. Anthony]

crossing my fingers the p.i. market demand stays constant.

i've heard rumblings that our p.i. kids are struggling. also, i don't know why you'd think that funding and competition for these jobs wouldn't be affected by this mess.

because i predict countercyclical government spending, on different priorities set by a new, more-social-justice-oriented administration. i might be wrong, but i think it's not a bad prediction.

well, good luck with that i guess.

[3-Elle]

I'm glad someone brought this topic up. I have been amazed at how little my classmates seem to notice or care about the economy right now. When I talk about how important grades will be for OCI in this economy, people look at me like I'm crazy and say something like "oh we're at a top 25 school, we'll be fine. as long was we get at least B's we'll get a good job". Tons of people I know here haven't even submitted a single resume or cover letter anywhere. It's ridiculous. I can't believe the lack of panic. I'm freaking out. But that may just be me  

[Susan B. Anthony]

crossing my fingers the p.i. market demand stays constant.

i've heard rumblings that our p.i. kids are struggling. also, i don't know why you'd think that funding and competition for these jobs wouldn't be affected by this mess.

because i predict countercyclical government spending, on different priorities set by a new, more-social-justice-oriented administration. i might be wrong, but i think it's not a bad prediction.

well, good luck with that i guess.

as long as the federal government continues to tax at the rates they do, they can afford it. you don't think obama, the former constitutional law lecturer and community organizer, would want to make sure p.i. legal services are funded?

well, i suppose it in part depends what you're defining as p.i., but many p.i. positions aren't tied to federal money. Even if those that are tied to that funding are aggressively funded, or federal money goes to some that haven't been federally funded in the past, decreased availability of those that aren't will probably push people towards those that are. Miss P or others may be able to speak more particularly towards this, but that's my general impression of what's going on.

also, i don't know that i agree with your "the government can totally afford it" premise, but, you know, whatevs.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

I'm glad someone brought this topic up. I have been amazed at how little my classmates seem to notice or care about the economy right now. When I talk about how important grades will be for OCI in this economy, people look at me like I'm crazy and say something like "oh we're at a top 25 school, we'll be fine. as long was we get at least B's we'll get a good job". Tons of people I know here haven't even submitted a single resume or cover letter anywhere. It's ridiculous. I can't believe the lack of panic. I'm freaking out. But that may just be me  

Are you trying to tell me that the four firms from our city coming for Spring OCI aren't each going to hire 50 of us?

Believe it or not, they usually cap it at 40.

 

I see the same type of b.s. at my school.  I thought that everyone read xoxo/ATL and had a general, albeit pessimistic, sense of how these things work, but delusion and denial are pretty rampant.

[SplorkyFish]

I see the same type of b.s. at my school.  I thought that everyone read xoxo/ATL and had a general, albeit pessimistic, sense of how these things work, but delusion and denial are pretty rampant.

You get once concession, Freely: I think the economy will matter a lot for 1L jobs.  However, 1L jobs barely matter at all, long term.  When I was tossing out wacky ideas for summer work, my career coach told me "there is virtually no such thing as a bad career move in the 1L summer."  So I don't see a point in getting too worried about that.

As for the kids in our class, if the economy gets so bad that we can't get a job out of U of C law, then there's no way most of us would have been able to hold down a job under any circumstances.  In a drawn out depression, Debt + JD = no debt + no JD, because nobody can find work and everyone loses all their money.  But the JD might be nice on the upswing.

Alternatively, probably the economy won't get grinding depression bad. In that case, must of us will still be able to find a pretty decent job.  Sure, we it might be harder to choose the exact firm, but we'll make a ton of money and have a choice of several very nice cities.  Heaven forbid that a few narrow-minded drones have to learn that there are about 10-20 other cities in this country with just as much to offer in terms of quality distractions as NYC, and dozens with more to offer in terms of quality of life.  So I don't see what I should be so concerned about. 

The economy's gonna go up and down throughout my lifetime. That's just the way things work.  My JD will help me stay afloat a little bit better both ways.  As a person with no dependents, I'm just not seeing a good reason to freak out just because there's a downturn coming up.  This is just about the best time for me to life through a downturn.  If I had a family to support AND went to a school with worse job prospects, I'd be a lot more worried.  But most people my class don't have families, so why should they get worked up?  Why not worry about global warming or anything else?  I'm way more worried about global warming than I am about the fact that I might not be able to specifically choose the exact office at the exact firm that I would exactly like to work at as a pre-2L with little knowledge of the law, the different cities I could work at, or life at different firms besides what I read online. 

Careers take a long time to play out dude.  It's just not worth getting so worked up over your pole position, should you (misguidedly) choose to view your life as a race.

PS.

"i read it on xoxo" is a reason to disbelieve something.

[SamE397]

I'm still in my last year of undergrad but I can tell you that I'm not terribly worried because

1. What ever my job prospects are when I graduate they'll be better than they are now. I have a very smart friend who recently graduated from my undergrad with a 4. who can't find a job and another friend who graduated last year who is not quite as smart but an incredibly hard worker and really passionate about what they  do who's making ten bucks an hour without benefits.

2. I really don't understand the sort of it's not worth it if I can't make 6 figures right away hysteria that is all over these boards. If I can make a lot of money that's great but personally would be happy making 50-70k at a small firm. I'm not going to law school because I think law is the best way to become rich and if that's why your doing it honestly if your not in a T-14 school I say do something else. There's much less challenging ways to get rich especially if you have good technical skills. I don't think it's horrible to have a slightly above average salary if you're doing something you love.       

[nealric]

If I can make a lot of money that's great but personally would be happy making 50-70k at a small firm.

Would you be happy making 35k at a small firm with 150k in loans? Because that's the situation some people find themselves in.

[SamE397]

If I can make a lot of money that's great but personally would be happy making 50-70k at a small firm.

Would you be happy making 35k at a small firm with 150k in loans? Because that's the situation some people find themselves in.

Honestly, if that was the only kind of job I could get I'd work with it. My father got an MBA in accounting from a third-rate school. When he graduated, he was making 8.5 an hour in the early nineties, after he got a few years work experience and a CPA job opportunities really opened up. He still doesn't make an insanely large amount of money  his salary is well above average though and he's financially secure.

As for the debt part I don't know how to answer that because I'm not going to have that much debt.     

[SamE397]

As for the debt part I don't know how to answer that because I'm not going to have that much debt.     

well then that's why you don't understand the hysteria.

No, this is specifically about not getting a biglaw position right out of school. Look at what the original poster and other people have said. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting to make a lot of money or that people shouldn't consider debt or target for biglaw but if you're pursuing law just to make money I don't think you're in the right profession.

[IPFreely1701]

As for the debt part I don't know how to answer that because I'm not going to have that much debt.     

well then that's why you don't understand the hysteria.

Proposed solution: poor people stop attending law school.

Seriously. Don't tell me that these swarms of reasonably bright (vel non) 20-somethings didn't realize the risk of loading up with 6-figures worth of debt prior to securing gainful employment.

Personally, I think most people on this thread are overshooting on the extent of the recession (which is a commonly observed behavior after fallouts). The class that is MOST screwed? The 2009s. Expect a wave of offer rescinds this spring. I imagine that there will be a recovery by the beginning of 2010. It may not be a boom (that's a whole 'nother ball of wax that economists are worried about) but it's doubtful that current 2Ls are going to be hit that hard; same is true to a greater extent for current 1Ls.

But say that that doesn't happen. Say that things stay in the shitter. Well, guess what Chachi, that's the price you pay for debt loading yourself. No one forced you to come to ls; the cost was apparent upfront; firms don't pretend to hire you on anything but an at will basis; 6-figure jobs don't grow on trees

Hate to be harsh, but a self-inflicted 'hysteria' is hard to sympathize with.