Is law school worth it?- Freaked Out!

[TheDudeMan]

Nothing like quiting a grad degree to get an associates degree

That being said most lawstudents would kill themselves day one of a real school. "what do you mean I have to get an 80% or better on ALL exams or fail, where's the curve...daddy.... "   

Most grad. programs have HUGE grade inflation so give me a break.  Law school curves are generally to the detriment of students, not the other way around. 

Not to mention the fact that you can't score a law school exam on a straight percentage basis.  I've taken exams where an A is getting 50-60% of the issues/points.

I've been to grad school, it's a joke compared to professional school.

[cooleylawstudent]

Thanks for confiming my statements. What the hell did you think was written there? Nurse degree hard, lawstudents cry,etc,etc....

Nothing like quiting a grad degree to get an associates degree

That being said most lawstudents would kill themselves day one of a real school. "what do you mean I have to get an 80% or better on ALL exams or fail, where's the curve...daddy.... "   

Most grad. programs have HUGE grade inflation so give me a break.  Law school curves are generally to the detriment of students, not the other way around. 

Not to mention the fact that you can't score a law school exam on a straight percentage basis.  I've taken exams where an A is getting 50-60% of the issues/points.

I've been to grad school, it's a joke compared to professional school.

[cooleylawstudent]

And not that it even matters, but your wrong about not being able to score lawschool exams on a straight gradeing key, there are lawschools that do it. Clearly it can be done. All the crybabies could quit and we'd have only a portion of the lawyers in the world, but somehow I think society would carry on despite that.

[CJScalia]

CJScalia, you keep repeating the same thing. I have a business background and a great familiarity with economics. You don't need to keep repeating that unemployment is bad in the US. The question is whether law school is worth it. The answer is, flatly, "no." It is only worth it if you have a strong connection in the industry, or if you go to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Otherwise, if you are going by strict economic calculations, it is definitely not worth it (and if you're going by lifestyle calculations, it's not worth it either, but that's neither here nor there).

You need to calm down and stop filling the board with your spin campaign.

You're the one on a spin campaign, not me.

Please educate me then, since you're pretty much telling 99% of the law school population they're doing something wrong; what should they rather do?

[cooleylawstudent]

get an MBA and hope for the best based on his posts

CJScalia, you keep repeating the same thing. I have a business background and a great familiarity with economics. You don't need to keep repeating that unemployment is bad in the US. The question is whether law school is worth it. The answer is, flatly, "no." It is only worth it if you have a strong connection in the industry, or if you go to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Otherwise, if you are going by strict economic calculations, it is definitely not worth it (and if you're going by lifestyle calculations, it's not worth it either, but that's neither here nor there).

You need to calm down and stop filling the board with your spin campaign.

You're the one on a spin campaign, not me.

Please educate me then, since you're pretty much telling 99% of the law school population they're doing something wrong; what should they rather do?

[IAmMultipleBooks]

CJScalia, you keep repeating the same thing. I have a business background and a great familiarity with economics. You don't need to keep repeating that unemployment is bad in the US. The question is whether law school is worth it. The answer is, flatly, "no." It is only worth it if you have a strong connection in the industry, or if you go to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Otherwise, if you are going by strict economic calculations, it is definitely not worth it (and if you're going by lifestyle calculations, it's not worth it either, but that's neither here nor there).

You need to calm down and stop filling the board with your spin campaign.

You're the one on a spin campaign, not me.


Please educate me then, since you're pretty much telling 99% of the law school population they're doing something wrong; what should they rather do?

You guys should make a serious cost-benefit analysis and take the experiences of graduating 3Ls, law grads, and young lawyers seriously. I have been 100% honest in all my posts. Take it as you wish.

[cooleylawstudent]

And yet you don't even know what makes up a full JD...interesting stuff.

[no name]

Is it worth it?  I'd say, at least right now, it isn't.

I went to law school not because I didn't know what to do, or I thought it'd be a good way to spend my time, or not for any other reasons people tell you for which you shouldn't go to law school.  I went to law school because I wanted to be a lawyer and I've always wanted to go to law school.  If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have done it.

I don't think law school itself is that terrible.  Yeah, it's a lot of work.  Exam period is brutal, stressful and all the other things year hear people say.  But it's not impossible.  If you're not afraid of hard work you shouldn't be afraid of law school.  Besides, only the first year is really all that bad, you kinda learn the 'trade' sort of speak in your second and third years.

However it's the aftermath that made me wish I hadn't gone to law school.  I'm graduating from a T25 school, I'm doing ok grade wise (not top 10%, not bottom half) but I have no clue what I'll be doing once I graduate.  The job market is seriously sad and depressing.  It's all true what people say about the oversaturated market, lack of work, bleak outlook for the future.  It's that and worse.  I have friends who are on Law Journal, top of the class, who don't have jobs either.  In fact probably less than half of the graduating class has jobs lined up, and this is a fairly good school I'm talking about.  Unfortunately for me too, I have quite a bit of debt from law school, makes the urgency of getting a job even more real.  And I'm not even talking about not being able to get 'big law' or 'mid law' jobs, I'm talking ANY jobs.  People often say, well you can always do public service work, non-profit, good luck with that.  

It really is all about connections.  If you have family members, friends, etc who can get you a job, then by all means go to law school.  If you can get a full scholarship for all three years, go to law school.  If not, I strongly advise against it.  It really is awful out there right now.  All the negative information is not just 'anecdotes' it really is bad.  Now it's true I don't know how things will be in three years when you're ready to graduate.  Nobody knows, but considering the number of lawyers out of work right now, three years is not that long a time period.

[TheDudeMan]

- No reputable law school grades like that.  What TTT do you attend?  I sense some bitter resentment at going to a second rate school.  Must be tough living with such a big chip on your shoulder.

[PSUDSL08]

Please tell me, good Sir, which educations are walking into fame and fortune directly out of school these days? You guys keep talking as if we're in a lawyer-exclusive recession. Newsflash for you, things are FUBAR all across the board.

At this point, we're not talking about "fame and fortune," we're talking about finding a job period. And while I'd agree that things are FUBAR across the board, I'd surmise that the job market for attorneys is worse than the job market is for many other fields. Plus, a thing to keep in mind is that you're geographically limited in your job search with a JD. The average 20-something business major who gets laid off can switch disciplines (i.e. going from a finance to a business logistics position) and/or apply for jobs all across the country. The average 20-something law grad may be bar admitted in two states, three at most. And if you've interned at the PD's office for two years, it's a tough sell during an interview that you're all of a sudden interested in labor law.

What do you want to do with your life?
What opportunities do you have with your current education?
What other graduate educations can you choose between?

People should take these factors into consideration and not rely on the blanket statements of the miserable. That being said, many prospective 1L's are not doing this. I don't have statistics, but I'm guessing at least 50% of prospective 1L's are going straight from undergrad to law school...taking no time to explore opportunities in other career fields.