Please, please, please. The answer to this forum's heading is: NOWHERE.

[swester]

Believe it or not there is this thing called a GLOBAL RESCISSION.  So M.D's, J.D's, Masters students whatever are having hard times. GLOBAL recession is the key word. It is not only a law school recession.  The reality is if you really want to be a lawyer then go to law school, but know it might not work out. Same thing if you want to be a doctor go to med school, again it might not work out. If you want to be a teacher get a teaching credential, again it might not work out. The list goes on and since it is a GLOBAL recession teachers are getting laid off, hospitals are cutting back and few graduates are having the red carpet rolled out for them in any industry..
s
You were right about all your other posts, schools want your money. Harvard does not care anymore about it's students than Cooley does.  If you don't pay your tuition your out, they don't really care about you.  Obviously, any school wants you to succeed, they are human beings. However, if a few student's do not make it they will not lose sleep over it. Same logic applies to all undergrad universities, med schools, master's programs and so on. 

Education is a risk and no matter what you study it could turn out to be a massive waste of time and money.  However, if being a lawyer interests you go to law school, but realize getting the J.D. and passing the bar does not make you special, there are about a million or so other people with the same qualification and you will have to compete with them. That applies to all professions if you get a computer science degree millions of other computer scientists will compete for jobs, NBA basketball players compete for a job, accountants compete for jobs, it goes on forever.  That is just capitalism and the strong survive, the whiners whine and that is how it goes.

I don't think M.D.'s are facing nearly the same crisis as new J.D.'s are facing.  Yes, physicians are probably making less money overall than the enormous sums they used to earn, but with the increasing number of baby boomers hitting old age, the demand for health care will continue to surge. As for M.A.s, those have always been a toss-up in terms of job likelihood; the trade off is that the acquisition cost is much lower, as well.

I do think that the value of a J.D. has plummeted to a disproportionate degree as a result of the recent crisis. To add insult to injury, just as the industry is contracting and firms are making streamlining adjustments to their business models, the number of new J.D.'s continues to surge each year.  THAT is the troubling issue here.

Furthermore, I really don't see any helpful or clear purpose to your highly simplistic statements about capitalism. Sure, the system can be ruthless at times, but it doesn't provide any particular insight to rehash it here.

[bigs5068]

All I am saying is the OP and even the guy who got laid off blame law school for their problems and it is not law school's fault. I imagine the OP is somebody who has never looked for a job before and went straight to law school from undergrad and didn't realize that getting a degree really does not mean that much. I remember that feeling after I finished undergrad and it was a hard realization that nobody really cares that you got a B.A.  Millions of other people have B.A's and you have to go out into the real world and explain to somebody that you are worth having around. So you need to go out to a company and show that you actually have some value. Companies, law firms etc are NOT charities and they will get rid of you if you are not making them money, or just not hire you if they think won't make them money.

So I just get aggravated when people like the OP blame school for their problems.  Education is a risk no matter what you study and nobody has a gun to your head when you show up to the first day of law school or any type of schooling for that matter. Believe it or not you can quit at anytime as well.  No law school, medical school, or undergraduate institution is guaranteeing employment. I imagine even if you get accepted into Harvard they are not saying we guarantee you a job at graduation or that you will even pass the bar. It is up to the student to make it happen.

Even if you get into Harvard Medical School they will not guarantee employment or that you will pass the medical licensing test.  The reason for that is you are paying a school to keep you around and all they really even look at to admit you is a multiple choice test and what your undergrad G.P.A. is or for undergradu your high school G.P.A.. The reason this standard is so lenient no matter type of schooling you are going into is because you are going to be paying the school.

When you graduate you need to convince someone to pay you so the requirements get a LOT STRICTER.

So don't blame your school for the world being hard, they don't owe you a job and don't female dog about how hard and unfair everything is on an internet forum.

That came across a little harsh, but my whole point just don't blame your school for not getting a job. At the end of the day you are responsible for you.

[nerfco]

I think OP was dramatically overstated. There are many people who should go to law school.

However, law school is not a guarantee of a good job, or a guarantee of a job at all. Legal careers, especially at the top end, are tied to the success of big business, and will tend to be cyclical with the economy.

In support of the OP, a lot more people go to law school that should go to law school. Many people who choose law school go in thinking they'll make six figures, and are simply not making rational economic choices, for a variety of reasons.

[bigs5068]

I could not agree with that statement more.

I really think the reason people react the way the OP did is because they have highly unrealistic expectations and our shocked by the reality that they will actually have to go out and find a job and there is a chance even if you put in the work and do everything right it might not work out. That does not just apply to law school, nothing in life is guaranteed there are a lot of hard working people in a number of fields that can't find a job right now. 

I think the reason law school grads are the most vocal about their disappointment compared to other professional schools is because law school attracts individuals from pretty spoiled backgrounds. Obviously, that does not apply to everyone or even most people in law school, but there are a large number of students in my school that are just plain spoiled I don't know how else to put it. I imagine this include the OP who talked about their parents telling them wrong things. If you are blaming your parents for your law school decision and current job disappointment I assume the person is pretty naive and likely spoiled. I could be wrong, but that is my take on it.

[Tofu]

eh it can be argued that my choice isn't worth the money, but i'm pretty happy with where i'm going to go, even if i'm paying sticker

i want to be a lawyer, so yeah.. oh well, i hope the c/o 2013 doesn't do as badly as the c/o 2012 or c/o 2011

[nerfco]

eh it can be argued that my choice isn't worth the money, but i'm pretty happy with where i'm going to go, even if i'm paying sticker

i want to be a lawyer, so yeah.. oh well, i hope the c/o 2013 doesn't do as badly as the c/o 2012 or c/o 2011

The c/o 2012 hasn't done badly yet.

[cooleylawstudent]

I say if any sap only wants to be lawyer for the cash, then we're better off without the ambulence chaser. let them rob a bank.