Someone Please Help! Law School Blues!

[carmenjones]

I am so distraught. Ever since college I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. When I did my research it didn't seem like a career I would be happy with. So I deferred admission to give it some thought. I still don't know what I want to do with my life. So I just went ahead and went for orientation. I definitely felt like it wasn't for me when I got there. But then I feel like I might as well go through with it because having a J.D. is prestigous, respected and a good degree to have. I don't know what to do!!! Should I just go back and try to stick with it? I'm not making any money at my current job now. Hope I will if I get my J.D. cuz it's going to cost me over $100,000!! Any advice

[sondra_finchley]

Dont do it.

Seriously, if you ever read through forums for people looking to apply to law school or surveys of current lawyers, if you arent totally 100% happy with law, studying law, living law, and breathing law then you are 1) wasting your time and money and 2) will be miserable for years trying to make up/pay back what you lost. Some people live to get on the Big Law merry-go-round, others dont, but then drift away from law when they realize how little about the practice they enjoy. Sure its prestigious, but why try to impress other people at a party if for the next 40 years of your life you hate getting up in the morning and hate every moment of your 14-hour work day just in the name of "prestige"?

No one knows what to do with their life right after school, no one gets paid anything, and no one has any sort of job satisfaction. Come up with some alternate plan of things you would maybe want to do in a year and then work and save the money and go do them. Dont just go to law school because you have no other ideas and think its a fast-track to decent wages and status because 95% of the time it isnt.

[aggiegrad05]

Dont do it.

Seriously, if you ever read through forums for people looking to apply to law school or surveys of current lawyers, if you arent totally 100% happy with law, studying law, living law, and breathing law then you are 1) wasting your time and money and 2) will be miserable for years trying to make up/pay back what you lost. Some people live to get on the Big Law merry-go-round, others dont, but then drift away from law when they realize how little about the practice they enjoy. Sure its prestigious, but why try to impress other people at a party if for the next 40 years of your life you hate getting up in the morning and hate every moment of your 14-hour work day just in the name of "prestige"?

No one knows what to do with their life right after school, no one gets paid anything, and no one has any sort of job satisfaction. Come up with some alternate plan of things you would maybe want to do in a year and then work and save the money and go do them. Dont just go to law school because you have no other ideas and think its a fast-track to decent wages and status because 95% of the time it isnt.
Agreed. I thought I wanted to go to law school, too. I took the LSAT prep courses, took the LSAT (and did well), even started to apply to the handful of schools I was considering. But somewhere in the middle of the prep class I just *knew*, like in my gut, that it wasn't for me. Thank God I came to my senses because now that I've been in a professional setting for a couple of years, I realize that law would've been the worst career path EVER for me. Go with your gut. It's infinitely better to be happy with your job and make less money than to be rich and miserable (and no one ever said that all lawyers are rich).

[carmenjones]

Thanks so much for your advice! I withdrawed from the law school. But I'm still confused. I don't know what I want to do now. I work in Public Health but I know I like magazines and entertainment. How can I break into this industry when my experience is in Public Health? I probably can't huh........

[winneythepooh7]

Well, it's good that you didn't go through with law school. It sounds to me like you need to get your foot in the door somewhere, and work your way up to what you'd ultimately like to be doing. I honestly don't know anyone really who has started out in life at their dream job. Maybe intern or volunteer somewhere related to what you'd like to go into? Join a networking group for that field?

[carmenjones]

Thanks so much for the advice! I just need to figure out what I want to do......it's so hard to find jobs and things. I go on career builder and washington post. No leads yet. Any suggestions? I don't know where to begin to find a new job.

[Mr. Bubble]

Hi, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer and it turned into absolute hell for me. In seven months, i lost my job, my fiancee, and sense of self worth. Search my posts for a taste of what its like.

I just thank my lucky stars that I got a full scholarship to law school, I'd probably be institutionalized right now if I didnt have that escape hatch.

If you still want to give law school a shot, practice your ass off for the LSATs and go to whatever school will give you a full ride. I don't want another soul to be stuck in a place like I was.

- Mr. Bubble