SO lawyers come in! (may DD)

[abcdefu]

I am seriously considering going to law school. Right now I work as a paralegal and I love it. I always said if I decided to go to law school, ideally I would want to start before I'm 30. I am currently 27. I am very passionate about law and I idolize one of the lawyers I work with(sounds corny, I know)

Even though I want to be a lawyer more than anything, there are a lot of factors I have to take into consideration.

1. I have $46,000 i undergrad debt. I would ideally like to get this paid down significantly before I pile more student debt on top.

2. I'm single and on my own. I have to be able to work and go to school at the same time. So a part time program plus summers would be the route I would have to take.

3. Also the closest law schools to me are 1-2 hours away from my work and home. I have no clue how I would be able to work all day, drive an hour to school, go to class, drive another hour home, and do homework and study.

4. I work for a small firm now (3 lawyers). One of them is getting close to retirement age, but I am unsure when she will retire. I feel as though if/when the one lawyer retires, if I had my JD, I would be able to take her place. So I would almost be guaranteed a job.

Now after reading all of that (and thank you for reading) my questions:

1. did you have any of these issues while attending law school?
2. If these were your issues would you still have went to law school?
3. Am I absolutely crazy for thinking I could make this work and work full time?
4. Do you regret going to law school? do you currently use your degree?

Sorry this got so long! I am just feeling lost in my career. I feel like there is nowhere for me to move up because the next step would be becoming a lawyer.

God I ramble alot!

[jojoandleo]

I loved law school. Like, I miss it, which is rare. However, I was incredibly lucky. I got a scholarship and went to basically the cheapest law school in America. I also got married and had MH to pay bills so I didn't have to work.

First- I had to sign a contract stating I would not work more than 20 hours a week while in school. And the dean really suggested not working at all.

Second-your pay grade right out of law school isn't great. I mean, you have room to grow, but you don't start out making 6 figures. (Unless you go to an amazing law schoo and graduate top 10%)

Third- I graduated top 11% and job hunting was still rough. Too many people go to,law school.

In the end, if you really passionately want to be a lawyer, do it. If you think being a lawyer=big bucks, don't.

[whattheheck]

I worked full time as a paralegal while going to law school at night. I didn't do summers and it took me four years. I think I had it easy compared to the oncologist, physicist, eye doctor, etc., who held what I perceived to be much more demanding jobs than paralegal. There were also students with spouses and families. The nice thing about working full time and going at night was the people - the students were SO diverse. Doctors, scientists, police officers, federal marshal, accountants, publishers, bankers, etc. I don't think the day program had nearly the diversity that the night program did.

I don't regret going to law school but I no longer use my degree. When I did though - I had a job that I LOVED and was passionate about.

[Serenity9]

I started out law school attending at night and working during the day, but I switched to they day program after my 1st year, and kept working around my class schedule.

If law is what you are absolutely certain you want to do, then that's what you should do. But if you have any doubts, keep thinking because it's going to be hard. And I don't just mean that the school program is hard - I have a ton of debt, I had a hard time finding a job after graduating, my salary is not that great, and the pressure is high. That said, I do love my job.

It sounds like you might have a good chance of getting a job at your current firm, but if that fell through for whatever reason, you'd have to find a legal job elsewhere and the market is difficult right now. And more often than not, you can't fall back on being a paralegal because a lot of firms won't hire someone with a JD to be a paralegal because they think you'll be out of there if you find a job as an attorney somewhere.

There were plenty of people who discouraged me from going to law school. I don't regret going because things ended up working out okay, but I REALLY should have considered more carefully. It was a close call between this being a good decision or not. I know a lot of people who graduated with me (2012) who are still looking for a legal job.

[Deleted]

I have no specific advice but there are a lot of lawyers on MM and CE&P that give good advice about this kind of thing.

I would seriously think long and hard about the student loans. I have none from undergrad but will have over 200,000 from med school. My specialty will make over 200,000 once I'm done with residency but it's still daunting to think about the amount of loans. I know several lawyers who made 40k when they finished school with 6 figures in debt, so it's definitely something to think about as there are no real guarantees salaries by being a lawyer.

[mcc]

Honestly, I wish I hadn't gone. Right now the market still sucks and what you'll be making as a paralegal in another 3-4 years will be more than what you'll make right out of law school, if you find a job. Don't ever think a job is guaranteed, because they're not. I'd work toward paying down your current school loans before adding more. Just because you wanted to go to law school before you're 30 doesn't mean that it has to work that way. I'd be more concerned with your health right now. If you end up needing time off for medical leave, that will be a big impact in your law school career.

Like jojoandleo said, unless you're part time you won't be able to work and go to school both full time. It's against the ABA regulations-you're only allowed to work 20 hours a week as a FT law student. I say start by taking an LSAT class and seeing how you do before coming up with a new life plan based on a hypothetical situation.

[mcc]

Apr 19, 2014 16:59:21 GMT -5 @wandering said:

I have no specific advice but there are a lot of lawyers on MM and CE&P that give good advice about this kind of thing.

I would seriously think long and hard about the student loans. I have none from undergrad but will have over 200,000 from med school. My specialty will make over 200,000 once I'm done with residency but it's still daunting to think about the amount of loans. I know several lawyers who made 40k when they finished school with 6 figures in debt, so it's definitely something to think about as there are no real guarantees salaries by being a lawyer.

This.  

[abcdefu]

Thanks for sharing your experiences ladies! I really appreciate it! I definitely do not expect to make 6 figures out of law school. I would totally work as a lawyer now on a paralegal salary. I just don't want to make going to law school an economic mistake. I think I am just going to keep waiting and try to pay down my undergrad debt and see where I am in 3 years!

[abcdefu]

Apr 19, 2014 17:00:26 GMT -5 mcc said:

Honestly, I wish I hadn't gone. Right now the market still sucks and what you'll be making as a paralegal in another 3-4 years will be more than what you'll make right out of law school, if you find a job. Don't ever think a job is guaranteed, because they're not. I'd work toward paying down your current school loans before adding more. Just because you wanted to go to law school before you're 30 doesn't mean that it has to work that way. I'd be more concerned with your health right now. If you end up needing time off for medical leave, that will be a big impact in your law school career.

Like jojoandleo said, unless you're part time you won't be able to work and go to school both full time. It's against the ABA regulations-you're only allowed to work 20 hours a week as a FT law student. I say start by taking an LSAT class and seeing how you do before coming up with a new life plan based on a hypothetical situation.

I forgot to add this to my concerns. I am just trying to look at all of the possibilities and scenarios. I don't want to let things hold me back from doing what I want, but I also want to be smart about it!

[StrawberryBlondie]

I normally post on CEP but saw this on the app and wanted to chime in.

I don't regret going to law school, per se. I enjoyed it after the first year, I met my husband in law school, and it made me who I am today. That said, if I had to do it over, I wouldn't go again. The job market for lawyers sucks right now. Really sucks. There are way too many grads and firms just aren't replacing those jobs they cut back in 2009 in the recession.

Others have touched on it, but you're likely to have an additional 6 figures in loans from law school. Can you swing about $1k more in monthly payments on your current salary or less? If you can't, I'd think long and hard about whether you really want to go to law school.

[whattheheck]

I should also add the coloring my opinion is the fact that when I graduated law school I had less than $20,000 total student loan debt (so about $250 per month in combined undergrad and law school student loan payments) which made taking a low paying government job in a HCOL area possible. I don't know what I would do now if I had to take on a student loan debt in the six figure range.

ETA: I started out making $38,000 per year.

[Deleted]

Apr 19, 2014 17:03:22 GMT -5 abcdefu said:

Thanks for sharing your experiences ladies! I really appreciate it! I definitely do not expect to make 6 figures out of law school. I would totally work as a lawyer now on a paralegal salary. I just don't want to make going to law school an economic mistake. I think I am just going to keep waiting and try to pay down my undergrad debt and see where I am in 3 years!

Honestly, from everything I've read, going to law school is an economic mistake :/ (unless you get scholarships or someone else to pay)

I don't think people question whether your interest/passion to work on a lower salary, but it really doesn't seem to make much sense.

I'd like to think I'd work on a nurses salary as a doctor because I enjoy the work. However, I don't think I enjoy it that much to give up things like going out to eat & travel, which is what I'd have to do to have such a low income and high debt. I'm definitely the type of person that thinks people should follow their dreams, but I think in this situation you have to be practical too.

[abcdefu]

Thanks again everyone! I think I will stick with my paralegal job for now and reevaluate in a few years. I appreciate all of you sharing your experiences and opinions.

I don't think I would want to give up going out with friends, going on vacations etc bc of student loan debt!

[Deleted]

I am not a lawyer but I work (in retail) with someone who went to law school and he told me the following:

1. He was not allowed to work at all his first year of law school.

2. He can't find a job. The market is oversaturated with people who went to law school when they economy took a nose dive because "there will always be a need for lawyers" and many of them can't get jobs or get them but get laid off pretty quickly.

These are things that I am sure vary by state but are worth looking into in your area.

[tiffany81]

I think waiting a few years is a good idea. I think working full time, traveling 2+ hours to commute to school, and having a substantial amount of debt already sound like too many balls to juggle.

Law school was super fun and pretty easy IMO. But I went full time and worked part time starting 2L year. I had a 8 mile commute. I enjoyed every second of it.

I went in thinking I had a passion for criminal law and learned that I'm more of a researcher/writer and less interested in courtroom work. I was lucky and found a job immediately, but it was for less than 40k per year and less than my husband was making as a teacher and he had no debt. Ugh. I ultimately switched jobs and now do something that doesn't even require my law degree or bar memberships. And ironically this job pays almost 2x my starting attorney job.

Good luck with your decision!

[DirtySouth]

I hated law school but love practicing law and can't imagine doing anything else. Since I love it, I don't discourage people from going to law school, but it's important to go in knowing that finding a job may be really, really hard.

If you want it bad enough, you can make a part time program with an hour commute work. I saw people do it. It's hell, but you can make it work.


Don't borrow much money to go to school because you may have a hard time finding a job and/or making enough to pay them back.

I've worked at a number of small firms and can pretty much guarantee that you won't be replacing a partner who retires. That's not how it works. Someone who has practiced for many years has built up a reputation and gets referrals. They pay for themselves by the clients they bring in. It takes years to get to that point and right out of school people are not going to be referring you business.

The biggest thing to know is that finding a job could be really tough. However, if you go part time and keep working, then you have an income while you are job searching. If you really want it, then I think you should go for it.

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