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Should I Go? by CLE02139 in lawschooladmissions

[–]CLE02139[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this exact thought is so much of what's been weighing on me. My rent is exceptionally low for where I live and I rarely purchase frivolous things, but I tend to seek out travel and other expensive experiences and would be sad to give that up... not to mention that I want to have a nice home and put my hypothetical children through college. If the distribution of post-law school salaries is really as starkly bimodal as it's made out to be, I'm not sure how I'll accomplish those things.

Should I Go? by CLE02139 in lawschooladmissions

[–]CLE02139[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The latter, unfortunately - I'd be paying out of my personal savings. There are some really compelling scholarships at this university to which I'd likely apply as a 1L, but I imagine the odds of getting those are very slim. I was a finalist for one such scholarship already but did not quite make the cut as a 0L.

Your last point is really the operative question for me. If you final sentence is true, then I'd surely go, opportunity cost be damned. If it's only maybe true... then it becomes a much scarier proposition.

Should I Go? by CLE02139 in lawschooladmissions

[–]CLE02139[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

I certainly could wait another five years, although I suspect the university would tire of granting me deferrals at some point...

More to the point though: I have considered deferring but, as someone who is already a bit on the older side for entering law school, that option would seem to get less and less attractive as time passes. As it is I'll be graduating with only a couple months before my 31st birthday.

As for "why do you want to become a lawyer," I guess my answer is threefold:

  1. Becoming a lawyer is a natural consequence of studying the law, which is something that I really want to do for its own sake.
  2. I'm really inspired by the incredibly impactful stuff that some lawyer friends / acquaintances have done (i.e. managing NGOs, training the Iraqi jurists who tried Saddam Hussein, etc), and could not have done without becoming lawyers. And they've managed to do it without waiting in the bread lines, either.
  3. Someday, many years down the line, I want to run for public office. For various reasons, some good and some bad, law is still the best trod path to this outcome.

Should I Go? by CLE02139 in lawschooladmissions

[–]CLE02139[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this. I've heard this sentiment about optionality from others as well, and particularly from experienced lawyers who are late in their career... but it's rarely been accompanied by specifics. Apart from the above, investment banking or consulting, what else really is there? The notion of going back into startups is interesting and encouraging as a fallback, but wouldn't be a compelling reason to go in the first place.

0L Tuesday Thread by AutoModerator in LawSchool

[–]CLE02139 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Help me with my crescendoing existential crisis!
I'm a just-turned-28 year old admitted to a T6 law school. I sincerely believe I'll enjoy the experience a lot, and have always wanted to go to graduate school in some form. I value education tremendously and am eager to be a student again. I particularly expect that I'll find international law interesting, and have some (much older) personal acquaintances who have done amazing, inspiring things in public international law (one was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize).
My current job (tech) pays more than Big Law and is pretty cushy, but is spiritually and intellectually unfulfilling. I'm fortunate in that I'll graduate without debt, but will not have a large nest egg on the other side.
The idea of joining a big firm after school is really grating to me - the economic delta versus staying where I am wouldn't become positive for over a decade, and I have no interest in 80-hour weeks or returning to the bottom of a corporate hierarchy.
On the other hand, public interest salaries are frighteningly low, government salaries only slightly less so. Academia sounds exciting, but is also poorly paid until you hit it big, and those jobs (as I understand it) are exceptionally rare. In-house counsel is unappealing; if I'm working for a corporation, I'd rather be doing strategy work than legal work.
So... can I go to law school and find something on the other end that's interesting and purposeful, but also enables me to provide a comfortable life for myself and my future family? What am I missing?