I have to admit, I'm happy to see that people are spreading the truth about law school. The New York Times just published this great article (of course "great" only in the sense that it's honest) about why going to law school is a bad (BAD!) decision.
My assistant just told me she started going to DU to get her undergraduate degree in IT and then plans on attending law school. I literally got tears in my eyes and pleaded with her not to do it. She said what everybody says (what I said!): "But my family thinks I'll make a really good lawyer. I want to be a lawyer. It looks really interesting."
I told her about my debt and about how really, at the end of the day, it's just a job. I don't think I convinced her. Even the big round numbers didn't scare her like they should. And then I found myself shout-whispering at her through clenched teeth in the middle of our office about ABSOLUTELY NOT going to law school and going into IT instead. How there's actually money in IT. Stability in IT. Great hours in IT. Please, PLEASE... for your husband... and your kids.... and your SANITY... DO. NOT. GO. TO. LAW. SCHOOL.
Maybe it's because I worked all weekend and stayed up until 2 am last night trying to finish a Motion that the partner is going to take one look at and rip apart because he "thinks I'm worthless as an attorney. No, not me personally, because personally, he likes me, but as a second year attorney, I'm generally worthless because everyone knows you don't know anything as an attorney until you've been out for at least 5 years." (Direct quote). Or maybe it's because I have 8 weeks until I find out whether the Federal government is willing to defer my loan payments for another year. Or maybe it's just because, from a financial perspective, going to law school is a big effing mistake.
I have been saying what Steven Greenberg said:
Steven Greenberger of DePaul recommends a mandatory warning — a bit like the labels on cigarette packs — that every student taking the LSAT, the prelaw standardized test, must read.
"Something like ‘Law school tuition is expensive and here is what the actual cost will be, the job market is uncertain and you should carefully consider whether you want to pursue this degree,’ ” he says. “And it should be made absolutely clear to students, that if they sign up for X amount of debt, their monthly nut will be X in three years.”
- New York Times, Is Law School A Losing Game? (Consider that a rhetorical question).
Finally, a well-read publication has something to say about it. Thank you, New York Times. Thank you for not shout-whispering, but rather screaming at the top of your lungs that those people out there considering law school need to pick some other form of masochism. I just wish they hadn't concluded the article with a quote from some kid who has $250 K in debt, but lives in a brownstone for free (because THAT happens to the average person) and just ignores the lenders that are beating down his door, about how we live in the age of bail-outs, and he figures his student loan debt will just go away at some point.
The reality is... if you're the type with your mind made up about going to law school... if you think you were BORN to be a lawyer... if your family tells you that you'd make a really good lawyer, and you can see the numbers but somehow think they don't apply to you... Then chances are, you're just as Type-A as the rest of us... Which, sorry for you, also means that having a quarter of a million dollars in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt and graduating law school (and going through the Bar Exam... don't even get me started), just to wind up (if you're LUCKY) with a job (any job) that pays you less than you were making before you went to law school will drive you crazy. No really... it will drive you crazy because there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
If you or someone you love is considering law school, please feel free to email me at therecoveringlawyer@gmail.com, and I will happily talk them out of making a terrible, terrible mistake.
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