I went to college in 2004 and finished with my masters in 2009. It took until 2012 to get out of debt from that. It is now 2013 and I'm applying to law school, essentially preparing to put my life on hold for the next three years. Then in 2016, if I get a job right out of school, my likely starting salary will be around $40,000 or $50,000, which is slightly less money than am making right now working for Bob's Discount Furniture, with the glaring exception that I will be over $150,000 in debt from going to law school. This debt will more than likely be even higher because I will be out of work while I'm in school for the next 3 years, which means that you can also add up all the money it will cost for me to live for those 3 years.
I have a major issue with the above statement, yet I have such doubt in my mind at times. How can I not though? I'm making a major life investment of time and money into something and there is no way to know if I will even enjoy it. I'm 26 years old and if this is the wrong decision for my life, there is really no turning back. If it for some reason did not work out, I would be in that much debt and that much older.
These fears are not unfounded. The starting salaries, struggle for jobs, extremely difficult working conditions if you want to actually get paid, time spent earning a degree, absurd amount of debt, and my distaste for educational institutions are all valid components of my fear that this could possibly be a terrible decision.
http://www.nalp.org/classof2011_salpressrel
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Decrease 2009-2011 | |||
| Median Salary: | $72,000 | $63,000 | $60,000 | 17% | ||
| Mean Salary: | $93,454 | $84,111 | $78,653 | 15% | ||
| Median Firm Salary: | $130,000 | $104,000 | $85,000 | 35% | ||
| Mean Firm Salary: | $115,254 | $106,444 | $97,821 | 15% |
Check out this fucking graph. According to the NALP, law students were paid more out of law school than they are now. Why? Why the fuck are law students getting paid less money out of law school each year while the cost of law school actually goes (you fucking guessed it) UP???? Well, I didn't go out and take surveys from the schools and firms, but I bet I have the answer for you.
I am expendable. So is every other graduate from law school. The mentality of these firms is if you don't like what you're getting paid than you're fired, because we can replace you in a heartbeat. Is that the kind of world someone who pays over $150,000 deserves? Don't we deserve some sort of guarantee? It sounds like just another profession where people are miserable and talk about how good things used to be before I showed up.
The crazy thing is that everywhere I look, graduates from law school talk about how figures like the above graph are skewed and that the average salary is more like $40,000 to $50,000. Scary to think about.
Still, after all the time I've spent on this subject, am I crazy to think it might be a bad idea? I have a habit of over thinking things. It's just that I am at a turning point in my life. I could do this or I could do something else. What will make me happier in the long run?
And then there is this. Every single thing I read from lawyers that are practicing in their respective fields talk about how nobody should do law for the money, that it is a noble profession that gives them satisfaction when they do their work. Well, tell me something. How am I supposed to practice law and love it if I am over $150,000 in debt and simply not being paid enough to pay it off? How the fuck is that noble? Sounds to me like loser talk. It isn't okay and I don't like it.
When I made my decision to take the LSAT again and apply to school, I did so with the expectation that I would receive a well paying job when I graduated. Now after all of the more in depth research I have been doing, it turns out I'm just wrong. Not only will I not receive a well paying job out of school so that I can begin my adult life at the age of 30, but I may not receive a job at all. That essentially means that I will be 30 years old, I will be over $150,000 in debt, and that I will be living at home.
I was actually looking forward to the idea of helping people and being a good lawyer. I never thought that money would be such an issue and that I would be able to start my life right out of school since I already feel as though I'm starting later than a lot of people. To see though, and I can't emphasize this enough, that students are graduating and not getting jobs is disgusting, dissuading, and unacceptable.
Unacceptable.
Yeah, there is no doubt in my mind that I have become jaded. My current job is just a band-aid over the wound, a stop along the road towards something grander. I hoped that practicing law would be grander, and perhaps it will be for me. The glaring facts and opinions I've noted above are vital to my decision and must be recognized for what they are. Anyone who doesn't take a moment to view their situation from all sides is a fool. I have some time left to decide if the risk is rewarding enough to take.
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