Unemployed Baltimore law grad with 120k in debt - options?

[Anonymous]

Have you looked in the federal government? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is often hiring.

Also, check OPM's Pathways Program for Recent Graduates. It is a new program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seeking career advice -

I'm a 2014 Baltimore law grad who has a significant 6 figure debt load. I cannot find a job in DC - or Charlotte, or Atlanta, or New York.

I graduated with honors, with a background in banking (I managed a Bank of America location before the crash).

I passed the bar - and am being shut out of jobs. I've interviewed a couple of places to no avail.

Should I go solo? Move? Any advice? Wife is about to birth twins (we have 1 daughter), and recently got let go from her job as a kindergarten teacher this summer. I'm a HARD worker and willing to hustle. I never knew getting a law job would be this hard.

Buddy, I feel for you. Not sure I can offer great advice, but contact your undergraduate and law school to see what career programs they have for alumni. I have an MBA and my school has a huge amount of networking and workshops going on.

[Anonymous]

Headhunters don't work with new law school grads mainly because no firm is going to pay a hefey placement fee for someone with no legal experience. Firms have no problem finding new grads on their own.

I agree that the compliance angle may work.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to everyone for great advice (except the move to Asia guy??!?)

I'm applying to every job imaginable. I will continue to beat down doors and try every avenue - thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anyone reading this board who is considering going to law school, especially outside to top 25 or so, you have been warned.

Sorry OP -- try to get some doc review to pay the bills and look for jobs outside the legal profession. Compliance sounds like a good possibility.

[Anonymous]

i third the suggestion to try to get a job in a compliance dept. many of them are not lawyers, but the legal background would be helpful.

[Anonymous]

University of Maryland Law School or University of Baltimore Law School? If U of B, sorry but the writing was on the wall before you applied.

[Anonymous]

You can do contract attorney work (doc review) while looking for a permanent position. When I graduated about 5 years ago, I signed up with staffing agencies and mailing lists (http://www.theposselist.com/) and had fairly regular work for about 1.5 years before I found a permanent attorney position. I would do contract attorney work during the day, apply for jobs at night/on the weekends. Not sure how much the contract legal market has changed in the past few years though.

[Anonymous]

NP. What is compliance? Is it related to complying with regulations? Is it banks only?

[Anonymous]

Back to banking.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am glad most of these posters are being kind and helpful to you. I posted about a similar situation a while back, and got really, really nasty comments. Just know you are not alone, there are MANY people in your situation these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am glad most of these posters are being kind and helpful to you. I posted about a similar situation a while back, and got really, really nasty comments. Just know you are not alone, there are MANY people in your situation these days.

And the OP should remember that to get through the LSAT and law school, no matter the ranking, is not a walk in the park. He DOES have things going for him. Sidenote: I do career/resume counseling for a professional group and remind other members that they did not get a reasonable level of education and career success by accident. What they have not done is learned how to sell everything they can offer.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. Good advice, I would say that is true for me as well. But the thing is, how does someone learn to sell themselves? By experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:move abroad, preferrably to asia - they are not going to get your debt. I know a number of people that had 6 fig student debt that said fuck it and left for vietnam, thialand, and malaysia. they're not going to pay it back and they're not coming back

Great idea. Burn all your bridges and live life on the run. Oh, BTW, while the school might not get it back, if it is a federal loan the chances are they will get it back one way or the otter - you must fie US tax returns no matter where you live in the world, if you don't you are violating US law. You really want the IRS on your ass the rest of your life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. Good advice, I would say that is true for me as well. But the thing is, how does someone learn to sell themselves? By experience?

Not only do I work with other executives, but I consult for a living so I am always selling. How do you do it? By evaluating what skills you have that someone would be willing to pay to get. For me, I am able to work on high-level financial reporting with a minimal amount of ramp up. Companies need to get this done correctly but do not always want a full-time employee. So therefore I am filling a need. Also, there is a shortage of people who do this.

You would be surprised of how many successful people on search do not communicate their value.