SAHM 7 years out of workforce--should I go to law school/grad school?

[Anonymous]

I'm ready to get back in the workforce but have not had luck finding well-paying jobs. I previously worked in PR/Marketing, but the new social media environment is not appealing. I'm considering going back to school at the young age of 41. Is this realistic? Is law school the only education that will pay off itself? Otherwise I would probably get another master's in public policy, but I'm not sure whether that would be a wise investment. Thanks for the insight.

[Anonymous]

How about getting into corporate marketing or business development at a big service company (accounting, consulting)? Unless, of course, you want a different career path.

[Anonymous]

I would NOT recommend anyone going to law school right now unless they can pay for it themselves and unless they get into a top 10 school. It's just not worth taking on the debt and the job market is awful right now. Your chances of getting one of those high-paying big law jobs (if you wanted such a thing) are very slim (trust me, we get tons of applicants who have great credentials), and goverment jobs are also in high demand.

[Anonymous]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL. echo everything the poster above said. debt + no jobs = you might only be making 60k when you get out and have 150k in debt. My younger brother graduated cum laude from American, a top 50 school, this past year and make 55k working in personal injury. This is the same kid who if he graduated in 08 would be in big law no question. Also let say you take the LSAT, apply nest year you will be starting at age 43 at the earliest. If you go part time, which i would do with kids... (law school is a full time + job), you'll graduate at age 47 at the earliest leaving only 13-15 years until you want to retire. law school is a horrible idea, sorry! plus you are competing in school with people who are younger and fresher and not pulled in 19 different directions by family who can devote 13 hrs a day to class and studying. also you are competing with these kids for jobs. why would they hire a middle aged woman with child care needs, who probably gets tired more easily, has more ties outside of work when they can hire a 26 year old who will work 18hrs + a day... that's if you go to big law. if you want to do a small firm they wont hire you over the 26 year old because the 26 year old will work for 50k and something to put on their resume and not call in sick/want to work from home when their DC is home ill. government job? have fun competing with people who have experience, and if you do something you will have no time "in grade" and be a GS-9 making maybe 65k. LAW SCHOOL IS AN AWFUL IDEA UNLESS YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT LAW AND NOT JUST DOING IT THINKING YOU WILL MAKE BIG MONEY WHEN YOU GET OUT... you wont get hired for a big money job, you are too old and law firms are notoriously biased again mothers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm ready to get back in the workforce but have not had luck finding well-paying jobs. I previously worked in PR/Marketing, but the new social media environment is not appealing. I'm considering going back to school at the young age of 41. Is this realistic? Is law school the only education that will pay off itself? Otherwise I would probably get another master's in public policy, but I'm not sure whether that would be a wise investment. Thanks for the insight.

In 2011, law school will not pay for itself except in unusual instances (first in your class at a top-tier school).

What is your ultimate goal? Do not go to grad/professional school without a specific end-goal in mind. I would add that the end-goal should be researched in terms of what the market and compensation outlook looks like.

Otherwise you are wasting time and money.

[Anonymous]

What do you want to do? What is your ideal job?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do law school. My DH just graduated at 38 - and it wasn't a good experience. He did luck out with a great job, but he went to a top-10 school. He has plenty of friends out of work. It was so much work.

If I were going back to school, I'd think about speech therapy or physical therapy. It's a better market.

[Anonymous]

yea any occupational therapy is good... or getting a NP degree which is also 3 yrs if you have any sort of science backround.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would NOT recommend anyone going to law school right now unless they can pay for it themselves and unless they get into a top 10 school. It's just not worth taking on the debt and the job market is awful right now. Your chances of getting one of those high-paying big law jobs (if you wanted such a thing) are very slim (trust me, we get tons of applicants who have great credentials), and goverment jobs are also in high demand.

I disagree. We only have about two million lawyers in this area, many unemployed and many just plain incometent, why not another lawyer. OP Go to law school so you can join the ranks of the area's favorite profession.

[Anonymous]

Law school is really not a great investment for most people right now. If I were you, I'd do an inventory of my interests & goals and consider doing something entrepreneurial.

[Anonymous]

As a former lawyer who is now a SAHM, I just wanted to echo the PPs. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL. I graduated in 07, before the market tanked, and was able to land a big law job. I did not go to a top 10 school, but did graduate 2nd in my class (otherwise would not have had a shot at big law). Three years of law school was gruelung, esp bc I was trying to make nearly straight As. If you're not at an ivy and you want a top-paying big law job, you HAVE to graduate top of your class, otherwise don't bother. I'm not even going to go into the realities of working in big law, you can search the forums. But let's just say, unless you rarely want to see your kids, like pulling late hours most days, and thrive in a pressure cooker, big law is not for you. And if you don't want the top-paying job, have you really, really thought about how you're going to pay off $150k plus in student loan debt with a $50k salary. My kids are still very young, but I might still be paying off my loans when they start college. I'm guessing yours are older.

Again, do NOT go to law school. If you're seriously considering this, I really hope that you have a trusted friend or family member that is a lawyer who can talk you down - they would be doing you a favor.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you figure out what you want to do instead of trying to get a degree based on how well it will pay off.

[Anonymous]

You should only go to law school if you really want to be an attorney, not just because you want to make a lot of money or as an "investment," because those things might not happen. You should talk to other lawyers with various types of practices to find out if law is really what you want to do.

[Anonymous]

Why not think about what you want to do with your life. How would you enjoy spending your time? You might want to go to a career counselor or take some career-type tests to see what would be a good match for you.

As others have said, the health profession seems to be wide open for jobs. Is there a way to combine your interests and skills with some dimension there?

Some of the counties were paying for people with bachelors degrees to get their masters if they put in at least a couple years of teaching afterwards. Not sure if they still have this program.

[Anonymous]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

It would be a terrible, terrible mistake that you'd regret for the rest of your life. You can't afford to be further out of the work force and racking up enormous and uncertain debts, when the job market is terrible for entry-level lawyers right now, even from top schools. I can only imagine that prospects would be much, much worse if you aren't the typical 25 yr old recent graduate.