+1. I'm a lawyer, and I don't make much money at all. If money is the reason you want to practice law, it's not a good choice. If you want to practice law because you love law, then that's a good reason to become a lawyer. |
No one has told me what it's like yet but it's better than a blue collar job that requires hard physical labor or risking your health working in a hospital. |
Yes I love law and justice I'm a libra after all. How much is not much and what area of law? |
What does loving law and justice even mean? What type of law would you want to practice/what kind of job would you hope to get after law school? Lawyers do incredibly different things with incredibly different experiences that require incredibly different credentials to be realistic opportunities. Without more detail about what you are actually thinking/hoping, it’s hard to assess whether what you are thinking about is plausible. |
I was offered jobs in the $40-60k range after 5 years in biglaw when I was looking to down shift/reduce hours. It can be very low paid for “helping” legal jobs. |
I didn't realize that my experience was unique or unusual - but I did find law school intellectually stimulating (went to Columbia - don't know if the school itself matters). But I hated practicing law and it took me 20-plus years to pay off my loans because I hated it so much and kept moving around to different, ever more low paying jobs. Go to law school if you see a clear, and achievable, career path for yourself that you actually want coming out of it - or if you have lots of $ to burn so you can do it just for fun. If you want intellectual stimulation, but don't have lots of $ to burn, I'd find it elsewhere. Maybe adult education classes - those are pretty inexpensive, and can be really interesting. |
Bingo. If you crave both intellectual stimulation and practical skills, taking courses in economics, finance, accounting, tax, computer software development, cybersecurity, etc... can all help you. Who knows, you might find your dream field/job. The law certainly isn't. |
OP, based on your responses, I don’t think you’re cut out for law school or making money based on your intellect. Your questions are basic enough that if a high schooler asked them I’d probably say they weren’t cut out for law school.
I’d start nannying as backup care. If you’re reliable and willing to take my kids on a dime I’d pay bank. |
This. |
The Socratic Method is not intellectually stimulating. Imagine being tired at the end of a busy day only to login to a law class where 20 year olds are unprepared for class but responding with "well I feel the Supreme Court was wrong because...." |
Graduating from law school does not guarantee getting a job as a lawyer, much less a job as a lawyer that pays enough to pay off your debt. And if you are attending an on-line law school, your chances of getting a job as a lawyer are much much lower. Your chances of getting a job as a lawyer that compensates well are essentially nil. |
It's incredibly difficult to pass the bar (state dependent I know) after going to an online law school. OP you should look at masters programs. |
This. The jobs that pay really well are at big firms. Big firms are not going to hire an older student with kids with an online degree. The feds aren't going to hire an attorney with an online degree. There aren't going to be well-paying jobs available to you. An online degree might be fine if you already have a job and a JD will check some box that you need for a promotion or a job you want is a JD-plus kind of thing, but it's not a good way to start off a legal career. And bar passage rates for online programs are not great, so it might be a total dead-end. |
+1 ROFL Happens in undergrad far more. You pull that stunt in an in-person law school even ONCE, your professor will make an example out of you. Law schools today aren't that far removed from The Paper Chase. |
No, do not do this. You will likely end up with at least some debt, or at a minimum, you will not end up making more than you could without the degree. You will be starting from scratch This is also a really inflexible career that has a ton of snobbery, and employers are likely to be skeptical about hiring someone your age who is just starting out.
- lawyer mom of young kids who hires new attorneys |