Anyone here go to law school in their 30's and feel like it was financially smart?

[Anonymous]

I work in policy and need a graduate degree. I'm 36. Trying to decide between an MPP or law degree, and want to see if anyone who is financially savvy on this board did the same at my age, and did you find you were able to get a return on your investment?

Thank you in advance for any insight!

[Anonymous]

Not me but, I had a couple of good friends in law school who were in their thirties and definitely made it worthwhile. One was a CPA at big 4 and made partner very quickly doing tax law. The other was a government contracting officer. In both cases, their degrees vaulted their careers, but in both cases their careers lent themselves to it

[Anonymous]

I went to a local school’s night program on a full ride at 30. It wasn’t easy and I actually graduated first in the class, but from a financial perspective going for free while making my full salary made the decision essentially risk-free. There were plenty of times I thought I’d drop out and it wouldn’t have really set me back financially if I ultimately did, which was really good for my mental health when things were tough. I’d recommend going a similar route, if possible. FWIW, I ended up doing biglaw for a few years and now have a really fulfilling job as a federal regulator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in policy and need a graduate degree. I'm 36. Trying to decide between an MPP or law degree, and want to see if anyone who is financially savvy on this board did the same at my age, and did you find you were able to get a return on your investment?

Thank you in advance for any insight!

So you'd be 40 when you finished? In my opinion, law school is not the place to go just to get a degree; it only makes sense at all if you want to practice law. And if you do want to practice law, remember that as a new law graduate you will only be qualified for low level legal jobs, regardless of your prior non-legal (and policy is non-legal) experience. Same goes for government lawyer positions (except those low level jobs in government are also poorly paid). And those entry level private sector legal jobs aren't easy when you're 40+ - in biglaw you'd basically be a well-paid apprentice, working very long hours with very unforgiving expectations, in exchange for the years of training/experience you'd need to practice law on your own. The few 40+ law grads I have encountered over the years really couldn't succeed in this environment very long, and I say this as someone who finished law school at 31 and was on the older end of normal age range starting in biglaw.

And if you aren't planning to practice law, 3 years of law school is a very expensive waste of your time.

[Anonymous]

What specific job do you hope to have afterward, how much does it pay, and how long will it take you to “break even” on both your tuition paid and your loss of income?

I wish I had viewed it this way before getting my grad degree, instead of just vaguely thinking “I need this.” I’d sell it back if I could get a refund (MBA.)

[Anonymous]

If you need a graduate degree to advance in a field that you already work in, then can you find an employer to pay for it? Obviously this would mean going to school part time at night.

[Anonymous]

I have law school classmates who were in their late 30s when we graduated (from a top 3 law school). They seem to be doing pretty well -- a couple are BigLaw partners, one is GC in Big Pharma, and a couple are teaching.

[Anonymous]

Don't do law school. Get your graduate degree at night while you continue working. It isn't easy, but it is definitely doable. I got my masters at GMU in 3 years by going at night. Classes were once a week for 3 hours at a time, either from 4 pm to 7 pm or 7 pm to 10 pm. It took 10 classes plus a thesis to graduate and I took 2 classes each semester. My company ended up paying for it, but the total cost if I had paid out of pocket would have been something like $15,000.

[Anonymous]

To clarify- I’m considering part time law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify- I’m considering part time law school.

Are you paying for it? If yes, then only do it if you want to practice as a lawyer. If no, then sure.

If course, if you're asking whether law school is a good investment in general? For the average grad, no, absolutely not. At a T14, then it's probably a decent investment for about half the class.

I strongly recommend that you look at the bimodal distribution of lawyer salaries, and understand that there's a high and a low, and nothing in between. The mythical group in the middle - - in house counsel, non-supervisory GS15s, etc - - started at a big law firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What specific job do you hope to have afterward, how much does it pay, and how long will it take you to “break even” on both your tuition paid and your loss of income?

I wish I had viewed it this way before getting my grad degree, instead of just vaguely thinking “I need this.” I’d sell it back if I could get a refund (MBA.)

Agree. Why do you “need” a grad degree?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify- I’m considering part time law school.

That would substantially diminish your potential return on investment. If you can't knock it out full-time, it sounds impractical unless it's something you're just genuinely interested in pursuing, not accounting for financial considerations.

[Anonymous]

I know plenty of people with law degrees that never used it. Not a great investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know plenty of people with law degrees that never used it. Not a great investment.

+1

I know one that had a baby right after law school then had trouble finding a job. She finally took a job teaching at a private school to try to pay back the loans. I would not trade places for the world.

[Anonymous]

At that age an MBA program might be worth it, but not law school.