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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's for my son who is a freshman in college. He wants to major in history and go to law school. He says he likes the idea of studying criminal law and becoming a prosecutor but I suspect his idea of this career is based on tv so I don't know. We're pushing him to apply for internships at various law offices to learn if it really is for him. What I do know is that we can afford to pay for his schooling but I'd like him to get a job at the end of it, kwim? Lol

Tbh, i haven't been following the ups and downs in the legal market much, though I'm aware that it's a bit over saturated. [b]Does this mean there aren't enough jobs in general or there aren't enough high paying jobs that enable people to easily pay back their loans?[/b][/quote]

Both.  Oh goodness.  You know what, do not pony up a penny for law school until he has worked in a legal office and knows he enjoys that work.  I would say as someone who has been in his shoes, he should work in a law office at least for a year, but if a summer internship is doable I guess that's fine too.  And I know this is awful, but maybe he should try a major that will give him more job options (says the former psychology major).[/quote]

Yes this is causing a bit of a problem in our house right now, lol. He wants to major in history and DH thinks this a bad idea. DH wants him to study something "applicable" preferably engineering (though that ship has sailed), economics, finance, etc. I don't know much about legal careers myself though[b] I suspect there *are* interesting things you can do with the degree, [/b]so I'm inclined to encourage him in that direction. Pretty much all I hear about irl though are people in BigLaw careers who think their jobs are dull and they despise their employers. Most of them took those jobs to make enough money to pay back their loans though. So they might not be the best examples. [/quote]

Yes, there ARE interesting things you can do with a law degree.  The problem is that all the people with law degrees (and there are a lot of us) want those jobs, and therefore only a teeny tiny number of people get them.  This all depends on your son.  Is he Harvard/Yale/Stanford law material?  Is he going to get scholarships?  Is he self-motivated and willing to investigate his future career seriously?  And are you willing to flush 200k down the drain if not?[/quote]

I honestly don't know if he is. It's hard to be that objective about your own son, you know? He goes to a mid first tier private school right now, middle of the first semester so I don't know what his grades will be like. He was very hard working and capable in HS. As far as the money, we have it so I feel like it's only right to allow him to pursue this if he really wants to. I would feel much better about it if I genuinely thought it would lead to a decent paying, interesting job for him. I know, I know that is too much to ask for in this world apparently, lol.[/quote]

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