My DH and I met in law school. I'm a fed attorney and generally like my work and lifestyle. I didn't go into major debt and was able to pay it back in a reasonable amount of time with some help from loan repayment at my agency. So it has been a good choice. My DH worked as an attorney for 2 years then went back to the career he had prior to law school. He also didn't have a large debt but he says it was a very expensive way to meet his wife. He wishes he had gotten an MBA instead.

Anonymous wrote:Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

Oh sweet summer child

I do not regret it at all - but I went to law school knowing I did not want to be a lawyer. I have always worked in leg affairs/lobbying, make good money, have a ton of flexibility, and my degree gives me a little cache in my field. I do have loans, but I would if I had gone for an MA as well.

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Anonymous wrote:I have no regrets. I had a scholarship to a T14 where I met my husband and some great friends. Loved clerking, toughed it out a few years in Biglaw, stressful but manageable and I saved up some $. Transitioned to government and now I have good work-life balance and make >$200k doing interesting work.

I think the trick is to only go if you can go to a top school. Otherwise it's too risky.

Does government really care if you went to a top school? They hire people from online schools all the time.

The ABA does not accredit online law schools.

I mean the people they hire for management or tech and who earn over 150k dont usually have a degree from a top school or even a school that is known

Only veterans get hired with online school degrees these days. Veterans preference doesn’t apply to attorney hiring. The fed lawyers who went to schools outside the T14 were usually top of their class or graduated before 2009.

Thats not true. Again I meant the people who work in management and tech. I know a couple of university of Phoenix and American military university degree grads who work for the federal government and a couple who don't even have a degree

Bro, why do you come to a thread about lawyers and argue about the qualifications of government tech workers. If you're going to troll, at least pick the right place. It's very clear you're not a T14 grad /s

Not your bro. I was responding to the pp. I am looking at resumes right now listing univ of Michigan and temple law for fed gov lawyers. Those aren't t14 bro.

Get your facts straight.

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Anonymous wrote:I have no regrets. I had a scholarship to a T14 where I met my husband and some great friends. Loved clerking, toughed it out a few years in Biglaw, stressful but manageable and I saved up some $. Transitioned to government and now I have good work-life balance and make >$200k doing interesting work.

I think the trick is to only go if you can go to a top school. Otherwise it's too risky.

Does government really care if you went to a top school? They hire people from online schools all the time.

The ABA does not accredit online law schools.

I mean the people they hire for management or tech and who earn over 150k dont usually have a degree from a top school or even a school that is known

Only veterans get hired with online school degrees these days. Veterans preference doesn’t apply to attorney hiring. The fed lawyers who went to schools outside the T14 were usually top of their class or graduated before 2009.

Thats not true. Again I meant the people who work in management and tech. I know a couple of university of Phoenix and American military university degree grads who work for the federal government and a couple who don't even have a degree

Bro, why do you come to a thread about lawyers and argue about the qualifications of government tech workers. If you're going to troll, at least pick the right place. It's very clear you're not a T14 grad /s

Not your bro. I was responding to the pp. I am looking at resumes right now listing univ of Michigan and temple law for fed gov lawyers. Those aren't t14 bro.

I really hope that you meant Michigan State. Michigan is #10 on the Top 14 list.

My husband went to law school when the job market sucked and I was super worried about that decision. He struck out with OCI and went to do a state clerkship in criminal law then prosecutor now in the IG world. He makes six figures working 35-40 hours a week. We are in a Low cost area so his salary goes far and his lifestyle is great. It’s been an amazing field for him.

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Anonymous wrote:Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

Not necessarily true. Public interest doesn't way well and the people you may represent aren't always the nicest of people even though they may be underserved or indigent.

I’ve been a public interest lawyer for 20 years. I literally know hundreds of public interest lawyers across the USA, and nobody regrets their career path.

Hint: we aren’t in it for the money. (Nonetheless, I currently make just under $200k.)

The trick is to go to school in state. Minimize or avoid student debt.

pay not way***

Anonymous wrote:Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

Not necessarily true. Public interest doesn't way well and the people you may represent aren't always the nicest of people even though they may be underserved or indigent.

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Anonymous wrote:I have no regrets. I had a scholarship to a T14 where I met my husband and some great friends. Loved clerking, toughed it out a few years in Biglaw, stressful but manageable and I saved up some $. Transitioned to government and now I have good work-life balance and make >$200k doing interesting work.

I think the trick is to only go if you can go to a top school. Otherwise it's too risky.

Does government really care if you went to a top school? They hire people from online schools all the time.

The ABA does not accredit online law schools.

I mean the people they hire for management or tech and who earn over 150k dont usually have a degree from a top school or even a school that is known

Only veterans get hired with online school degrees these days. Veterans preference doesn’t apply to attorney hiring. The fed lawyers who went to schools outside the T14 were usually top of their class or graduated before 2009.

Thats not true. Again I meant the people who work in management and tech. I know a couple of university of Phoenix and American military university degree grads who work for the federal government and a couple who don't even have a degree

Bro, why do you come to a thread about lawyers and argue about the qualifications of government tech workers. If you're going to troll, at least pick the right place. It's very clear you're not a T14 grad /s

Not your bro. I was responding to the pp. I am looking at resumes right now listing univ of Michigan and temple law for fed gov lawyers. Those aren't t14 bro.

I would not encourage my kids to go to law school in the current environment, but as a pre-2005 grad I can’t say I regret it. I’m a government lawyer (not fed) and went to a Tier 2 law school, but I’m now an extremely experienced litigator and have fun running circles around biglaw associates that rarely see the inside of a courtroom. My law school debt has been erased through PSLF, I earn more than 150k a year, and have a work-life balance. It could be much worse.

Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

No regrets, but not sure I’m as happy as I could be in another job. Graduated in top 5% of class from a top 50/mid tier law school. Managed a good biglaw job. Did that for nearly 10 years and now in house in a well paying job, but shitty company. Started with 200k in loans — down to 25k (I know, totally could have paid them off, but had 3 kids and prioritized that and trading up in the real estate market). So it’s afforded me a great life, but now that my husband’s career has taken off almost to the point where I can take a step back not sure what I’ll do next.

I don’t

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Anonymous wrote:I honestly would prefer a criminal record than having gone to law school. It was really that bad a decision

That's crazy. Why would you say that?

I get what they’re saying.

I almost feel that way about college. Anything you have to take on that much debt to finance is an albatross that’s best avoided at all costs.