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

Anonymous wrote: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...."

+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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

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.

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...."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:48 years old and now I am thinking about going back to law school. Does anyone know of a good accredited law school online since I work part time with 3 kids? Also someone told me there are some law schools that give big scholarships for working Moms. Helpful when we have college tuitions to pay soon!! Thanks

If you're serious, please understand that someone who is too lazy to even research part time school will not succeed in law school and most definitely not in practice.

This.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

NP. I'm not a miserable lawyer, but, I absolutely hated law school. Agree with the above poster who said there is zero intellectual stimulation in law school. If that's the reason OP wants to go, there are far better and less expensive ways to achieve that.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

NP. I'm not a miserable lawyer, but, I absolutely hated law school. Agree with the above poster who said there is zero intellectual stimulation in law school. If that's the reason OP wants to go, there are far better and less expensive ways to achieve that.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

Getting a high paying lawyer job is not the typical outcome. Most high paying lawyer jobs are very tedious and incredibly stressful. You don't get it because you haven't worked in big law, and you refuse to believe anyone who tells you what it's like.

+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.

Yes I love law and justice I'm a libra after all. How much is not much and what area of law?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

Getting a high paying lawyer job is not the typical outcome. Most high paying lawyer jobs are very tedious and incredibly stressful. You don't get it because you haven't worked in big law, and you refuse to believe anyone who tells you what it's like.

+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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

Getting a high paying lawyer job is not the typical outcome. Most high paying lawyer jobs are very tedious and incredibly stressful. You don't get it because you haven't worked in big law, and you refuse to believe anyone who tells you what it's like.

+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.

Yes I love law and justice I'm a libra after all. How much is not much and what area of law?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

Getting a high paying lawyer job is not the typical outcome. Most high paying lawyer jobs are very tedious and incredibly stressful. You don't get it because you haven't worked in big law, and you refuse to believe anyone who tells you what it's like.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do this unless you have a really really good reason. Otherwise it will likely be a huge waste of money, time and energy

In immigrant families it's a prestige to be a lawyer. And so many people in this area who can afford this area and make so much money are lawyers. I'm not getting the 'miserable' lawyers on here? what's your deal?

Getting a high paying lawyer job is not the typical outcome. Most high paying lawyer jobs are very tedious and incredibly stressful. You don't get it because you haven't worked in big law, and you refuse to believe anyone who tells you what it's like.

+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.