<p>Most discussions here seem to focus on "BigLaw"; it's probably worth reading this CNN article:</p>
<p>Yes, but on the plus side, IBR does essentially allow Bankruptcy discharge on a structured 20 year limited payment based on your income.</p>
<p>IBR is 25 years. You also owe tax on the debt forgiven. That is a far cry from bankruptcy.</p>
<p>You’ve also got to get a job that is classified as “qualifying employment”; this is not a sure thing. The last DA’s office I worked in had a big attorney turnover when the new DA was elected. And depending on the debt, that’s a lot of years of loan payments before there’s any “forgiveness.” Is it worth it? Well, the numbers are there; each prospective student needs to decided for herself.</p>
<p>Qualifying employment isn’t for IBR, it’s for PSLF. PSLF has 120 loan payments, IBR is just 25 years.</p>
<p>I believe Ibr is 20 years under new rules. Who knows what tax rules will be when these things start expiring. But irs is undoubtedly easier to deal with than Sallie mae.</p>
<p>PAYE is 20 years. IBR is still 25. It drops to 20 only for people who took out loans starting this month, which isn’t anyone yet. PAYE is only available for those who took out loans after October 1 2007, so we’re entering a period where most people should start being eligible for it. </p>
<p>Florida:
<a href=“Florida's swollen ranks of lawyers scrap for piece of a shrinking legal pie”>http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/floridas-swollen-ranks-of-lawyers-scrap-for-piece-of-a-shrinking-legal-pie/2190047</a></p>
<p>N.B: Employment numbers are inflated as the “JD Advantage” jobs are included. If just looking at graduates who get jobs as lawyers, employment numbers are smaller. In addition, some of the advice is risible “[The Dean] advises interning, then working in a public defender, state attorney or U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Getting a job at any USA Office anywhere in the US is a major accomplishment; it’s not something that people just go and do. Those are extremely tough jobs to get.</p>
<p>Honestly at this point getting a job at a local PD/DA is almost as hard. I know people with top credentials, great experience, and clear interest that weren’t able to find anything. And that’s from a T14.</p>
<p>Agreed-which shows that either this dean is completely out of touch, or disingenuous, or both. When I was at the DA’s office, we had 10 law clerks, all of whom were third year law students and most of whom had been with the office for 2 years. All were well-regarded(they wouldn’t have been kept for 2+years if they weren’t) and all took and passed the July bar. All applied for ADA jobs in the office; only three were offered a job.
It’s not like you roll out of bed and get a PD or DA job; they are very tough to come by. To suggest otherwise reflects a person who is out of touch with the reality of the legal marketplace.</p>
<p><a href=“The Only Job With an Industry Devoted to Helping People Quit - The Atlantic”>The Only Job With an Industry Devoted to Helping People Quit - The Atlantic;
<p>written by a UPenn law graduate(#7 law school in country, per USNWR)</p>
<p><a href=“Why Law School Rankings Matter More Than Any Other Education Rankings”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/bentaylor/2014/08/14/why-law-school-rankings-matter-more-than-any-other-education-rankings/</a></p>
<p>The link pretty much says it.</p>
<p>crankyoldman, thanks for the article, which I found really interesting. In particular, I was surprised at the huge gaps among T14 schools in the last graph showing employment statistics at large law firms; some T14s seemed to have tons of people at those firms, but others didn’t…even though all T14s seemed to be much better off than other firms.</p>
<p>Perhaps “T5” schools are what people should really strive for. When I was looking at law schools, I turned down one T5 and was going to go to another one in the top 10, but ended up going to Harvard, thank goodness, but I always wonder how things would have gone elsewhere.</p>
<p>(I also had never heard of “T14” schools until seeing message boards like this; when I was going through school, the term didn’t exist.</p>
<p>^^be careful in interpreting that last graph. Two of the tippy top schools – Stanford and Yale – send many to prestigious clerkships over prestigious law (bcos they can).</p>
<p>Also, there is some geographic self-selection occurring. The most prestigious of the BigLaw firms are based in NYC. And while it is shocking – shocking!! – to those in the NE, not everyone wants to live in the Big Apple. Some Stanford & Boalt grads, for example, would rather hang in the Bay Area and try their luck with the entrepreneurial industry, or head to a small boutique. Similarly, some Chicago and Northwestern grads may turn down NY to stay in the Windy City for personal reasons.</p>
<p><a href=“These 9 Charts Show America's Coming Student Loan Apocalypse | HuffPost Latest News”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
<p>student loan debt w/graphs</p>