I am a sophomore student majoring in Political Science and I was wondering if it is worth going into law anymore. It seems as though lawyers are struggling to find jobs and many are being replaced by online websites with lawyers being payed nominal sums to provide legal counsel. I have even heard stories of thousands of desperate lawyers applying for the same job. If you watch this 2 min video from Business Insider (please watch!) it appears that Law School isn’t worth it UNLESS you manage to get into the top 15 schools and LUCKILY end up at a top law firm. Finally, the projected growth rate for Lawyers is at 6%. It seems as though the only guaranteed field is that of pre-medicine or something else in the sciences. However, I simply do not have the passion for this but I want a solid six-figure salary. What do I do? Should I switch majors/career paths or do I stick to what I want?!
Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXRiOsvptww
It depends on affordability, what tier of law school you can get into, your goals with law, etc. How would you be paying for law school? Going into huge debt for a law school well down in the rankings doesn’t make much sense these days, especially if a law degree is not paramount for your career goals.
There is nothing wrong with studying political science if you don’t want law. I get the sense that you’re simply hunting for job potential. Try to figure out your interests/passions and build a resume accordingly.
Whether you should major in political science and whether you should go to law school are two separate questions. If you like political science, you can stay a political science major.
There’s no such thing as a guaranteed field. There are unemployed math and computer science and nursing majors, too. And no major can guarantee you a six-figure salary, either.
The goal isn’t just to find a job, any job - but to find a career that you can be satisfied in and make enough to support the kind of lifestyle that you want.
First of all, I’d drop the requirement for a “solid six-figure salary.” Lots of lawyers don’t make that. Most people don’t, actually, and still live great middle-class lives - especially in less expensive areas (which still includes a lot of urban areas). Secondly, even if you do make that you probably won’t make it in the first few years out of college (or even law school, depending on where you go and what you decide to do). It’s possible you may get there later in life, after a couple of years of working, or another graduate degree. My background is in the social sciences and I make six figures; I have several friends with backgrounds in public health or public administration who make about that much. So it’s not only in the sciences that you can make that.
If you actually want to be a lawyer, then you can continue to cautiously pursue law - while being cognizant of limitations of the field. For example, let’s say that you try and try and you can’t get a good enough LSAT score to get into a top law school. You may decide to stop your pursuit and do something else. Or let’s say that you don’t get admitted to any top-tier law schools. That may be a stopping point. You can still go after a law career, but make sure that you reassess and are honest with yourself at different steps of the way.
You may want to start exploring a lot of careers and get a feel for what else you can do besides be a lawyer.