<p>I’d also say that in light of what’s happening in the legal field regarding employment, your D’s decision in postponing makes a lot of sense. Better than to end up buried in $100-200k in law school loan debt and then having to service that with a $30k/year legal job if one’s lucky or worse…doing so as an unemployed and “overqualified” law school graduate. </p>
<p>More importantly, from what I’ve seen among those who successfully landed one of those coveted lucrative/prestigious jobs…the working conditions are long and arduous enough to weed out anyone who isn’t passionate about being a lawyer and committed to working a 70+ hour or more workweek while being “on-call” whenever they’re away from the office.</p>
<p>Absolutely right. It took my son a year after graduating to decide what to do with his life, then a year applying to graduate school and 2 more to go through grad school. So it is now 4 years after his college graduation. My only advice would be to be patient. I know it is hard for us as parents and when we were growing up, I did not have the luxury of doing that.</p>
<p>^but along with that, doesn’t mean she gets to sit on the couch and eat potato chips until she decides either. She CAN find A job, at least for the summer.</p>
Which one Steve? Take the summer off or find a job, at least for the summer? It’s hard finding a job no matter what, even a “fun” one. And it’s scary, after working towards that college degree for so many years (all through hs + 4 stressful years of college), because you can feel rudderless.</p>
<p>I agree there’s no need to rush into law school, but what is she doing now? Something productive? Earning money? I was surprised by how many of my older son’s high school friends were basically lolling around their parent’s houses not even applying for jobs. I know it’s hard to find work, but they didn’t even seem to know what they might look for. I know my oldest was lucky to have something he was interested in from a very young age, something he was good at and something to make him very employable, but even my youngest has been working at getting experiences and skills that should make him employable once he’s graduated.</p>
<p>To everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to post your comments. Sometimes one just needs to hear others’ comments, opinions, suggestions. They are all very valuable. To give you some more information: She did not look for a “real” job early on in the Spring, because the plan is/was to take 1 year off between college and law school. During said year, she would take on some type of part-time job, take the LSAT, apply to law school, do some volunteer work, and maybe travel a little. Currently, she has an amazing resume, with important internships every summer and a high GPA. However, come the Fall, if she does not apply to law school or some type of graduate work, then she’s going to have to look for a “real” job. As someone said, I don’t want her sitting on the couch all year. In our house, we always had a policy “you are either a student or you are working and supporting yourself”. That being said, I do appreciate some of you telling me to relax a little about this, I know that it’s an “unsure” time for her. We’ll see how it all works out :)</p>
<p>^^ That post of yours answered the concerns I had (re sitting on the couch doing nothing but taking time off). My expectations of her would be the same as yours.</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt to not immediately go to LS - a lot of people work for a couple or more years first whether in a ‘career’ type of job or just any job. It’s a good time to get more experience working, save as much money as possible, and get mentally prepared to head to LS.</p>
<p>I’d have a real hard time with a kid who’s simply taking a year off lounging though.</p>
<p>^nngmm, these days if there were to be a new “The Graduate” movie, they would talk about new materials rather than plastic. Like “graphite” or “carbon fiber” or “nano fiber” …and they would probably be right. Just kidding! :)</p>
<p>My son did get a job after graduation in 2008, then took a year to decide what to do. He also went to Columbia to take graduate courses in the subject he liked in order to make up his mind. He then made up his mind, applied to graduate school, working all the time and then went to grad school. I agree just sitting around would make me mad…although the job he worked at did not pay much…</p>
<p>My gifted son skipped an elementary grade, started college while still 16, applied to top math grad schools his 4th year at flagship. Didn’t get into ANY, cancelled graduation and added comp sci. He indicated he would apply to grad schools but didn’t. He said he’d been going to school a long time and was tired of it or some such (burnout)- the reality is he went no more years than others, did 5 years of college instead of elementary school. He has been working nearly a year and mentioned a future not at his job. I suspect in the next year or so he will be back in school for math or a related field.</p>
<p>I think even the “best and brightest” need a break from expectations, a chance to control their lives instead of just continuing on the treadmill. I suspect she will get bored without more academic challenges and go for a higher degree. That’s what I think will happen to our 22 year old. When he does go on to grad school I think he will be following his current, adult, dreams and not just doing it because he is supposed to. </p>
<p>Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had had the luxury of an income and more time to figure out my dreams instead of being caught up in medical school, residency then work to justify all the years spent getting there (aside from needing the income to pay off loans). btw- I’m a woman.</p>
<p>To the OP: I’m betting that your daughter has a very productive year off. It is important for us to relax. I’m trying hard to do that myself, though my anxiety tends to center on whether he will ever be packed and moved. I remember a thread in the fall of 2008 called something like “when will they pack?” I’m wondering the same thing again.</p>
<p>This time of life, right after college, is very difficult. For the first time in your life, the OP’s D has to decide what to do with herself, without having her path laid out for her. There has been a lot of research about “millenials” and “organization children,” and the problems they have as a generation coming to terms with the chaotic nature of life vs. the structured nature of school. They were trained to see life as manageable and predictable, with ordained outcomes based on meritocratic competition, right at a time in history when those assumptions are crumbling before them. Not an easy time to be young.</p>
<p>I’m sure your D will find her path. I’d cut her a little slack. But not too much–don’t let her fall into idleness or “drown in the sea of possibility.” She can do something else besides go to law school, as long as it’s something. She’s not locked into any path yet and can still change her mind.</p>
<p>Maybe she would like to travel – teaching English is a great way to support the travel – and give herself time to decompress, see new things and decide if she is still interested in law or find a new area of interest.</p>
<p>Soon after my met my H (second marriage) and he was telling me his life story, he mentioned that he had been a plastics chemist. It was hard to keep a straight face. This part is relevant to the OP’s original question: He graduated at the top of his PhD class and went immediately to a research job in the private sector. Then he moved to the public sector, and now, in “retirement,” he’s teaching college–and he has found his true calling. He has told our S that he never paused, reflected, and explored after getting his PhD. Though he’s a cup-half-full kind of guy, he does wonder (like wis75 does) where he would have ended up if he’d taken some time to imagine the possibilities.</p>
<p>I for one am trying to look forward to graduation in two weeks, and trying not to be sad/depressed/disappointed/angry that S1 does not have a job. I am only hoping that when he really starts to look he will find. In the meantime I am trying to listen to him to talk about finishing up his projects and papers, and not interrupt every second to ask if this one or that one has a job yet. Hopefully they will all find their way. Soon!</p>