Succinct salary summary for new grads:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-if-law-school-will-make-you-big-money
It looks like this salary info just changed days after your post. Many of those few Big Law employees just had their starting salary jump to 180k from 160k.
What is amazing is that this is the new rate for some firms, regardless of which market the employees are in. 180k in NYC is a lot different thatn 180k in Houston.
We’ve successfully talked our son out of thinking becoming a lawyer. The data is really alarming. We did not realize how difficult it has become to earn a decent living as a lawyer.
My daughter will be attending George Washington University (Elliott School-University Honors Program) in August. She’s discussed both law school and graduate school. For her there are so many variables involved in her future decision…being in Washington, D.C. will give her many opportunities to explore.
I will be helping D2 with law school in 2 years (she is working for 2 years). I told her not to bother if she couldn’t get into a T14.
^^ Not necessarily bad advice, although I have seen #1 & #2 at schools with lower rankings do quite well. There are some of us who take a chance at hiring them. I’ve never been disappointed.
Yes, #1 and #2 get those jobs. Are you willing to take that chance?
Don’t have to. I’m the one hiring, not the one looking for a job. Just saying that not T14 is not the end of the world. Regards.
No, I am not talking about you, I am referring to law students. After spending close to quarter of million $ at a mediocre school, would one want to take the chance of only being employed if one was ranked #1 or #2? The ROI and risk just wouldn’t make sense to me.
A large part of the issue isn’t just getting a job; it’s the fact that many law jobs pay so little that the new lawyer, if burdened with debt, will have great difficulty paying his/her LS loans back.
And the ones who get the big salary jobs have no life because they are expected to be at the beck and call 7 days a week of more senior lawyers.
Generally, concur, but a strong regional with merit money can be a good choice IFF the student wants to practice in that area. UT for Tex, UCLA/USC for SoCal, etc…
@cbreeze: That varies a lot between big firms and offices. Some are definitely sweatshops, but others are more reasonable. I am at a big firm and I work a lot, but my firm also has a strong vacation policy and is extremely supportive of parental leave.
@Demosthenes49, you are right, it varies among firms and departments and whether you want to be on the partnership track. My SIL works for a big firm in NYC and it seems all he does is work. We went on vacation to Europe and he had to take a few conference calls while there so missed out on our activities.
When his twins were born, he worked from home for a month. That was helpful. For the last 6 months, he’s never come home before 9PM and then works at home or at his office on weekends.
My husband is an MD and he works long hours but at least it is somewhat voluntary.
“We’ve successfully talked our son out of thinking becoming a lawyer.”
Does he have an undergrad GPA and at least a diagnostic LSAT score? Without those, I think this approach is premature.