Law School Prospects. Potential Pre-Law Student's Concerns...

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hello. I am a sophomore with a Communications - Public Relations major. I am currently a pre-med student, but my scores have been about average. However, I excel not only in my Communications classes, but also a special program called the Honors classes, which emphasize discussion and writing. Due to my skill sets with writing and my interest in business / politics, I was considering switching over from Medicine to Law.</p>

<p>However, the job prospects look grim to me. Though it is considered one of the top jobs in the nation, seemingly standing toe to toe with physicians and engineers, they seem to be on the blunt end of the job world with news of former law students suing their schools. On the other hand, I think I might have a chance at exceeding within the law field due to my aforementioned skill sets and don't want to remain average within the Medical world - a place that I am clearly not producing the results necessary for satisfactory progression.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, these are my questions: Should I still stick out pre-med due to the job prospects for law, is there some sort of comfort (job-wise) for those who are thinking about pre-law (i.e. me), and what are some tips for getting a job as a lawyer (If I were to become a lawyer, I was planning to practice in the Southern California area)?</p>

<p>Thank you very much.</p>

2

<p>You should first figure out what you want to do, law or medicine. Don’t chase prestige, that’s what leads to law’s high rates of depression. Intern in a hospital and a firm/DA’s office/PD’s office/Legal Aid and see what the day-to-day life of each is like. Then decide.</p>

<p>If you do decide in law school, the job prospects are indeed troubling. That said, you won’t be going through the job search for a minimum of 3 years, by which time things may have evened out a bit. You can somewhat control for the job market by going to the best school possible. That means getting a solid GPA (3.7+) and a good LSAT score (170+). Take a look through [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/]here[/url”&gt;http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/]here[/url</a>] at the various schools and employment outcomes.</p>

3

<p>Job prospects in the legal field are grim.</p>

<p>Comm is generally considered an easy major at many colleges. You should be doing well in such courses.</p>

<p>but Demost is correct: choose which you think you’ll like better. (Most folks wash out of premed prereqs due to the curves and finding other interests, however.)</p>

4

<p>Legal prestige is a hold-over myth. Everyone has a lawyer in the family or knows a lawyer…they’re a dime a dozen. Being a lawyer is more likely to trigger increased prices and apprehension than respect. There’s a reason lawyer jokes are so prevalent. Even within the profession, there has been a significant downward slide in professionalism over my 35+ years as a lawyer. Too many lawyers view being a lawyer as a job, instead of as a calling and a profession. </p>

<p>Being an advocate tends to attract people who are willing to argue for a living. Heck, even in this forum you will often see snarkiness and joy in arguing. (I exclude myself of course. I am always the voice of reason and helpfulness LOL.) Could you see yourself arguing & analyzing for a living for a 40+ year career? What seems challenging in your 20s, interesting in your 30s, and fulfilling in your 40s, becomes tiring in your 50s and exhausting in your 60s. What about marketing? If in a law firm, marketing is a significant component of a legal job.</p>

<p>Just my perspective, of course.</p>

<p>You can think of the legal profession in terms of professional sports, like the NFL. The bulk of high school players don’t get the opportunity to play college sports. This is the majority of lawyers in this country, doing wills, handling small accidents or tort claims, helping with property closings, and representing individuals in criminal matters in their local communities. </p>

<p>Some players will get to play in college sports. The majority of players who play in college are in D3 or D2 schools. These players might be stars in their neck-of-the-woods. These are lawyers who are doing fine financially, with D2 players being rarer than D3 players. The D1 players work for the larger or boutique firms and are considered experts in their field. Some players will get to play professional sports. These are the stars (T14 schools?). Even of those players, some will only get a year or two before being cut, and every player is evaluated every year to determine whether his performance justifies being kept on the roster. Only the best-of-the-best make careers in the most prestigious positions.</p>

<p>There are lots of equivalent careers. For example, you could do the same comparison with theatre majors (how many act in high school plays vs. how many have careers vs. how many become starts). Or business – how many business majors dream of making it big as an entrepreneur, and how many become multi-millionaires? There’s certainly nothing wrong with being a small business owner though!</p>

<p>If prestige and the opportunity to make big money is a goal, you should think about the odds. They aren’t good. Your situation isn’t just between med school vs. law school though. There are lots of other career opportunities that you can consider. For example, instead of medicine, how about hospital administration? I always suggest browsing Monster for career ideas.</p>

5

<p>Please, please decide if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer. Those two jobs are worlds part in terms of what they do every day. (Incidentally, doctors are also getting hammered in their profession. Become a dentist if you want prestige and a good career.) </p>

<p>Talk to lawyers at all experience levels and at different sized firms.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for these great replies. I wanted to add an extension to my statements: I am mainly looking at the law field because it relies on my academic strengths, mainly writing and problem-solving. </p>

<p>I do have some additional questions though: Is public relations a good major to have for a pre-law candidate, Are lawyers as valuable as doctors (Truth to be told, I don’t have a lawyer in my family as all my family members are involved in the medical field), and will the law schools count my science classes against me when I apply to the school?</p>

7

<p>You can have any major you want going into law school. They won’t care if you took science courses. Depending on the type of law that interests you, you should look at economics/accounting (for tax or corporate law) or computer science/electrical engineering (IP law).</p>

<p>As for whether lawyers are as valuable as doctors, what do you mean by “valuable?”</p>

8

<p>@Demosthenes49 </p>

<p>I am just curious whether law still commands respect in today’s world. Traditionally, I usually hear of medicine, law, and engineering as the Big 3 jobs. I do want to practice law (if able), but I don’t really care for the Porsche-level lifestyle. I want to be well-off and live in a nice neighborhood - upper-middle class, I suppose. </p>

<p>I am just wondering for my own sake that people still respect lawyers as the wielders of the law.</p>

9

<p>If you’re hunting prestige, don’t. Prestige will not make you happy. As for being well-off, law is like anything else. Some make good money, some do poorly, and most are in the middle. You can take a look at starting salaries [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.nalp.org/salarycurve_classof2011]here[/url”&gt;NALP - National Association for Law Placement | The NALP Salary Curve for the Class of 2011]here[/url</a>].</p>

10

<p>@Demosthenes49</p>

<p>Thank you for the stats. Question: How does this compare to medicine? I’m aware that lawyers don’t just make bank when they exit school (they gain it gradually through experience), but how does that compare to doctors and their salaries? This is merely for a comparison, nothing more besides that.</p>

11

<p>^^actually, most lawyers never make bank. Period.</p>

<p>Out of LS, incomes are bimodal: Big Law at $160k, small law at $60k. Very little in between.</p>

<p>Of course, that is for those that actually get a job which requires a law degree. Many do not.</p>

12

<p>@bluebayou</p>

<p>Well…that’s extremely grim. Question: Do you think the law field might improve when I might graduate law school? (2020 or 2021)</p>

13

<p>sry, studentcrusader: I’m not a good forecaster. (If I was, I’d be playing the market while floating around on my yacht! hahahaha)</p>

<p>OTOH, I will predict that the ACA will change medical practice in this country. We’ll rapidly evolve towards a Canadian style system, IMO.</p>

14

<p>@bluebayou</p>

<p>Though it’s a little off-topic, I do agree with that statement. That’s going to impact the medical world a lot more, probably less doctors and more nurses / physician assistants. It seems like law and medicine are doomed to fight each other for eternity O.o</p>

15

<p>No lawyer beats a doctor dollar-wise over the course of entire career unless s/he makes partner at Biglaw / Midlaw.</p>

<p>That being said, this is a silly comparison. Most law students would’ve never gotten into a med school. Med schools are exponentially harder to get into than law schools. It’s comparing oranges and apples, really.</p>

16

<p>@NYULawyer</p>

<p>Thank you for your response. Is the reason why it’s harder to get into med school is because it’s more difficult to make the A’s in science than it is in writing?</p>

<p>Nevertheless, I do want to make a decent amount, but I don’t really care for the super rich lifestyle…</p>

17

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes. The reasons med schools are harder to get into than law schools:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Med schools tightly control for supply of doctors, hence the seats for incoming med students are limited, resulting in competitive med school admissions. In contrast, anybody and his brother can get into some type of ‘law school’.</p></li>
<li><p>Law schools don’t require any required courses for admission. Med schools require pre-med courses prior to admission.</p></li>
<li><p>Science courses are generally tougher to get A’s in, as you describe.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>

</p>

<p>If you are looking for a steady employment with decent checks, look into engineering, actuary science, medicine, dentistry, or IT. </p>

<p>Law is not the most steady field for long term career. Has never been, and will never be.</p>

18

<p>@NYULawyer</p>

<p>Hmmmm…I was considering law because of my strong writing and public speaking skills as well as my general interest in politics / business (I’m from a family of medical practitioners). I was thinking of utilizing my two aforementioned skills in pre-law classes to make the grades to get into a high-level school. </p>

<p>Speaking of that, I have another question: Are strong writing and public speaking skills required to succeed in the law field? I’m sorry for sounding like a novice. Since I am more familiar with medicine, I tend to know more about medicine than law. However, I’m just not making the necessary grades to really succeed in medicine.</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>Keep in mind, even many law students from top 14 schools end up getting screwed. Schools like Penn, UVA, Michigan, Georgetown etc are in top 14 and 30-60% of their grads, depending on the school, end up unemployed or severely underemployed.</p>

<p>Not to mention, even many of those who get Biglaw after law school end up getting screwed over long-term. Law just is not a ‘steady’ field. It is highly volatile, competitive, and over-saturated.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Those two skills are basic minimum requirements.</p>

<p>To succeed in law, it’s going to take far more than that. You need to do everything right: go to the ‘right’ law school, get ‘right’ grades, get that first Biglaw job, get assigned under ‘right’ partners that are not a-holes, get very good reviews, learn to play politics with people within firm, learn to win and bring in clients to the firms, learn to ‘network’ with other professionals effectively, etc.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Life is all about trade-offs. It takes more effort and intelligence to get into a med school. The end result is that it pays off more for your career. It takes less effort and intelligence to get into a law school. The end result is that it likely pays off (much) less for your career.</p>

<p>In the end, not everyone can win.</p>

20

<p>@NYULawyer</p>

<p>Those are very grim statistics. Apparently the Internet is quite varied in their response to this question. Do you think that the law world will improve from when I graduate? (2020-2021)</p>

<p>Also, doesn’t it take a big effort to get into schools like Stanford or Yale?</p>