<p>How hard is it to find a job as a lawyer right outside of law school? I'm talking about from a T3 school, with a BA in poly sci from a state school. </p>
<p>I'm not referring to a six figure job, or anything close, just the odds of practicing right out of law school.</p>
<p>Most people practice fresh out of law school unless they go clerk for a judge somewhere. Most people, however, DO NOT start their own practices fresh out of law school. I know most bigger law firms will actually pay for you bar review course and bar exam fees.</p>
<p>What else did you think law students do after graduating, other than become lawyers....?</p>
<p>FNS is being far too casual. US News statistics are of course troublesome and self-reported and very loose, but even by those very optimistic measures you can see that some Tier 2 schools report employment as low as 60%. And that 60% includes those who don't have the sort of jobs they want -- some aren't even working as lawyers.</p>
<p>Especially if you're taking on debt to go to law school, it's certainly something to worry about. FNS's casual dismissal of your concerns is wrongheaded.</p>
<p>So, BDM, do you think it is more beneficial to do a 6 year joint degree with UAlbany and Albany law, or go to Northeastern for 5 years of undergrad study and then go to a better law school for 3 years.</p>
<p>UAlbany/Albany law would cost me MUCH less than northeastern, but how much less competitive am I with a degree from Albany law?</p>
<p>Unfortunately I don't know anything about the schools in question. As a general rule, you don't want to lock yourself into an undesirable school when you're eighteen, even for a guarantee. The guarantee is just not worth it.</p>
<p>As BDM hinted, job prospects out of T3 schools are probably dismal at best. If finding work is of concern, I wouldn't recommend attending, let alone locking myself into one of these schools.</p>
<p>It doesn't take much capital to hang out your shingle, so long as you don't take on too much debt in law school.</p>
<p>I had a couple of jobs when I got out of law school: a part-time job working for a small law firm, and a part-time job playing music. The part-time law firm job turned into a full-time law firm job. I found myself playing a lot more gigs as a musician, too. After I passed the bar, I got a reasonably large raise at the firm. I saved my money zealously. </p>
<p>Two years after law school, I started a firm with a friend. She was saving money by living with relatives; I was making enough money to support myself (in very modest fashion, renting a room from a friend, and driving a hideous automobile) on music. We started the firm with $2,000 in cash (the equivalent of $3,800 in today's dollars), and plowed nearly everything we made the the next year into the firm. A couple of years later, we each made the equivalent of $85,000 a year in today's dollars.</p>
<p>Opportunities are there for those who are willing to hustle, even if you don't get one of those plum law firm jobs. Your salesmanship will have a bigger impact on your success than the name of your law school. Lawyers care about that sort of thing far more than most clients do. Continued success, though, will depend on achieving good results for your clients.</p>
<p>Albany Law School could be a good feeder for jobs in that area or in state politics, providing that (a) you do well in law school and (b) you work at making good local connections.</p>
<p>cmoney- yes a combined 6 year program may save you a year of tuition- but Albany Law is a private law school and it's tuition is pretty steep
($34,000). It is not part of the SUNY system.<br>
As of now, the only SUNY law school is at U of Buffalo and that tuition is fairly reasonable. It probably works out that 3 years tuition at Buffalo is equivalent to 2 years at Albany Law. And I think Buffalo is more highly rated than Albany Law school.
Just coincidence- there was an article in Newsday this week-end that there is talk that Stony Brook may be in negotiation to take over Touro Law School and make it part of SUNY Stony Brook. So Stony Brook Law may be in play when you are applying to Law school. </p>
<p>I think SUNY Albany as a political science major can give you a strong enough background (with the right GPA and LSAT score) to get you into the right law school for you. And your UG studies in Albany would cost alot less than Northeastern. Albany also has a very fine Public Policy program through the Rockefeller school .
I don't know whether it is wise to commit to Albany Law while you haven't even started college yet. I do not think a tuition savings for one year is enough of a reason to look into the Albany joint program.</p>
<p>FYI -- Stony Brook isn't the only SUNY considering adding a law school within the next few years: <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/12/04/suny-binghamton-mulling-adding-a-law-school/%5B/url%5D">http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/12/04/suny-binghamton-mulling-adding-a-law-school/</a></p>