<p>I do not have any respect for Tucker Max. In the long run, his contribution to society is highly dubious. I've read through his site and his stories. They are entertaining yes, but they are not anything truly special. Tucker Max joins the long line of pop-culture MTV phenomenons such as "Punk'd," "Jackass," among whose value comes largely from shock value if nothing else. Tucker Max is a little different. His stories are crude but entertaining and he has a certain flare for Comedy. Other than that, I would have to say nothing he writes non-comedicially is I don't care if he graduated from UChicago with highest honors. Im guessing at least half of all college students could graduate with highest honors if they majored in something like "Law, Letters and Society" in college and Im certain that almost all engineering/science/math majors would agree with me.</p>
<p>Pop Quiz Debaser: When does the fact that something is popular make it have enduring value? When does having money or an ephemeral fan base of college kids a sign that you have achieved happiness or fulfillment? Studies have shown only need a minimal level of income to acieve a certain standard of happiness. Anything beyond that is relative. By the standards of people who have achieved a certain level of maturity, Tucker Maxs life has little to offer them.</p>
<p>You could do well to learn from the combined experience that went into his speech. But instead of benefitting from that acquired insight, you've chosen to be a presumptuous **** instead, and years down the road you'll be left wondering why your life sucks so much.</p>
<p>What combined experience? It was his personal views voiced in an ego-centric, crude way. Lets go over his arguments and debunk each and every one of them.</p>
<p>1) "I know the decision making process that is going on in your mind, and chances are, you are going to law school for the wrong reasons."</p>
<p>Tucker Max can read my mind now? Really? How many people think like an upper middle-class, generation-X white guy? Not many, according to current demographic trends.</p>
<p>2) 1. I don't know what else to do": At that point, when you finish law school, even if you have decided that you don't want to be a lawyer, you are handcuffed to the profession. You have to take that six figure corporate job just to pay off the massive debt you racked up.</p>
<p>Most people take that 6 figure corporate job because thats what they wanted in the first place. In addition that corporate job often pays substantial bonuses and yearly salary increases that exceed the typically paltry pay increases in corporate America. If you dont know what to do, becoming a lawyer is better than the majority of options out there.</p>
<p>3) 2. Most manufacturing and production jobs are moving off shore, and the hard science jobs required to staff them are being taken by Indians and Chinese and other cultures who actually require that their students learn something in science class.</p>
<p>Wrong, a more truthful statement would be that there are not enough qualified Americans for technical jobs and much work has to be done by immigrants or overseas. If we look at the fastest growing occupations--<a href="http://www.bls.gov/emp/emptab3.htm%C2%97we">http://www.bls.gov/emp/emptab3.htmwe</a> can see that of those jobs that require a post-secondary associate or bachelors degree, almost all would favor those with a technical degree. The only exceptions would probably be elementary school teacher. Maybe Tucker Max should tell all my unemployed friends who majored in disciplines very similar to Law, Letters, and Science how valuable their degree is, or employers to compensate such majors with more money because the current economy certainly isnt.</p>
<p>4) 3. "Everyone says I am good at arguing, so I should go to law school": I cannot recall a single person that has said this to me that I did not make want to punch in their mouth. Being a lawyer has almost nothing to do with arguing in the conventional sense, and very few lawyers ever engage in anything resembling "arguments" in their generally understood form. Beyond that, to be genuinely good at legal "arguing," you must be smart. I have never met a smart person who made this statement. This really is the stupidest reason you could possibly have to go to law school.</p>
<p>I have never heard this argument before, and it seems like someone who has only thought about a profession in law for 10 minutes would say. Tucker is right that it is a stupid thing to say, and if Tucker is listing it as a common reason, he must know a lot of stupid people.</p>
<p>5) 4. "I want to be like Ally McBeal or Jack McCoy from "Law & Order", or [insert your favorite Hollywood ******** legal character from your favorite ******** Hollywood legal drama]": Being a lawyer is NOTHING AT ALL like what you see on TV. If you don't understand this fact, it means you are an unrecoverable moron, and you should immediately drown yourself in the nearest toilet to save the world the frustration of having to deal with you and your stupidity.</p>
<p>Once again, Ive never heard this before, and anyone with a college degree who said something like this probably went to a bad college, or spent too much time with Tucker Maxs associates.</p>
<p>6) 5. "I want to change the world/help homeless people/rescue stray kittens/whatever": you know what's going to happen when you try to change the world equipped with just a law degree and a healthy dose of optimism? Life is going to kick you in teeth. Repeatedly.</p>
<p>How? I know plenty of happy lawyers who work these jobs very enthusiastically for very little pay. Hes right, in that you dont get paid much and your effect is usually less than earth-shattering. Thats true for almost ALL fields doing pro-bono and non-profit work. </p>
<p>He makes the spurious argument that noone in his class ended up doing public work as an example of how a law degree will chain you to a corporate job. Many top schools have varying loan forgiveness programs for those that enter the public field, and if you really want your work to be service, you can probably pay off your debts after a few years of private, corporate work. Once again, Tucker Max exaggerates the facts and ignores the many nuances and exceptions to his arguments.</p>
<p>7) 6. "I want to make a lot of money":There is a reason that the legal profession has one of the lowest job satisfaction rankings of any profession in America. There is a reason that so many lawyers leave the legal field: Being a lawyer--especially a lawyer at the type of big corporate firm that pays so well-- SUCKS.</p>
<p>Tonly 4 are still practicing law. Five years out of law school, and only 40% are still doing what they racked up a six figure debt to learn how to do. I don't really follow anyone else in my graduating class because most of them were worthless pricks, but from what I understand, the others are just like us: Most are now doing something else.</p>
<p>YOU ARE NOT GUARANTEED A JOB OUT OF ANY LAW SCHOOL, MUCH LESS A JOB THAT PAYS SIX FIGURES. They aren't going to tell you that at law school receptions, but it is the truth.</p>
<p>Once again, Tucker overgeneralizes and makes a specious argument. His argument, in now way, refutes the fact that lawyers make a lot of money. He just goes on a long, idiotic rant. Lawyers are compensated quite well and their per-hourly earnings are among the highest of all professions. The fact that many of his friends are no longer practicing law could also be quite due to the fact that a law degree is useful for many professions and provide more options than most professional schools, at least after a few years of practicing law.</p>
<p>I also highly doubt that people think they are guaranteed a job out of law school. For example, USNews, a very popular source of information, lists the interquartile range of salaries for recent graduates of all the law schools (or at least, it use to). It is quite obvious that a 6 figure salary is not even guaranteed at certain top law schools like UPenn where the 25th percentile is 80k. </p>
<p>8) "If you think you have a good reason to go to law school, the best advice I can give you is this: Work first. Preferably in a law firm, either as a paralegal or a secretary or even a gopher. Do it as a summer intern or full time for a year or so after undergrad. Explore what it is actually like being a lawyer, not by asking lawyers or reading books, but by immersing yourself in the actually day to day life of a lawyer."</p>
<p>This is such obvious advice and is true for any job. Its one of the main reasons people do internships over the summer during college.</p>