<p>Hey guys. I've been interested in law school since a very young age, and its still in the back of my mind now that I'm in college. my current major is accounting, mainly because I can't think of anything I really "love." I'm considering the prospect of going law school, using the accounting degree as a fallback if either I can't afford the law school, which is very likely considering I've already given up orthodontics because of that circumstance, or if i decide i don't want to do it. anyway, what is the market for, and the life of, attorneys really like? I know obviously there is a huge variation between those who got a law degree from joe's law school and harvard law, but for the "typical, went to a pretty good, but not great, school" lawyer, what is it all like? I always hear that the market is over-saturated with lawyers, and that most end up working very hard, long hours for the same pay you would expect for any other job. I don't mind the hard work, but I want to be compensated for such work, in both job satisfaction and pay. any input is appreciated, thanks guys!</p>
<p>(one last thing, is it true that only the actual GPA is looked at by law schools, regardless of the courses you took? For example, would a 4.0 in communications be more highly sought after than a 3.7 in biology, a clearly more challenging major?)</p>
<p>there are 100 different threads with the answers to all these things. Search the past forum. </p>
<p>But for some constructive advice, going into accounting, getting your CPA, and then going to law school would give you a leg up in employment. Tax law is always considered a very hard speciality and a CPA will help you with this. So you may want to go that route.</p>
<p>Thanks guys… Patriot, sorry, I usually post in the business section so I haven’t really looked at past threads. That path seems logical especially with an accounting background</p>
<p>Homer, I figured that would be the case. Is it more or less Ivy League or bust, or is there a middle ground where you can go to a pretty good above average law school, and obviously not be as sought after as the ivy league-ers but still more than most?</p>
<p>I’m not sure getting a CPA actually gives one a leg up for entry into tax law. From what I’ve seen, it’s just the law school and grades. Some boutiques, like Ivins, might require a tax LLM.</p>
<p>Most lawyers make it just fine. They get paid fine, although not great. And they work okay hours, again though not great.</p>
<p>There are two problems. The first problem is that these folks usually are pretty bright kids who should be doing better than “fine.” Second, being paid “fine” is actually bad if you’re carrying very high student loan debt.</p>
<p>Check out the following graph of lawyer salaries:
[url=<a href=“Photo”>Photo]Photo[/url</a>]</p>
<p>^^^ “being paid ‘fine’ is actually bad if you’re carrying very high student loan debt”</p>
<p>This is my primary concern. Long story short, my financial situation is unfavorable. My parents are going through a divorce, and I have an “unstable” relationship with my father, who is the bread winner, to be frank. Thankfully, due to financial aid and scholarships I’ve earned, I have enough to get through undergrad without paying for anything, even getting some refund checks of about $1000 a semester back. So the only things I need my parents to supply money for is basic living essentials (food, hygienic stuff, etc). But after undergrad, all those grants and scholarships are gone. I simply can’t imagine my father paying for all my living essentials when I’m 22 going through law school considering that I’ve been paying for car insurance/gas for myself since I was in high school… and all this while I’m taking on huge amounts of student debt. Basically the quicker I’m financially independent, the better, which is why accounting is appealing to me. However, I don’t want to let my situation dictate my career (except for medicine, 7+ years of post grad without a full time income is simply not possible), so I’m still considering law if I think in the end it will be worth it, but it just seems risky</p>
<p>Do bear in mind that compared to other medical or law students, you are already in a favorable economic situation: you have no debt.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, especially in the legal field, it is hard to pay back debt without one of the elite jobs. Not impossible, just hard. And it’s hard to get one of those jobs without going to a top-ten school. Not impossible, just hard.</p>
<p>thanks for your help bdm… those are pretty much the answers i expected, just not particular what i wanted to hear lol… I think I’ll stick with accounting for now and assess my situation by the time i graduate, as well as assess the nations economy… btw, is it true that only the actual GPA is looked at by law schools, regardless of the courses you took? For example, would a 4.0 in communications be more highly sought after than a 3.7 in biology, a clearly more challenging major? thanks</p>
<p>In general it’s true that major doesn’t matter much. Things like communications are an exception, though. If you wanted to compare, say, English to Physics, though, then yes: law schools would mostly consider just the raw GPA.</p>
<p>“Is it more or less Ivy League or bust, or is there a middle ground where you can go to a pretty good above average law school, and obviously not be as sought after as the ivy league-ers but still more than most?”</p>
<p>You can be successful going to a lower tiered school, but graduating in the top 10% of your class and making law review are often essential. In fact, some have recommedned that if you go to a lower tiered school and do not make the top 10% by your second semester, you shoud drop out. </p>
<p>You should check out some of the law school scam blogs for further info, such as Shilling Me Softly, Third Tier Reality, and First Tier Toilet.</p>
