Debt. A nebulous, but sobering reality that has been consuming my thoughts lately. Plus, the recent stats about law school don't help.
"The average law school indebtedness of 2012 law school graduates with debt was $108,293 [each]," according to a US News and World Report article.
But I'll easily make it all back right? Well, actually the average starting salary for about half of new lawyers is between 45,000 to 65,000, but loan payments usually range from the $500-$1000 which hurts the take-home salary quite a bit. Throw in the fact that roughly only half of law school graduates from any given school (unless it's Harvard or Yale) graduate and get a job that requires a law degree anyway.
The numbers are depressing. Most blogs you read on the internet are fairly negative about law school and about the job prospects for lawyers.
So I have to ask myself, is going to law school worth it?
I can't really know until afterward. It is a risk, but one I'm willing to take in order to achieve what I want to do. Law school isn't a "I have no idea what I want to do with my life, so i'll just go to law school" option for me. Law IS what I want to do. So, I'm just going to work hard and use every opportunity available in order to not be another sad statistic.
But if you're unsure about whether you want to go to law school, all the experts say, "Don't!" It's a big decision and comes with financial risk.
How long have you wanted to go to law school?
ReplyDeleteIt's a risk, yes, but this is what you want to do. I think it's wonderful that you are pursuing your dream even though it's risky.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of debt. And it's really risky. But kudos on knowing exactly what you want to do and taking the necessary risks to do it!
ReplyDeleteWay to go after your dreams! Debt is so scary, especially with statistics like that, but I'm excited that you're pursuing law school anyway! Go, Madison!!
ReplyDeleteI like this post.
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, some of the people I interviewed for the grad school story said not to go to law school.
I am all for being realistic, but I am also all for doing what you love and not giving up on something just because it's hard. So I think it's awesome that you're going to law school. You've obviously thought about it A LOT, done A LOT of research, and recognize that it can be a tough field.
But I also think that if anyone can succeed as a lawyer, you can. Even the fact that you went out of your way last semester to get a shadowing position with a judge once-a-week. Those are the types of things people in ANY FIELD need to be doing. Work hard, and just let it happen.
I think that since you know exactly what you want to do and what you have to do to get there, it's no risk at all!
ReplyDelete