i've barely scratched the surface with my own research into where law school might be a path for me. but right off the bat i'm running into the problem of no knowing where to look to see if my previous degrees would be compatible with a law degree. I'm not sure what resources i should read to get a feel for whether the job market is right for mixing a law degree with my surveying degree. let alone what other degree's pair better with law degrees?
if you could suggest some sites to read that have such information it would be a big help.
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I do suggest you read that list. Also, what kind of law do you want to practice? I have a JD and am licensed to practice in 3 states. Having said that, I got all those licenses because the job market is so tight right now. If you want to practice law to make money I would say don't go unless you get into a top 20 school. You also have to keep in mind that most jobs which make the big bucks don't do the kind of work you see on television. As far as undergrad degrees are concerned, they don't matter... much. LSAT's, GPA and choice of undergrad university are the big components, with some schools also looking at admissions essays (many do not). Unlike undergrad, a criminal background, even a minor one, may hurt your chances of being accepted.
Just to give you some background info about me, I am 25, a public defender (barely, just started) and I make 38k a year. I live in a crappy part of a crappy state. Had to do it, I really wanted to do criminal law and after exhausting literally hundreds of leads I took a job with the one guy who offered me a job (I exclusively applied to public defenders/prosecutors offices). My law school's ranking was 107, if I recall correctly.
That link posted above is not opinion, it is THE list of law schools according to the big scary official law school people. If you can only get into an unranked school, don't go. If you don't get into a tier 1 or 2 don't go unless you really have a passion you want to follow that involves law. If you want to make big $$$ and aren't really interested in the law, don't go unless you get into a tier 1 (maybe even top 20). You said you want to do something that may "combine" law with something else. These positions are rare. Attorneys do lawyer work, plain and simple. People say a law degree never hurts. This isn't true. It sets you back 3 years professionally and buries you in debt. A law degree is necessary for attorney's, useless for anyone else. My two cents.
I think i can do it, i'm not sure what part of law i want to specialize in, but being able to remember a complicated system (laws) and reiterate it to clients specific situation uses skills that I am good at.
my GPA history is what is putting doubt in me, i'm not a 3.0 person and the website linked above only has people complaining about a low 3.25 as a low gpa.
I could use some advice on how to get around my below 3.0 when working on application process?
So far the only thing people on the Law schools website seem to be saying to people in such a situation of gpa is "kill the LSat". was hoping there might be networking options available that might help me sure up the gpa front, so far I haven't found any.
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If your low GPA is a result of things not necessarily in your control, then you can explain it in an addendum in your application.
If it is because you slacked off though, then you're not in great shape. I have a low GPA myself (though higher than a 3.0), which was why I needed a high LSAT score to get into the schools I wanted to.
A high LSAT score can offset a low GPA, to a limit. Lower than a 3.0 GPA and your chances to any top 50 or above school is probably nil.
As GoblinGrenadier wrote in that other thread about law school in this subforum, TLS can be seen as a forum for people who just want to get into the top schools. The advice given there may not apply to you. If you're not interested in going to a Top 50+ school, then GPA doesn't really matter as much.
If you're not interested in going to such schools, then just taking the LSAT and getting above a 165 will probably give you a good chance.
I would say that if you are really passionate about an area of the law then go even if you can't get into a top school (sad fact is you likely won't). If you just want a comfortable life and a job that pays well, think about another path. I went to a less than great (but not bad) school and have a job that I love. It pays 38k a year.
I was warned by 4 lawyers not to go into law school. If you love working 80 hours a week, showering and sleeping at the law firm, being treated like crap, horrible work load, being underpaid for the first 2 years, etc; it is for you. That's what they told me in so many words. Each of them took about 15 minutes to an hour to talk me out of law school.
I was warned by 4 lawyers not to go into law school. If you love working 80 hours a week, showering and sleeping at the law firm, being treated like crap, horrible work load, being underpaid for the first 2 years, etc; it is for you. That's what they told me in so many words. Each of them took about 15 minutes to an hour to talk me out of law school.
I really have to second this sentiment.
If you want to do law because you love it, go do it.
But if you want to do it to make money, I think it's a losing proposition. I paid 180k for three years of law school(tuition +living expenses). I'm in debt now and I lost three years of savings and earnings I could have otherwise had. 3 + years of opportunity costs. Not saying I regret it or that I wouldnt do it again, but law school is not a light decision to make. I'm speaking not to the sufficiency of your emotional convictions, but very real economic and financial loss: an enormous amount of money for tuition and living expenses, lost opportunity costs, labor and time, and for many at least three years of putting your life on hold.
I must echo the three posters who wrote before me. Is law where your passion is?
If yes, then yes. If not, then no.
Where your passions and interests lie is the question you should be asking.
I'm not sure what resources i should read to get a feel for whether the job market is right for mixing a law degree with my surveying degree.
See, this sentence sends up a red flag. Are you contemplating this law thing because you want to, or are you doing it because you believe it's some sort of safe choice for financial success?
Don't go to law school, you'll overpay for a degree with dubious job prospects and underwhelming pay. It's harder to complete than any other graduate degree other than MD, and most law schools are highly competitive with cutthroat cultures. Law is also a stigmatized profession; no matter how much of an Atticus Finch or Archibald Cox you are, people will always lump you with the Enron and Torture Memo types.
I know how much it sucks having a useless bachelor's degree (that's how I ended up in law school), but there are better panic buttons to press. Get a different professional degree, one that doesn't lead to a thankless, underpaid, high work load job that will leave you burned out for good in your thirties.
if you could suggest some sites to read that have such information it would be a big help.
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Just to give you some background info about me, I am 25, a public defender (barely, just started) and I make 38k a year. I live in a crappy part of a crappy state. Had to do it, I really wanted to do criminal law and after exhausting literally hundreds of leads I took a job with the one guy who offered me a job (I exclusively applied to public defenders/prosecutors offices). My law school's ranking was 107, if I recall correctly.
That link posted above is not opinion, it is THE list of law schools according to the big scary official law school people. If you can only get into an unranked school, don't go. If you don't get into a tier 1 or 2 don't go unless you really have a passion you want to follow that involves law. If you want to make big $$$ and aren't really interested in the law, don't go unless you get into a tier 1 (maybe even top 20). You said you want to do something that may "combine" law with something else. These positions are rare. Attorneys do lawyer work, plain and simple. People say a law degree never hurts. This isn't true. It sets you back 3 years professionally and buries you in debt. A law degree is necessary for attorney's, useless for anyone else. My two cents.
my GPA history is what is putting doubt in me, i'm not a 3.0 person and the website linked above only has people complaining about a low 3.25 as a low gpa.
I could use some advice on how to get around my below 3.0 when working on application process?
So far the only thing people on the Law schools website seem to be saying to people in such a situation of gpa is "kill the LSat". was hoping there might be networking options available that might help me sure up the gpa front, so far I haven't found any.
Twitter- RogueSource.
Decks: "Name one! I probably got it built In one of these boxes."
---------------------------------------------------
Vintage will rise again! Buy a Mox today!
---------------------------------------------------
[I]Some call it dig through time, when really your digging through CRAP!
Merfolk! showing magic players what a shower is since Lorwyn!
If it is because you slacked off though, then you're not in great shape. I have a low GPA myself (though higher than a 3.0), which was why I needed a high LSAT score to get into the schools I wanted to.
A high LSAT score can offset a low GPA, to a limit. Lower than a 3.0 GPA and your chances to any top 50 or above school is probably nil.
As GoblinGrenadier wrote in that other thread about law school in this subforum, TLS can be seen as a forum for people who just want to get into the top schools. The advice given there may not apply to you. If you're not interested in going to a Top 50+ school, then GPA doesn't really matter as much.
If you're not interested in going to such schools, then just taking the LSAT and getting above a 165 will probably give you a good chance.
I really have to second this sentiment.
If you want to do law because you love it, go do it.
But if you want to do it to make money, I think it's a losing proposition. I paid 180k for three years of law school(tuition +living expenses). I'm in debt now and I lost three years of savings and earnings I could have otherwise had. 3 + years of opportunity costs. Not saying I regret it or that I wouldnt do it again, but law school is not a light decision to make. I'm speaking not to the sufficiency of your emotional convictions, but very real economic and financial loss: an enormous amount of money for tuition and living expenses, lost opportunity costs, labor and time, and for many at least three years of putting your life on hold.
If yes, then yes. If not, then no.
Where your passions and interests lie is the question you should be asking.
See, this sentence sends up a red flag. Are you contemplating this law thing because you want to, or are you doing it because you believe it's some sort of safe choice for financial success?
I know how much it sucks having a useless bachelor's degree (that's how I ended up in law school), but there are better panic buttons to press. Get a different professional degree, one that doesn't lead to a thankless, underpaid, high work load job that will leave you burned out for good in your thirties.
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I would also echo everything World_Peace said above (fwiw, I'm a late 20s YLS grad who hates his current corporate law work).
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