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At Graduation: BigLaw with Full Debt vs. No Job with No Debt?
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 1:51 PM Author: heady potus gas station Assume same T2 school. BigLaw has great grades (thus the BigLaw). No job has bad grades (thus the no job).
Which one would you pick?
I think even with full debt, BigLaw at Grad. is better than unemployed, as whatever job unemployed does get will be a pittance compared to BigLaw (not to mention lifetime earning---debt is nothing at BigLaw salary; then after ~3-5 years, off to bigger and better things for BigLaw guy).
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 1:53 PM Author: arousing demanding parlor incel For most people, the former.
I'd personally take the latter |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 1:58 PM Author: heady potus gas station why would you take the latter?
Getting paid almost $1 million your first 5-6 years out of law school is possibly what the No job guy will make in 15-20.
Thus, the debt is negligible. |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:05 PM Author: arousing demanding parlor incel I am using my own hindsight. I hated BIGLAW. So yea.
But for most people, the former will be much more advisable |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:21 PM Author: heady potus gas station Did you hate it for all the typical reasons?
AND did you you have debt? I find those I know who came out of law school with no debt and are working BigLaw really enjoy it...I suppose it would quite enjoyable to be making $200,000 with no debt though... |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:24 PM Author: arousing demanding parlor incel Yes, all the typical reasons, but mostly the people I was working with. That shit bothered me 10X more than the hours.
And yes, I have debt. |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 3:43 PM Author: heady potus gas station But couldn't this be said about any other stressful, high-paying "profession."
Granted, you are right in that the nature of law firm people, partners, etc. is uniquely off-putting vs. others in the corporate world (I have seen both)...but I feel like the people at work don't necessarily need to be your friends, or even all that friendly (and one is extremely lucky to get one or both of these qualities in their co-workers).
I guess I am just seeing my glass as totally empty now, as I am unemployed and would kill to have the $ and career building exit options of a BigLaw job |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 1:53 PM Author: pungent coffee pot roommate Is everything else equal, like grades and law school? Assuming my grades and LS are good enough to get biglaw, I would choose no biglaw, no debt. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948004) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 1:56 PM Author: heady potus gas station Nah, not equal: that is a good point---I will modify to original to reflect this. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948013) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:24 PM Author: pungent coffee pot roommate Even with your new hypo, I don't know. I truly hate biglaw but on the other hand I'm a graduate from a top school and I'm confident in my abilities. If I were a T2 grad with crappy grades I'd probably be a lot less capable. So while it's easy for me to say now "oh I'd just do a post-bacc and go to medical school," that option might not be available to me if I were dumb enough to attend a T2 and do poorly. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948192) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:28 PM Author: Multi-colored Tripping Haunted Graveyard I think for the purposes of this hypo, it makes more sense to think of both of these grads as being equally intelligent, equally capable of hard work. They're decently good students who ended up at Fordham. One of them happened to get better grades than the other during 1L year. Because if there's more to the comparison than just the BigLaw and debt circumstances, it's sort of pointless to even bother. I think the idea is, if you (being who you are) had to choose one of these two situations, which would you choose. And part of the story is that you went to a T2, for whatever reason. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948208) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:39 PM Author: pungent coffee pot roommate I don't know what it's like to be that dumb, so I can't really weigh my options. Would it be possible to do better than biglaw? I just don't know. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948257) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:43 PM Author: heady potus gas station Yeah, this is EXACTLY along the lines of what I am thinking.
The funny thing about law school is that the nature of it is completely do or die in first year: what happens there is what determines your career, essentially.
The problem is that intellect between 1L students in the same school isn't necessarily miles apart...because all it takes is being a little less smart in ONE subject, and you are screwed at a T2.
That was my boat...grades were all mostly B+ and A-'s, solid enough for a shot at OCI...but then Property rocked me. Perhaps this fact alone that those with BigLaw batted 1000 vs. my 800, so to speak, is evidence enough of their increased intellect. The peculiar thing though is that while this gap is relatively small technically, the actual gap between career, OCI, etc. from this is night and day at a Tier 2 school. Its literaly the difference between 1000 vs. 0. |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:45 PM Author: Multi-colored Tripping Haunted Graveyard This is all especially true ITE. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948286) |
Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:24 PM Author: Multi-colored Tripping Haunted Graveyard I think BigLaw guy wins. Working at a nationally known firm will give him the chance to build an impressive resume and get some good training by working with attorneys at the top of the bar. If he plays his cards right, he may have good exit options. And even if he burns out, gets laid off, etc., and ends up a poor, he may have various debt repayment options (e.g., IBR), at at any rate, there ain't no debtors' prison in this country.
The guy with no debt is in better financial shape in the short term, but as a T2 graduate with non-stellar grades, he's not likely to find a legal job that will provide good opportunities to make a career for himself. |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:41 PM Author: Mind-boggling chartreuse multi-billionaire That this is even a debatable question strongly suggests that paying full price at any law school is a bad idea, since some people think your best case scenario might be worse than the worst case scenario of someone who went to LS for free. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948266) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:42 PM Author: Multi-colored Tripping Haunted Graveyard Some people do think that, but I'm not sure if they're correct. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948271) |
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Date: September 2nd, 2010 2:44 PM Author: Mind-boggling chartreuse multi-billionaire I also disagree with them. I'd be happy with full debt and biglaw, but I'd prefer to not go to law school than to end up in the second guy's position. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1412501&forum_id=2#15948279) |