STEM Dude considering law school
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Date: April 17th, 2014 12:26 PM Author: passionate stage famous landscape painting
considering a change from the soul-crushing mindless corporate existence of a STEM dude programming big data and machine learning algorithms.
excited about more meaningful legal work.. helping death row inmates wrongfully convicted, and culturally disadvantaged children fighting big corporations.
studying for LSATs and applying this fall. STEM coworkers say I'm a naive retard, so would welcome advice from public interest lawyers / students who hit jackpot in life through meaningful legal careers.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2545473&forum_id=2#25398198) |
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Date: April 17th, 2014 12:34 PM Author: lascivious lavender range puppy
"would welcome advice from public interest lawyers / students who hit jackpot in life through meaningful legal careers."
You're not going to find many of those on here
I will say, though, that some people go the public interest route and love every minute of it. But those are also the kind of people who have been doing volunteer work since they were ten and derive immense pleasure from constantly meeting new people and helping them improve their lives. Since you're a STEM programming dude, I'm a little worried that you're romanticizing public interest stuff without ever having done it for a significant period of time.
You should also realize that you're putting a very low ceiling on your earning potential by doing that, and may well come to value money more later in life (especially once you have a mortgage and a set of kids who want to go to a good college).
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2545473&forum_id=2#25398225)
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Date: April 17th, 2014 12:33 PM Author: Comical Slippery Orchestra Pit
I can't remember what the statistic is exactly, but something like 40% or 50% of incoming law students say they want to go into public interest law, and when they graduate only like, what, 5% actually do at most.
Once they see how much debt they're into, and how most public service jobs pay like 40k to start and 60k mid-career, they change their tune. Of course, this demonstrates laughably poor planning on their part.
Now are you actually interested in being 250k in debt and having maybe a 1 in 3 shot at a 40k public interest job?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2545473&forum_id=2#25398221) |
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Date: April 17th, 2014 12:53 PM Author: passionate stage famous landscape painting
Ok, lets assume international law doesn't pan out and I have to sell my soul to an evil corporation.
I think my personal characteristics make me well suited to law. I love to argue and am fairly skilled in the art of Socratic discourse. From what I've heard, law in general is an intellectually stimulating activity where your daily activities are evaluating alternative strategies in a multi-party game. Litigators also lead thrilling, high-powered and glamorous lives and on a path to guaranteed high compensation.
It's difficult to see the down side.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2545473&forum_id=2#25398308)
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Date: April 17th, 2014 3:58 PM Author: lascivious lavender range puppy
"I love to argue and am fairly skilled in the art of Socratic discourse."
Approximately 2% of your job will involve stuff like this. And even the parts that do involve arguing/working out complex problems/anything approaching "Socratic discourse" are done in the most stressful, time constrained environment possible, so it won't be nearly as fun as it was that one time you took an Ethics course in undergrad.
Regarding glamor, I guess there is a certain level of glamor in being a lawyer, but it wears off quickly. Meanwhile the stress accumulates and takes an ever growing toll on your physical and mental health (and personal relationships).
The "guaranteed high compensation" is anything but guaranteed. A STEM career involves a MUCH more certain stable cash flow than a career in legal private practice. Remember, most law firms are based on an "up or out" model wherein your class of compatriots is perpetually being thinned. Anyone who falls off the wagon (i.e., gets laid off) has essentially a 0% chance of ever getting back on (i.e., finding another comparable job).
Edit: Although if you're really that way you would probably love law school itself. So maybe not an awful idea to cop a full ride at a state school and just feast on some scholarship for a few years
Also, the job market is somewhat less brutal for IP Litigators so if you're into that, maybe my advice is a little overblown. But if you hitch your future to that horse, you'll have to factor in that Congress could (conceivably) pass comprehensive patent lit reform that would make you completely worthless overnight.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2545473&forum_id=2#25399287) |
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