Is it worth becoming a lawyer?

sallyawp
Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:06:54 +0000

I would recommend two things. First, go to the websites of the law schools you are considering and look at the list of law firms that recruit at that school. You can also often see statistics on the percentage of students employed at graduation, including the types of jobs these students have, as well as average or median salary information. Once you are admitted (or even before), you may want to consider speaking to someone in the career planning offices of law schools you are considering.

Second, go to the websites of law firms that pay well in the geographic regions in which you would consider working and take a look at where the attorneys at those firms went to law school. Many publications and websites discuss which are the best paying law firms in different markets. Some national publications that do so are The Wall Street Journal, American Lawyer and the National Law Journal (though the information is sometimes embedded in articles rather than in tables or charts), though there are regional publications that typically delve deeper into the local law firm market (in New York, for example, the New York Law Journal). Some websites also discuss this information, including Vault and infirmation.com.

Be resourceful and find the information you need.