Regret Attending Law School?

ariesathena
Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:11:54 +0000

cbreeze: I worked in an engineering firm prior to law school, doing meaningful R&D work. That’s part of the regret of law school - I know that I was leaving a remunerative career, not a job that barely pays the bills. That is also why it irks me when people say, “But you’ve done XYZ over the past few years!” Well, yeah, but I was doing some awesome things before law school, too, they were just different awesome things.

College grads who do not find meaningful, high-paying work at the age of 22 also have the option of actually finding a job, working their way up, and then getting a JD/MBA/masters/PhD when it becomes clear that the degree would help them advance into a certain position. (I guess I don’t respect the idea that someone with no work experience is owed a high-paying, interesting job; those are earned.)

Hanna, et al: my advice to anyone who asks is “Go to Harvard or go for free.” If you’re not going to a school that will pay your loans when you graduate, or you’re not going to have any loans, don’t go. (The one exception would be cheap, cheap in-state schools, like UF - last I checked, about $10k a year. That’s back to the Greybeard situation of paying most of law school as you go.)