Check out this Forbes article:
“Two strong forms of advice for job seekers emerged in my conversations with Belden Castonguay and her colleague Camille McGadney who specializes in advising students on social impact and law careers.”
Advice For Idealistic College Grads Searching For Jobs
Honestly, I didn’t take much from it - and if law is already overcrowded, well going to law school is just kicking the can down the road - as is an athlete staying longer (and paying more) - I don’t see/agree with the premise that it can make them more valuable.
I get the taking short term assignments like the person at an agency in DC - that makes sense - you are building a resume and in this case, that might be the only thing they could have gotten.
But I don’t (personally) see much of value in the article/guidance…I mean, this will sort of play out naturally - and yes, often people do use “more schooling” as a way to delay the inevitable or to not fight the current system…but eventually, school runs out and chasing more schooling if you’re not really interested - well that can backfire too.
Thanks for posting though - I’m sure many will appreciate it and it’s always good to hear the words.
I’m sure colleges/counselors are struggling a bit more now because college is a huge investment and even if the CC posters see more value in the education than outcome, studies show that parents are seeking a return on their investment (financially) and that has to put many colleges in a pickle.
Strong fundamental skills plus flexibility, not least over the short term, does seem like a good formula for weathering tough but temporary periods of oversupplied labor markets in your desired career track. Not covered but I think critical–nice if you also don’t have a ton of debt to service.
Speaking of which, I would personally caution against expensive multi-year grad and professional programs, unless perhaps you are just moving forward something you were planning to do anyway. Even volunteer work could be a better placeholder than paying a bunch for a degree you don’t actually use, and again if it would take a bunch of debt, that could really be sacrificing future flexibility.
The value of “multi-year grad and professional programs” is probably a discussion worth having. A dorm mate who wound up being a good, life-long, friend of mine was about as far from the stereotype of a pre-law student as you could get; a music and art major all the way. But for whatever reason, he went right to UNC-Chapel Hill for a JD. Mind you, this was at the height of the OPEC oil embargo, and I don’t think anyone had any idea what was coming next. My friend knocked around for a few years until he found a position with a dance troupe in L.A. which was really where his heart led him. Fast-forward fifty years and he’s finally getting around to using his law degree as an estate planner specializing in the arts community. I’m pretty sure was glad he got his degree when he was 25 rather than waiting until he was 65.
I did not get much from this article other than I would not want this type of career counseling.
Attending law school because of a tough job market is foolish.
Better said than me !!
I went to a T10 law school in the `70s and I can guarantee you that about a third of my classmates were there because of tough job markets in some other chosen field.
But is that a reason to go - if you don’t have interest? It’s something one can do - but is it the right thing?
Obviously, it’s a question with a subjective result - because to each will think differently.
Many from my Syracuse Newhouse class became stock brokers or went to law school - so it’s definitely a place for people who can’t make it and need a new place.
I considered but sat in on a class at UConn Law - between that and Comm Law in undergrad - I was convinced it wasn’t the right path.
I wonder if it’s the right path (today, 40 years ago, whenever) for those hiding…
I think 40 years ago, law was definitely a second-choice vocation for many people who found themselves running in circles but never quite completing their doctorates. It’s a somewhat different employment landscape now but I wonder whether the same thing is happening to people many of whom may have double-majored in CS and some sort of performing art. Maybe, those coding jobs at Google are drying up. Maybe they are looking at the competition at some of those T20 law schools and thinking, “If those guys can make law review, I’m pretty sure i can, too.”.
Not just them - but i’m sure people in the liberal arts whose degrees aren’t transferring into a job.
Really, anyone from any major who has struggled has probably at least given a thought to law and / or grad school as a way to kick the can down the road.
Okay, but the market for newly minted attorneys was booming in the late 1970s & 1980s. Today, there is an oversupply of lawyers.
That’s a good point. But see my post above. These things are cyclical.
Maybe the only non-cyclical jobs are in the medical field. But lawyers were in demand in the 1960s, 1970s, & 1980s if I recall correctly. Fairly strong demand continued for years thereafter. After 2008 recession, 2010, 2011,2012, & 2013 were very difficult years for young attorneys seeking employment. And, today’s market for attorneys is not good.
This is some useful context:
Inflation has been a factor in rising law school prices, but law school tuition increases exceed the inflation rate between 1985 and 2024 . In 1985, the average private school tuition was $7,526 (1985 dollars), which would have cost a student $22,843 in 2024. Instead, average tuition was $57,927 (2024 dollars). In other words, private law school was 2.54 times as expensive in 2024 as it was in 1985 after adjusting for inflation.
Public law schools are cheaper than private, but they have inflated even more:
In 1985, the average public school tuition was $2,006 (1985 dollars) for residents, which would have cost a student $6,084 in 2024. Instead, average tuition was $31,542 (2024 dollars) for residents. In other words, public school was 5.18 times as expensive in 2024 as it was in 1985 after adjusting for inflation.
Of course this is a story repeated across almost all of higher education, but many people are not able to get any sort of institutional aid for law school (other than possibly in-state tuition), even if they could get aid for college.
So these days, the decision to try to wait out a bad labor market by going to a good law school would typically involve a far higher out of pocket cost, often a lot more debt, and so on, than it did 40+ years ago.
A sampling of summer internships:
Summer Interns: Wesleyan Students Sharpen Career Skills