by Lauren Davis  

 

As graduation and the real world loom near, many college juniors and seniors consider applying to law school.  For some students, law school represents a  necessary step to the career of their dreams.  For others, it is an acceptable way to put off getting a job for another three years.  But is law school right for you?  Here are a few things to consider before sending in your tuition check:

 

Do you really want to be a lawyer? 

 

It may sound like an obvious point, but law school is for people who want to be lawyers.  For three years, all your classes, career services, and job recruiting will be centered around legal practice.  Law school is not for people who want to become writers or investment bankers, and it is not the place to find yourself.

Still, every year law school seats fill with people who have no interest in the legal profession.  Although some learn to love the law, others find law school and being a lawyer frustrating and unsatisfying.  So how do you avoid that trap?  Do some research on various legal careers.  The American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Association of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) offer resources on different legal careers, from corporate litigation to law librarian.  Talk to an attorney about their day-to-day work and ask if you can shadow them for a day.

If you think you might want to be a lawyer, but still are not sure, find a post-graduation job as a paralegal.  It will give you a sense of what the legal profession is really like, and law school will still be there in a few years.


How much debt are you willing to take?

When you factor in tuition, books, housing, and other necessities over three years, the cost of law school can add up.  Unless you have a heap of savings, you've won a scholarship, or someone else is footing the bill, you 'll probably be taking out loans to cover most of those expenses.  According to NALP, the average law student takes out over $54,000 in loans for public school, and over $80,000 for private school.

But once you get out of law school, you'll be making the big bucks, right?  Not necessarily.  While NALP reports that first year associates at top law firms start at $145,000 a year, at smaller firms the average salary quickly drops, and PayScale puts the national average salary for a first-year attorney at about $56,000.  Public sector jobs, such as prosecutor positions and judicial clerkships, tend to have salaries on the lower end, but may qualify for the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP).

Will you be able to pay back your loan?  Probably.  But the amount of debt you take on could end up having a huge effect on your career decisions and your lifestyle for the first five to ten years after school.


Do you want to go to a top school?

You should choose your law school based on the career you wish to pursue.  Some schools have better intellectual property programs; some are better for government.  Some schools  place students in top corporate law firms, while others might have closer ties to the practices in your home town.

If you are dreaming of the big paycheck at that Vault 100 law firm, you will probably want to go to a top law school.  The large, prestigious firms tend to draw heavily from top-ranked programs and recruit on the campuses of those schools.

So if you can't get into school at Harvard or Ann Arbor, are you automatically out of the club?  Hardly.  Check out the career placement statistics at any school to see the cities, fields, and starting salary of the school's graduates.  Plenty of schools outside the top fifteen have strong ties to top firms, and schools that focus on a specific geographic or practice area might be better at placing you in the job of your dreams.


Are you up to the work?

Make no mistake, law school is a lot of work.  Professors expect you not only to have done the day's reading, but also to be prepared to discuss it in depth.  Exams often require intimate knowledge of arcane statutory codes and, unlike employers in some other professions, law firms and judges care about your grades.  If you're not ready to put in the work it takes to do well in law school, it might not be worth it to go at all.


For many, law school is a necessary stepping stone to a rewarding career.  However, it can take a little research and a lot of soul-searching to ensure that it isn't merely a very expensive respite from the real world.  Make sure you know what you want to do with that law degree and which schools  can help you get there and decide whether you are prepared to take on the debt and the challenge associated with a legal program.