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Erin graduated from college in May 2008 and was surprised at the lack of resources for college students about what the transition into the "real world" is really like. In an effort to share her experience as a recent college graduate and create a resource for college students and recent grads, she created College Grad Lessons.

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Law School vs. Entry-Level Job

Around this time last year I was finishing up law school applications and looking forward to being a second semester senior. I had already taken the LSAT, submitted my transcript and asked professors to write recommendations. During college I majored in Economics, completed several internships and was active in Student Government. I was interested in studying business law and working with start ups and small businesses. I had researched schools extensively and had an idea of where I wanted to go to law school.

Then I changed my mind.

I sat down to brainstorm for my personal statement and realized that law school really didn’t make sense any more. I was still interested in studying law, but I was also interested in doing a lot of other things. I realized that it didn’t make sense to spend money on law school - at least not until I had considered some other career paths. Law school is expensive. I was concerned that the investment (or lots of student debt, depending on how you look at it) wasn’t worth it unless I knew I wanted be a lawyer for my entire career.

A year later, I have a completely different career path in mind. I want to pursue interactive web design and online communications. It requires a balance of creative, technical and business skills that fits my interests. The internship I took after college and my current job allowed me to discover this. If I had started law school after college, I might not have realized there was something I liked better. Next year I might be interested in a different career path, but that would be okay because I won’t have law school debt that commits me to the career path.

The idea behind spending a lot of money on law school is that you will be able to pay it off with a lawyer salary. It is important to think about whether the career path is something that you will still want 10 or more years from now. For me, I want the freedom to change my mind about my job or career path. While I still want to go to graduate school eventually, I’m glad that I’m giving myself time to explore some options.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Graduate School. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Law School vs. Entry-Level Job”

  1. Nam Says:
    December 1st, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Back when going to college and grad school were near-guarantees for being set for life financially, it was a no-brainer to get as much education as possible. But things have changed, and oftentimes, it’s more beneficial to start working ASAP.

    When I was on the clinical psychology track, I found that it’s easier to find a job with up to a Master’s as opposed to a PhD or PsyD because insurance companies are no longer as willing to pay the big bucks for a doctor. Go figure, huh?

    I’m still drifting, but I think we’re kindred spirits in not really being able to commit to one career path. At least, not right now.

    This seems like a great and very informative blog. I’ll probably find myself looking here for more advice. Keep it up Erin!

    Nam

  2. Erin Says:
    December 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    Thanks Nam! I hope your year is going well and that you find a career path that fits your interests! Let me know if you have any ideas for College Grad Lessons! Hope you continue to find the blog useful.

    Erin
    College Grad Lessons