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    McCoy's MistressHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:55am

    I want to put in a plug for public service law. We don't get paid like the top firms do, but our hours are more reasonable and we get to help people and often qualify for loan forgiveness if you have student debt. There are government agencies and charities who help indigent clients with criminal defense and civil needs like divorce, custody, and housing issues.

    Law school is certainly not for everyone. It's a slog. But if you go to a school with a robust clinical program (many city law schools will have them) and relationships with these local agencies, you can build a career that helps others and pays the bills.

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      DolemiteMcCoy's Mistress
      12/17/14 10:58am

      The only reason I'd ever want to be a lawyer is to defend the little guy against giant corporate interests and their paid-for government officials.

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      UnitedVampireLoyalistMcCoy's Mistress
      12/17/14 11:00am

      Word.

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    Ginger Is A ConstructHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:57am

    Real ethical quandary: I have a very bright student who is debating applying to history graduate programs or law school next year. I have personal experience in how hard it is to get a job with a PhD in history, but I also think we need bright people like him working in museums, teaching primary and secondary students, etc. But this article makes me think maybe I advise him to apply to law school? Thoughts from law students / recent lawyers?

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      김치전!Ginger Is A Construct
      12/17/14 11:00am

      Tell him to move to Mongolia to get high in a yurt.

      (All of the lawyers I know are rich and desperately unhappy; all the academics I know are middle class and moderately unhappy, but with dental benefits. So I guess it comes down to, how are his teeth?)

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      -- --- .-. ... . (AKA "Morse")Ginger Is A Construct
      12/17/14 11:04am

      Unless practicing the law is that student's burning ambition, I wouldn't advise actually going to law school without a substantial scholarship at a top 25 law school. It never hurts to apply, of course, but those application fees might be better spent towards other academic paths.

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    kdkssHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:54am

    A good law school education is never wasted, as long as you don't plan to practice law.

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      MTAkdkss
      12/17/14 11:01am

      Actually, studies show that a JD Is considered useless and a bad thing to have by HR departments not located in law firms. It's a very expensive thing to have.

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      lunchcomakdkss
      12/17/14 11:17am

      ...and as long as you have an infinite source of income to pay off those student loans.

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    Rom RombertsHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 11:02am

    I went to law school so I could be snotty and demeaning to support staff and pretend that I'm a good writer. Also, since I was little, all I ever wanted to do was lick the boots of insurance companies.

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      HypocryphaRom Romberts
      12/17/14 11:29am

      It's important to find your passion. Mine was using multiple subpoints to (A) mask my inability to write (i) clear, (ii) concise sentences.

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      disorganizationRom Romberts
      12/17/14 11:39am

      snotty and demeaning to support staff

      Do I work with you?

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    theboogiecatHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:56am

    I have been telling undergrads not to go to law school for years now. Law school is somewhat better than being a lawyer, because you can study what you find interesting. Once you graduate, there's a high possibility that you won't like what you do or your colleagues. DO SOMETHING ELSE.

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      LizCtheboogiecat
      12/17/14 11:01am

      "there's a high possibility that you won't like what you do or your colleagues" — that is literally true of any career imaginable

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      skydemonLizC
      12/17/14 11:04am

      Except chances are you'll have a lot more student loans if you go the law school route.

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    dothedewHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:58am

    Now—credit where credit is due—the youth of America have come to their senses and figured out that "being a lawyer," in all likelihood, amounts to agreeing to spend your life in an ill-lit room doing paperwork in exchange for a moderately fancy BMW.

    Very true. I feel like I have wasted my talents but it is hard to get out once you get in and find anywhere near the replacement salary. I know, boo hoo for me. But I don't even have a BMW!

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      BernieTheBurnerdothedew
      12/17/14 11:16am

      I spend my days in an ill-lit room doing paperwork in exchange for a used Honda.

      Maybe I should go to law school? Same life with a better car?

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    LordBurleighHamilton Nolan
    12/17/14 10:56am

    I just hope that the kids not enrolling in law school aren't choosing to enroll in PhD programs instead. Thar be dragons! Don't do it, kids! Take it from an old salt: it would be a better choice to start a career at Chipotle.

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      Medieval KnievelHamilton Nolan
      12/17/14 11:48am

      Being a lawyer makes cops think twice before violating your, or your friends', rights. Sadly, this is a compelling reason to get a law degree (if your lifestyle is anything like mine).

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        Gawquera de Tokers TownMedieval Knievel
        12/17/14 1:32pm

        I keep my alma mater's sticker on my car for that reason. It's a deterrent.

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      Missy D BHamilton Nolan
      12/17/14 1:44pm

      The only people I know in law school are those who didn't have to take out loans and therefore were never making a huge stupid bet. For me, if I were to take out the money to get a law degree and then not get a job I would quickly become homeless. Idk what the answer is, but I am jealous that these people will make 4X my salary straight out of law school when they have zero debt because they were so rich to begin with. Professional school and grad programs really need to find a solution to make them more easily accessible for those of us who don't have rich parents/realize we are adults and pay for shit on our own. I took out loans for a grad program with a much higher hiring rate after graduation and luckily got something in my field right after graduating, but despite being fucking poor going in there was no need based aid at all. //rant over sorry

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        A House In VirginiaHamilton Nolan
        12/17/14 1:36pm

        Law School College Got Real Unpopular Real Fast

        fixed. American college is a GDMFing JOKE.

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