brag: i decided im going to law school - Page 4

rsliu · #31 08-03-2006, 12:37 PM

Oh man. This is totally not a brag.

I was totally set on going to law school for a while, but the more I look into it, the less certain I am. Did you know that in a survey of 104 different professions, lawyers were found to have the highest rate of depression? And that within the lawyer group, those making the most money (ie big firm lawyers) report the lowest job satisfication? Definitely read a law review article called "On Being Happy, Healthy, and Ethical in an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession", as its written by a law professor who was also a partner at a big firm, and talks about a lot of issues that you should know before going to law school.

That said, if you're really set on it, with your comp sci background the LSAT will be cake (as long as you're not retarded at reading comp). I did mathematical computational sciences at Stanford, did maybe four practice tests total, went drinking the night before, and still aced it (thinly veiled brag).

But if I don't go to law school all the money and time spent is wasted (beat).

eviljeff · #32 08-03-2006, 12:45 PM

just take a bunch of practice tests. classes are good at keeping you on a schedule and providing lots of study materials, but they're not necessary if you're a self-starter. I crushed the LSAT. wanna trade LSAT lessons for poker?

S0meGuy · #33 08-03-2006, 01:01 PM

Before you make this major career decision, buy this Book AND Workbook.

"What Color Is Your Parachute 2006: A Practical Guide for Job Seekers and Career Changers"

Before you invest $60,000+ and 4 years for a law degree, invest $25 and the 15-20 hours to read AND to do the written exercises in the Book AND Workbook.

The book utilizes the Strong's Interest Inventory, one of the most highly researched and accurate assessment tools for matching people's personality types and interests/capabilities with career/job options, based on satisfaction and fulfillment. The Strong Interest Inventory gives you information about yourself and your relationship to the working world, information that will lead to greater self-understanding and to better decisions about the course of your life.

Enjoy.

S0meGuy

Gildwulf · #34 08-03-2006, 01:02 PM

In what alternate dimension does law school cost $60k

smoove · #35 08-03-2006, 01:04 PM

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edit: someone who took the LSATs plz tell me how to study?

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You may not need a prep course, but as you have money, why not? I took Kaplan. My score from my first practice test to the actual test went up about ten points...but then again, it may have gone up at least that much taking the same time to study by myself. By the way, please think carefully about this decision and talk to as many lawyers as you can. I enjoyed law school. That is true. But I haven't liked the lawyer thing very much (which, as others have said, is far from uncommon). There's a thread in OOT on this same topic from a few days ago.

kidcolin · #36 08-03-2006, 01:05 PM

BZ,

Not a brag. No law professional makes buttloads without putting in tons of hours. Just doesn't happen. But at least mommy and daddy will be proud. Maybe that's the brag.

damaniac · #37 08-03-2006, 01:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
In what alternate dimension does law school cost $60k

[/ QUOTE ]

Or 4 years? WTF?

smoove · #38 08-03-2006, 01:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
In what alternate dimension does law school cost $60k

[/ QUOTE ]

Law school tuition itself cost me about $6,000 total for the three years. I went to a half-way decent state school that gave me a helluva deal, though. Yeah, I doubt Ivy League will come in anywhere near $60k.

Slade19 · #39 08-03-2006, 01:08 PM

My patent attourney sent me a $5000 bill for an opinion on patent infringement for one of our items.

The document was frigging HUGE... but I'm pretty sure he just copy/pasted a few hits off google where people asked if their widget was infringing on a patent, and used the find/replace tool to replace 'widget' with my item name.

It's sort of like back in high school... where you had to write a 30 page paper on a topic. You finished your paper and it's only 7 pages long... so you go through and add a few hundred thousand words that sound neat but say absolutely nothing of any consequence.

damaniac · #40 08-03-2006, 01:11 PM

Law school (after 1 year, anyway) has been a blast. Just do the reading, pay a reasonable amount of attention in class, study for a bit before exams, no problem. Plenty of time for poker/drinking/debauchery.

Working as a lawyer may be different. OTOH, nowhere does it say you have to work at a big firm. You could always take a gov't/public interest job, many of which are 50 hours or less a week. Obviously, the pay sucks, but if you play poker on the side, not so bad. I assume there are government jobs in the fields you are interested in, but I'm the wrong person to ask.

Incidentally, does anyone know whether or not playing online poker has raised any flags for someone applying for a government job with security clearances? I always wondered if that might be an issue.

Studying, what others said, just take some practice tests. Nothing to it.