If money or prestige are your main motivations for attending law school, it may not be worth your while. More intrinsic motives tend to promote greater personal dedication and perseverance that could pay dividends over time.
Before deciding if law school is right for you, it’s essential to carefully assess its costs and benefits against alternate career options.
1. You have a clear career path in mind
If you know you want a career as an attorney, or another field that requires a law degree, investing both financially and time in attending law school could be worth your while. By developing key skills applicable across any workplace and expanding professional horizons, law school can provide many rewards that far outweigh its cost and time commitment.
Law school can also be an invaluable opportunity to meet people that can assist your career advancement. Beyond networking with fellow alumni, law school professors who have experience working in the legal industry may share valuable advice with their classes.
If you know the type of work that interests you, research law schools near your location to identify which offer the highest salary-to-debt ratios. Keep in mind that rankings alone do not indicate a school’s quality – be sure to also assess their financial aid package, opportunities available through extracurriculars and specialization.
2. You’re willing to work hard
A law degree’s value depends on what career path it leads you down after graduation. While many students will go on to practice law, its utility extends far beyond practicing. Law degrees can also be useful in other fields like business, politics, banking, mediation data analysis journalism etc. However a solid return on investment depends on both your work ethic and expectations as a student.
Given that law school education requires an enormous time commitment (3 years), requires substantial scholarships, and will leave you with significant student debt, it’s wise to be realistic about its potential rewards. If you are willing to put in the effort necessary, earning your law degree can be extremely satisfying; but going into law school solely with the aim of making money should never be your motivation – otherwise you risk becoming burned out quickly and remorsefully regretting your decision in just months or years.
3. You’re financially stable
Cost is often an important factor when choosing law school, from tuition and fees to textbooks, living expenses and living expenses – making a comprehensive financial assessment essential prior to making a final decision on where and when to attend law school. Furthermore, you may require student loans in order to cover the expense.
If your financial resources do not allow for attending law school without incurring significant debt, consider exploring alternative career options outside of law. Even if you eventually choose a legal career path such as practicing law itself, skills learned during law school could still help you pursue other passions like entrepreneurship or nonprofit work; furthermore your legal abilities could even be put to use in fields such as insurance or business which pay less but still allow you to have an impactful impactful on society.
4. You’re ready to make a commitment
Law school requires a significant time investment. Students spend hours each evening and on weekends reading cases, studying for exams, and working together to break down complex subject material with classmates. Before making such a significant commitment of both time and energy to law school studies, it’s essential to assess if you are truly ready for such a long journey.
Legal education offers tremendous networking potential. Professors, alumni, and fellow students often have connections to firms or organizations seeking legal talent; using these relationships strategically could result in job offers otherwise not available to you.
Applying to multiple schools is important if one wishes to attend law school, yet applicants should avoid over-applying so as to miss their top choice school. Each seat taken up by an applicant takes away one that might otherwise have been available to someone more suitable to that institution.