Burdened With Debt, Law School Graduates Struggle.

Mr. Wang, who works in Manhattan as a tutor for the law school admissions exam, is living a life far different from the one he envisioned. And he is not alone. About 20 percent of law graduates from 2010 are working at jobs that do not require a law license, according to a new study, and only 40 percent are working in law firms, compared with 60 percent from the class a decade earlier. To pay the bills, the 2010 graduates have taken on a variety of jobs, some that do not require admission to the bar; others have struck out on their own with solo practices. Most of the graduates have substantial student debt.

Even as law school enrollment was peaking in 2010 — reaching 52,488, according to American Bar Association figures — those graduating were not receiving job offers from firms where they were interning. And offers to some students were rescinded.

With law firms cutting back, she said, most available positions “fall within modest-paying categories: solo practice, small firms, government work and business jobs that do not require bar admission.”

And they might be the lucky ones, according to some 2010 graduates who said they were “too ashamed that I have not found a legal job” to allow their names to be mentioned. One law school graduate who said he did not want to draw attention to his lack of permanent employment said he was “doing rote legal temp work on the side to pay rent.”

Source.

So sad. :/

There is a massive oversupply of legal professionals being graduated these days - and this is just proof. There can be only so many lawyers, so many para-legals, so many judges, etc. The rest are going to need to find employment at the outskirts of the legal profession, or even in other unrelated fields.

There's no shortage of a need for lawyers, lots of impoverished people need legal representation and there are areas to get paid providing it for them... however, people don't go into law to fight for that, they go in for ambulance chasing and phat settlement PI cases.

practically everyone is struggling right now, it's ridiculously hard out there to find a job unless you have connects that can get you in anywhere.

So sad, a herd of dbags looking to sue people for other dbags. I am filled with tears...

If one keeps pushing, there are always ways to make money. Articles like this like to skew reality.

Look at what's written on the bottom:

“I thought the LSAT tutoring gig was going to be a temporary thing, but five years and one bar admission renewal later, here I am,” he said. His business has greatly expanded and he makes $100 an hour, but that is far below what he would make at a law firm. And, he said, “I waffle constantly, but I’m still in the mindset that I need to find a real job.”

Here we have a guy complaining about making $100 an hour. What a piece of human trash.

Finding a job was never easy. Yet, here is more than enough work out there, despite what people may be parroting. The problem is the ethic people have today - they expect everything to be easy. They want to go to work and be lazy, and expect something great out of it. That is what is wrong with the more recent generation of people.

@Storm_Marine said:

@bigbeard86 said:

“I thought the LSAT tutoring gig was going to be a temporary thing, but five years and one bar admission renewal later, here I am,” he said. His business has greatly expanded and he makes $100 an hour,but that is far below what he would make at a law firm. And, he said, “I waffle constantly, but I’m still in the mindset that I need to find a real job.”

I know, right? How the flying **** can you bitch about finding a so-called "real job" when you're making one Benjamin an hour?

I'm tired of hearing "I have xyz degree but can't find a job"

I got an awesome job with just an associates degree and people use to tell me "no one is hiring" or "associate degrees are worthless"

@gamerguru100 said:

@Storm_Marine said:

@bigbeard86 said:

“I thought the LSAT tutoring gig was going to be a temporary thing, but five years and one bar admission renewal later, here I am,” he said. His business has greatly expanded and he makes $100 an hour,but that is far below what he would make at a law firm. And, he said, “I waffle constantly, but I’m still in the mindset that I need to find a real job.”

I know, right? How the flying **** can you bitch about finding a so-called "real job" when you're making one Benjamin an hour?

Probably because its a tutoring job? He expected tutoring for the LSAT to be temporary instead of finding a fixed, regular job. $100 an hour is on the higher end for tutoring, but not extravagant. Its likely he might get someone to tutor him for 5 or 6 hours, then not get anyone for a week or two. Frankly, someone who made $600 in a week ain't exactly living a luxurious lifestyle.

I've got a liberal arts degree and I love my job as well. It's all about making connections and rocking interviews. A piece of paper is only part of the picture. Specialized jobs like lawyers, engineers, and doctors is different but for most of us degrees aren't the most important thing necessary for obtaining a good job.

I'm not shedding a tear for any lawyer or law school grad. The US has more per capita lawyers than most other nations. We need less, not more.

Pray for hyper inflation. That way your debt can be abolished. No worries. Spend away.

Mhm, the market has shifted and prospective students haven't adjusted.

The statistics hide a few important details. For example, plenty of law students (in Australia, at least) go into Government work - it's high paying, suits their professional skills, and doesn't necessarily require admission to the bar.

In any case, it's a pretty similar story here in Australia.

I'm a recent law graduate who 'passed the bar' two months ago, and I haven't been able to find work for about six months now.

There are heaps of causes for it: too many univerisites are teaching law, too many law firms are struggling, too many graduate programs are losing funding, etc. In my particular case as well, my university wanted to maintain its position in the top ten in the world, so it trained its students to be law firm fodder...leaving us free-spirited folk with very little career support at all.

But hey, when it does work out for me (and 2016 is looking like my year), I'll either be paid heaps or I'll be doing something that I love. If I'm very lucky, it could even be both!

The question is... do you have 100k+ debt from your Law studies!?

way to be a dbag

Well I'm a lawyer, with law school debt.

It's a combination of things. 1.) too many lawyers, 2.) not enough legal work for lawyers, 3.) the legal system is being "dumbed down" for the average person because legal costs are too high, unfortunately, in most instances, it clogs up the system...badly.

But I am employed. So I'm thankful.

@ferrari2001: right on dude

Pretty much.

'There aren't jobs out there'

My job normally requires at least a Bachelors degree, but I managed to get it by being awesome during the interview and having a relevant military background.

They kind of hinted that I should probably finish my schooling though. Which I will do.

....I should probably check my privilege.

qft. Even with experience in a field that's hiring, you still can't get a job today.

Japan had the lost decade, but we're going to have the lost generation.

You need to stand out. It's like that with most professions now. 10 years you could get a degree in almost anything and be guaranteed a profession. Now it's start below, work your ass off, get noticed, make networks, then move up.

It could be worse. Burdened with debt, general arts degree graduates struggle.

That's what happens when you go for a degree in a career that is not on any sort of skill shortage list.

Many lawsuits are legitimate. Some people are grievously injured due to the negligent actions of someone else, and lawyers help to ensure that these people are financially compensated for this.

I have some lawyers in the family and they are nice people.