Law School Lamentation: Jobs are Scarce, like everywhere else

Sort of related:

http://professional.wSportsJournalists.com/article/SB10001424052748704250104575238692439240552.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5&mg=reno-secaucus-wsj

 

That is very well written and laugh-out-loud funny. Unless you're a 2010 grad.

 

Teachers are having it just as rough. Two school districts in NY advertise for 15 jobs. They get 6,630 applications.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/nyregion/20teachers.html?src=mv&ref=nyregion

How the heck does anyone get a job today?

 

They don't live in overpopulated places like New York?

 

that's solely because you know more journalists than lawyers and law students. i can name at least two dozen lawyers i know who are unemployed, another two dozen who are woefully underemployed and a couple of dozen recent law school graduates who are unemployed. the law students would be currently studying for the bar exam so they are technically not yet lawyers, but in years past, a large percentage of the bar studiers would have a job waiting for them.

 

There are also more people attaining law degrees, so the pool of applicants is growing.

 

Don't need a JD for that. Playing amateur lawyer rules as long as you are getting over.

 

So it sounds like the only occupation worth a shit now is engineering? No MBA love?

 

Being a nurse means you have a job for life.
Probably the only current field that has 100 percent job security for the old-timers and if you're a recent graduate, you got a 100 percent chance of getting a job.
There's a 99.9 percent chance you had at least two job offers before you even graduated.
I can't think of another field where that is true.

 

This too shall pass.

 

I've been a lawyer for almost ten years, and I think the current hysteria from recent law school graduates is ridiculous. It's true that back when I was in law school, you could fuck around throughout law school and still find a decent job. Yes, back then every graduate of a top school was pretty much guaranteed a $125k+ job, and third-tier graduates didn't have to search hard to find a $70k job.

It's true that now, things are different. At a top school, if you're a complete fuckup you won't get a $125k job any more. And at a third-tier school, you'll have to work hard to get that $70k job.

But that's still better than most every field out there. There are a lot of journalists who work their asses off and feel fortunate to be making less than half of what they could make as a lawyer. Law students who whine about having trouble getting a job still have far more opportunities than many journalists and lots of other hard-working folks. I don't shed a single tear for them.

If someone on the board is considering law school, I'd still go for it if you think you'll enjoy being a lawyer and are prepared to work really hard.

 

Yes!

Dammit. Why is that always the catch?