If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around? Forum

(Applications Advice, Letters of Recommendation . . . )
Post Reply
OrangeJournoLaw

New
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 5:29 pm

If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by OrangeJournoLaw » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:21 am

So here's the deal:

I'm in undergrad majoring in political science and broadcast journalism. I really love sports broadcasting, in particular play-by-play announcing (think Joe Buck/Jim Nantz for baseball/football). I really want to enter the professional world in this industry. However, I definitely want to go to law school as well. Only one year under my belt and sporting a 3.63 GPA, which after summer classes should go up to about 3.66. Obviously don't have an LSAT, but did a practice cold and got a 165. Thinking I'll take a year from now. Should I go to law school while also venturing into my career field, possibly having to miss a good amount of class but not too much? Jason Benetti, who is currently the TV play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox, did something like this at Wake Forest while calling basketball/football for ESPN and doing Triple-A baseball in spring/summer. Should I try for something like Harvard's JDP? Should I just wait on law school entirely? Would like some input.

uncle_rico

New
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:09 am

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by uncle_rico » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:29 am

I think you need to decide what you want to do with your career. Do you want to be a lawyer or do you want to pursue a possible sportscasting career? While it is a hard industry to break into, if you're split between the two career choices, I would say try sportscasting for a bit after undergrad. Law school isn't going anywhere and you really won't be able to do both successfully at the same time.

User avatar
totesTheGoat

Silver
Posts: 947
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:32 pm

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by totesTheGoat » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:47 am

OrangeJournoLaw wrote:Should I go to law school while also venturing into my career field, possibly having to miss a good amount of class but not too much?
No. Law school is highly competitive. Working only a regular full-time job and going to law school at night is not recommended, because it puts you at a competitive disadvantage for a multitude of reasons. Working an irregular full-time job requiring regular absence while going to law school is a recipe for failure. This isn't an MBA program designed for working professionals to complete in their free time.

Also, you haven't really explained why you want to go to law school. Sports law is an extremely difficult practice to enter, and I'm not sure how a JD would help if you stayed in play-by-play. What do you want to do with a law degree? Hint: if your answer is anything besides practice law, the answer is going to be to not go to law school.
Should I try for something like Harvard's JDP?
Frankly, with a 3.6, Harvard is gonna be quite a reach.

User avatar
thriller1122

Bronze
Posts: 160
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:54 pm

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by thriller1122 » Fri Jun 22, 2018 6:31 pm

totesTheGoat wrote:
OrangeJournoLaw wrote:Should I go to law school while also venturing into my career field, possibly having to miss a good amount of class but not too much?
No. Law school is highly competitive. Working only a regular full-time job and going to law school at night is not recommended, because it puts you at a competitive disadvantage for a multitude of reasons. Working an irregular full-time job requiring regular absence while going to law school is a recipe for failure. This isn't an MBA program designed for working professionals to complete in their free time.

Also, you haven't really explained why you want to go to law school. Sports law is an extremely difficult practice to enter, and I'm not sure how a JD would help if you stayed in play-by-play. What do you want to do with a law degree? Hint: if your answer is anything besides practice law, the answer is going to be to not go to law school.
This^... I work 60 hours a week and go to night school. The fact that my classmates can use that 60 hours puts me at a disadvantage. I'm still doing well, but it took me a while to figure out how to be competitive with effectively 60-70% of normal study time taken up by work.

OrangeJournoLaw

New
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 5:29 pm

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by OrangeJournoLaw » Sat Jun 23, 2018 7:29 pm

I figured this would be the response so far and I thank all for the input. I'm getting a journalism degree, so I'm not locked into one type of broadcasting field.
totesTheGoat wrote:
OrangeJournoLaw wrote:Should I go to law school while also venturing into my career field, possibly having to miss a good amount of class but not too much?
Also, you haven't really explained why you want to go to law school. Sports law is an extremely difficult practice to enter, and I'm not sure how a JD would help if you stayed in play-by-play. What do you want to do with a law degree? Hint: if your answer is anything besides practice law, the answer is going to be to not go to law school.
I actually do have an interest in practicing law. I would definitely consider entering active duty or reserves in the JAG Corps if I went to law school and I have a deep interest in constitutional law. Disregarding the sports broadcasting idea, I know that some consider journalism a JD-advantage field. If I wanted to do news or political reporting (which I also love the idea of, probably moreso than the sports idea), would a JD really serve me well?

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


dogger

New
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:54 pm

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by dogger » Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:45 am

If you really want to be a professional sportscaster, a law degree is a waste of time and will only eat into your commitment to that.

Make up your mind. Go 100% into one, or the other. True, you can always "put on hold" one of these jobs, but I don't think that's a useful way of approaching the question. If you don't really want to practice law, then why go to law school?

Or go to law school, and treat sports announcing as a hobby (until/if it becomes a true career).

User avatar
totesTheGoat

Silver
Posts: 947
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:32 pm

Re: If I go to law school, career on hold or try to work around?

Post by totesTheGoat » Mon Jun 25, 2018 4:39 pm

OrangeJournoLaw wrote: I actually do have an interest in practicing law. I would definitely consider entering active duty or reserves in the JAG Corps if I went to law school and I have a deep interest in constitutional law.
JAG Corps is a good goal to have. I have very little experience with the area, but there are others here who do. Regarding Con Law, it's a very niche area. Going to law school to be a con law attorney isn't really much of a thing. You have to be very very good and very very lucky to practice in con law. Obviously, there are many con law adjacent fields that are easier to get into.
Disregarding the sports broadcasting idea, I know that some consider journalism a JD-advantage field. If I wanted to do news or political reporting (which I also love the idea of, probably moreso than the sports idea), would a JD really serve me well?
Law school is a professional school that has nominal costs in the $100-250k range. Going to law school in order to be a better journalist really doesn't make sense unless you're playing with somebody else's money. You're talking about spending a quarter million to make $55k a year hardly using your degree. By and large, JD-advantage jobs are jobs that you "fall" into when you can't get a job as an attorney. (There are exceptions, but I don't think journalism is one of them)

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Post Reply

Return to “Law School Admissions Forum”