Page 1 of 9

Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:46 pm
by thesealocust
7/12/2015 Edit:

I still endorse this product and/or service.

OP (from late 2011):

It's that wonderful time of year, and I thought I'd make a friendly PSA that the best thing a 1L could do right now may well be to drop out of law school.

First, there aren't jobs for any of you. Sad times. Every year about 50,000 begin law school and the BLS estimates there might be 30,000 entry level legal jobs. In the entire country. And I hope you aren't in debt, because estimates suggest there are only on the order of 5,000 biglaw openings every year.

Second, it doesn't get any better. Your classmates are still going to be law students when you wake up tomorrow. Lawyer is still going to be the most hated profession. We're still going to be #1 in the U.S. News & World Report substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression rankings. Professors are still going to be asshats. Class will still be insufferable. The only thing that wears off after the first year is the naive hope that there might be a brighter future.

Third, sunk cost fallacy economics bla bla bla. The only thing worse than voluntarily giving up money in exchange for a semester of law school is doing so 6 times in a row and then becoming a lawyer. Remember kids: If at first you don't succeed, quit and don't admit to trying.

But thesealocust - aren't you still in law school? - I'm sure you are asking. The answer is yes, but I'm still in law school* for the same reason I went to law school. Because I hate myself. Not for love of the law, career prospects, ambition, or because I want to be a lawyer. No no no, thesealocust went to law school because of thesealocust's off-the-charts self-loathing. It brought me to law school and it keeps me here.

But for the rest of you, there may yet be hope.

It's not too late.

- - - - - -

* November '12 update: thesealocust has graduated law school but still strongly endorses this product and/or service.

* December '13 update: thesealocust is a lawyer and still strongly endorses this product and/or service.

* July '15 update: Yep, still true.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:51 pm
by 071816
--ImageRemoved--

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:10 pm
by Gettingstarted1928
Somebody ban this troll. Everyone knows that JD = 1%er. I guess OP doesn't watch movies.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:18 pm
by Naked Dude
thesealocust wrote:I'm still in law school for the same reason I went to law school. Because I hate myself. Not for love of the law, career prospects, ambition, or because I want to be a lawyer. went to law school because of off-the-charts self-loathing. It brought me to law school and it keeps me here.


Stealing this

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:10 pm
by thesealocust
Naked Dude wrote:
thesealocust wrote:I'm still in law school for the same reason I went to law school. Because I hate myself. Not for love of the law, career prospects, ambition, or because I want to be a lawyer. went to law school because of off-the-charts self-loathing. It brought me to law school and it keeps me here.


Stealing this


The last winter break of my life has given me a lot of time to ponder things on the tree of woe.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:16 pm
by MrKappus
Hmm. I kind of love this thread.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:18 pm
by JamMasterJ
I freaking love you!!!

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:51 pm
by Cavalier
180

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:52 pm
by D'Angelo
some of us are idealists!! we don't become self aware for another 5 or 6 years...

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:54 pm
by MrPapagiorgio
thesealocust wrote:We're still going to be #1 in the U.S. News & World Report substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression rankings.
You promise?

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:55 pm
by shoeshine
I am half tempted to quit just because you told me to...

But I also want to follow your other advice and rock OCI...

So conflicted...

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:13 pm
by Hjones33
thesealocust wrote:We're still going to be #1 in the U.S. News & World Report substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression rankings.
I am not saying you are wrong, but could you link me that exact thing? I find that interesting and did a search for something of that sort and couldn't find anything. Thanks!

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:20 pm
by Errzii
How about putting up a similar PSA at the other forums for aspiring law students to not attend at all? Those are the ones that can really still be saved.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:32 pm
by NYC Law
Hjones33 wrote:
thesealocust wrote:We're still going to be #1 in the U.S. News & World Report substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression rankings.
I am not saying you are wrong, but could you link me that exact thing? I find that interesting and did a search for something of that sort and couldn't find anything. Thanks!
notsureifsrs

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:46 pm
by thesealocust
Errzii wrote:How about putting up a similar PSA at the other forums for aspiring law students to not attend at all? Those are the ones that can really still be saved.
The mods tend to take a dim view towards telling prospective law students not to attend law school, and I'm usually on a fairly short leash as it is. Pick your battles, etc.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:52 pm
by NYC Law
Errzii wrote:How about putting up a similar PSA at the other forums for aspiring law students to not attend at all? Those are the ones that can really still be saved.
That job is already spoke for

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:26 pm
by adonai
Thanks for the encouragement. I really was going to drop out until I saw this!

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:44 pm
by JamMasterJ
NYC Law wrote:
Errzii wrote:How about putting up a similar PSA at the other forums for aspiring law students to not attend at all? Those are the ones that can really still be saved.
That job is already spoke for
facepalm.
Though I would actually take a law school apocalypse thread seriously if it was thesealocust posting it

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:34 pm
by Naked Dude
adonai wrote:Thanks for the encouragement. I really was going to drop out until I saw this!
I might get into street magic

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:39 pm
by Bildungsroman
I already hate myself, so law school is redundant.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:56 pm
by flcath
I am very optimistic, so I look at it as a recoverable mistake, vice an unrecoverable one.

Very sad that that's the most optimistic view I can muster without going into flights of fantasy.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:32 pm
by thesealocust
'tis the season - bump.

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:34 pm
by nStiver
thesealocust wrote:It's that wonderful time of year, and I thought I'd make a friendly PSA that the best thing a 1L could do right now may well be to drop out of law school.

First, there aren't jobs for any of you. Sad times. Every year about 50,000 begin law school and the BLS estimates there might be 30,000 entry level legal jobs. In the entire country. And I hope you aren't in debt, because estimates suggest there are only on the order of 5,000 biglaw openings every year.

Second, it doesn't get any better. Your classmates are still going to be law students when you wake up tomorrow. Lawyer is still going to be the most hated profession. We're still going to be #1 in the U.S. News & World Report substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression rankings. Professors are still going to be asshats. Class will still be insufferable. The only thing that wears off after the first year is the naive hope that there might be a brighter future.

Third, sunk cost fallacy economics bla bla bla. The only thing worse than voluntarily giving up money in exchange for a semester of law school is doing so 6 times in a row and then becoming a lawyer. Remember kids: If at first you don't succeed, quit and don't admit to trying.

But thesealocust - aren't you still in law school? - I'm sure you are asking. The answer is yes, but I'm still in law school for the same reason I went to law school. Because I hate myself. Not for love of the law, career prospects, ambition, or because I want to be a lawyer. No no no, thesealocust went to law school because of thesealocust's off-the-charts self-loathing. It brought me to law school and it keeps me here.

But for the rest of you, there may yet be hope.

It's not too late.
You are just a big bundle of positivity aren't you. :P

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:36 pm
by nStiver
And for the love of God, law school is not that bad. If it makes people that miserable then maybe they should drop out and go into something completely different....Like accountant or physical trainer or high school teacher or firefighter or whatever else it is that people do.

edit because I am lazy and don't proof read

Re: Maybe you should drop out of law school.

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:39 pm
by romothesavior
This thread rules.