RN Accepted into (JD-LAW) Program & NEED ADVICE.

lynnep · Mar 30, 2009

nice links, thanks. Some of the info certainly rings clearly, though quite honestly I couldn't be talked out of law school 3 years ago. Stubborn me!

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

http://lawandletters.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-you-shouldnt-go-to-law-school.html
http://temporaryattorney.blogspot.com/

oh these are waaaaay too familiar, especially the "temporary attorney" link above, i used to be a regular reader. ironically, this is the main reason i stopped practicing law (and by the way, i once worked with tom the temp) - i fell into this temp trap during the last 2 years before i left nyc and i am so glad i got out. once you fall into it and you're in it long enough you become "law firm poison". i have friends that are still working in these temp jobs since i left 3 years ago. they kind of envy my courage for branching away. don't get me wrong, the money can be excellent, and that's why attorneys hang on. but your resume takes a hit if you're in it too long and you become extremely unmarketable.

lynnep, please take my advice now that you're on the verge of your jd: keep focused on what you're planning to do and try to dodge this bullet! i'm like you, i could not have been talked out of law school either when i attended. again, i still don't regret it - i am a better person because of it!

Agrippa · Mar 30, 2009

nice links, thanks. Some of the info certainly rings clearly, though quite honestly I couldn't be talked out of law school 3 years ago. Stubborn me!

No problem. I was a law student but withdrew after first year. It was the worse mistake I'd ever made in my life. Dropping out was the best. Not to mention that even temp positions are now being sent over to India. Oh yea...and the actual legal profession is rotting from the core. Everyone in the field - at best - tolerates their job because they have enormous loans to pay. Most are downright miserable. Those that actually love their work are super nerds or sociopaths (for different reasons). The legal profession has taken a turn for the worse. Theres a reason that the legal profession has one of the lowest job satisfaction and highest rates of depression than any other field. These are purely my own anecdotal experiences, but I think its well documented that law school/profession has become a big scam these days.

If someone asked me about law school, I would tell them not to go. If they're dead set on it, I would tell them to go to a school that is minimum, a top 14 school. But in general, I wouldn't go and if you're on this forum, you're probably interested in healthcare - a field that is actually important:chuckle. Here are some more links.

http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/entries/should_i_go_to_law_school_the_speech_text.phtml

http://www.elsblog.org/the_empirical_legal_studi/2007/09/distribution-of.html

http://www.abovethelaw.com/

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

Agrippa,

I have to agree with a lot of what you said in your last post. Law school is definitely not for everyone. During my first semester I pretty much KNEW I was not going to enjoy practicing law but I did enjoy the academics itself and that is why I stayed (thankfully I paid state tuition so I got a bargain). The best part for me was that I did not stress out as much as my classmates who were dead-set on big-firm associate positions and making partner. I ended up practicing only because I had no choice but to do it to pay the bills; I was miserable, and it took me about 10 years to finally rip myself away to pursue something different. I met many corrupt lawyers during my tenure and thankfully I never became one of them. I only wish I had realized my calling to nursing years before now. Though I do intend on using my law degree and experience later on in conjunction with nursing.

I also agree with your statement about where to go to school. Since graduation, I have advised unyielding lawyer-hopefuls that they need to go to one of the top schools or not at all. The crude reality is that name is everything. Even if you're the top student at a mediocre law school and your resume is next to a mediocre student from a top law school, you better believe the top law school grad will get the interview.

Seen it, lived it, and I moved on.

Agrippa · Mar 31, 2009

Yea, I was just like most entering law students. I was going to...as Tucker Max puts it "revolutionize this *****." Ah...the confidence of youth.

lynnep · Mar 31, 2009

Oh god, temping indefinitely? no no no no no. I would consider being a temp paralegal or temp attorney just while taking nursing courses at night. I plan to move to the Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida, not sure what types of jobs are most accessible there. I've looked online but can't find much. I'd like to be a surgical nurse, but I guess everyone wants to do that. I'd also be interested in maternity and neonatal units. Well, we shall see!

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2009

Unless you stay in the NYC or DC metro areas, temp attorney jobs will be few and far between, and in this economy it has even affected these big markets. Also, I don't recall these assignments being too flexible to be able to pursue anything else outside of the office (or dare I say, conference room). They pretty much assume you're working for them and your free time is to eat and sleep. Your best bet is to find a job that will be cognizant of your need to balance school with work.

lynnep · Apr 1, 2009

I think I'm going to look for a job in pharmaceutical sales, if I can get someone to give me a chance. I can try to make that biology degree work for me, and then I'll throw in the whole "law school enabled me to become a persuasive and articulate person" spiel (if/when they ask why a law degree is useful for the job). Additionally, I did an internship at a biotech law firm, so I'll talk up the pharmaceutical connection (not sure how, but I'll work on that later!). I'm a-okay with no temp work for attorneys in Florida. I temped after college and hated it. I can't tell you how many times people would say "Temp? Can you come here?" or "Hey so and so, do you have those documents ready? Okay great, I'll send my temp down." God forbid they learn my name.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2009

I think I'm going to look for a job in pharmaceutical sales, if I can get someone to give me a chance. I can try to make that biology degree work for me, and then I'll throw in the whole "law school enabled me to become a persuasive and articulate person" spiel (if/when they ask why a law degree is useful for the job). Additionally, I did an internship at a biotech law firm, so I'll talk up the pharmaceutical connection (not sure how, but I'll work on that later!). I'm a-okay with no temp work for attorneys in Florida. I temped after college and hated it. I can't tell you how many times people would say "Temp? Can you come here?" or "Hey so and so, do you have those documents ready? Okay great, I'll send my temp down." God forbid they learn my name.

I like your plan very much, good luck with that! Pharma sales has a good potential not only to earn good money in commissions (to pay for nursing school in full maybe) but also networking in the community. I worked with some nice people while temping but I am glad I moved on from that. I could have easily remained complacent but 2 years was enough for me, and probably long enough to have become law firm poison anyway.

Agrippa · Apr 1, 2009

I think I'm going to look for a job in pharmaceutical sales, if I can get someone to give me a chance. I can try to make that biology degree work for me, and then I'll throw in the whole "law school enabled me to become a persuasive and articulate person" spiel (if/when they ask why a law degree is useful for the job). Additionally, I did an internship at a biotech law firm, so I'll talk up the pharmaceutical connection (not sure how, but I'll work on that later!). I'm a-okay with no temp work for attorneys in Florida. I temped after college and hated it. I can't tell you how many times people would say "Temp? Can you come here?" or "Hey so and so, do you have those documents ready? Okay great, I'll send my temp down." God forbid they learn my name.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/03/23/the-long-decline-of-drug-sales-reps/

Pharma sales is not the glamorous panacea of money and opportunity as you may believe. Right now, if any of my little cousins in college asked me what to major in, I would tell them to learn a concrete skill is needed greatly and that requires a professional license of some sort ei, MD, DO, PA, RN, RT, CPA, etc. And if any of them wanted to go to law school short of a T14, I would seriously stage an intervention.

I'm not trying to be a downer or anything, I'm just trying to be helpful by letting some people know things that I wish someone had told me when I was young. I don't want people to make rash decisions that have tremendous(ly bad) repercussion for a long time.