Everyone and Their Mother has a law school blog

The sheer volume of information out there about whether or not to go to law school is pretty mind boggling. Why does everyone feel like they have to weigh in on this? There must be more people who write law school advice blogs then there are that vote in mayoral elections.

I've spent the last 24 hours lost in a maze of law school confidential blogs and career advice websites. It's been a kind of like walking through a stadium jam packed with people shouting "don't do it, you idiot!" The general consensus is that you should only go if you want to be a lawyer, because it's very expensive and insanely competitive. Also, most people find that being a lawyer either sucks because you work at a firm, or doesn't pay well because you work for the public interest. Here's how much debt you will rack up, on average. The people are all a bunch of jerks. Job prospects aren't actually all that shiny. This is how shitty it is to work in a corporate law firm.

I must be a deaf idiot, because I'm leaning towards it.

Yes, law school costs a lot and you shouldn't invest that much unless you know where you're going with it. But I'm not convinced by this argument. Undergraduate education is just as, if not more expensive and typically even more worthless. Barely anyone knows what they're going to major in and what they're going to use it for when they start undergraduate, but that's not keeping anyone's wallet shut. My own reasons were for college were pretty dumb in retrospect, but I still stand by them. I needed to get the hell out of Nashville, Tennessee (no offense to my friends and family there - the best friends I have are still there), and I wanted to learn something about the way the world works. I got exactly what I wanted out of my undergraduate - an incredible experience living in the insanity of Los Angeles and a new lens with which to view the world, tinted green.

I think that I can get exactly what I want out of law school. Anonymous Lawyer's Jeremey Blachman talks about law school giving you a sense of purpose. On the real, I want that - I want a path, so I can just get started running on it already! My internship director has ph.d's, bachelor's, masters, professorships, you name it, and she tells me her law degree was the one that changed her life the most. Say what you want, but people treat you differently if you have a j.d. I'm not just talking about the opportunity to preen at a party when someone asks you about your career. It's like a big fucking gold star on your resume, and god knows why but people take it seriously. A lot of journalists have law degrees. And I think it will matter when I go into the job market. Assuming symmetric information and symmetric skill sets(forgive me, I am an economics major.), a J.D. is going to make a difference to a hiring director. Big. Fat. Period. Additionally, I will find the classes interesting. I will learn information I consider useful. I can get at least as much out of a law degree as out of UCLA, and it can't possible cost me more than UCLA has.

Admittedly it will take some convincing, a few lifechanging epiphanies, perhaps a lobotomy(law school admissions board, please read this as humor) until I can seem myself being happy as a big corporate lawyer. But what if I can use these skill to do something more meaningful, in environmental law, or in public interest? I've never cared about money. (wait what's my major?) All I care about is finding a job that I can care about enough so that it's not hell making a living off of it. (If anyone's having this dilemma, read this now. It's like he plucked the thoughts about careers from my brain, really eerie.) It's a definite possibility that those jobs could make me happy. I know that I want to end up as a published writer no matter what I do after UCLA and for how long, and that kind of work can only help me in that.

I know exactly how hard it will be - I've read more than enough about it. From what I hear, it's exactly like placing your head in a meat grinder and turning the crank yourself.(this site for mature audiences. apologies to the creators of Saw if I stole the idea for your next movie.) But for some reason I'm not afraid. Assuming that I'm not an overconfident fool, I think it's because I've spent the past 3 years strapping my brain in the iron maiden that is the UCLA economics program, and I'm not even slightly mathematically minded. I'm so right brained that I don't even know how to use the number pad on the keyboard. It's like I'm right handed and I've been trying to make a career as a lefty armwrestler. If I can have the success I've had in economics with my particular skillset, then I can't feel real fear when I read those law school horror stories. Law school may be hard, but at least I'll get to use my right hand.

Damn this was long. but yeah, I need help on this one guys.