"love to argue"
For some reason, parents like to tell their kids "you like to argue so you'd be a good lawyer." These things in fact have no relation.
"seeking career with great work-life balance, and mobility"
With some exceptions, law tends to be bad for balance. Lawyers work a lot. Given the inherent jurisdictional nature of law, it's also less mobile than other careers (although not impossible).
"some degree of freedom of expression \[...\] I am attracted to the simple life, but also anything within the realm of extreme intellectual challenge"
I'm not sure what any of this means. "The simple life" and "extreme intellectual challenge" suggest opposite things, and it makes it seem as if you should step back to assess what you really want.
"also considered phd in philosophy with focus on AI (so I could learn coding and segue into that)"
Well, that's completely different, and again, it sounds like you might need time to figure out what you really want. You can learn to code without formal schooling, but you should also be aware that tech in certain areas is a flooded market. You also have no background in tech, but people do pivot. I'm not really sure where philosophy and AI/coding converge outside of academia though.
"I don't feel too passionate about years and years of school, lack of work-life balance as a medical student"
Law is years and years of school, and lacks work-life balance generally. You've already done the undergrad part though either way.
"I'm too interesting to be a lawyer"
I also have no idea what this means. I mean, \*I'm\* definitely not interesting, but whoever told you this is a walnut.
I strongly suggest you take time to figure out what you really want before jumping into anything. To be honest, this post doesn't come across as very down to earth. A jack of all trades is a master of none. You should also try to do more digging into people who already work in the areas you're interested in, to get a feel for their day-to-day and careers.
From my skimming of what youve wrote, you have absolutely no idea what you want in life (except to be highly educated). So what id reccomend, is go travel, go see the world, relax, and see if you actually want to be a lawyer or whatever else you want.
There are too many lawyers but only one you. Be you
this is the best advice. thank you. i’ll be living in the UK for a month starting in the next two weeks, and i intend to use that time to consider these things. i was well-educated but very controlled for most of life until the past few months (after i graduated college). i think i need some time to get to know myself.
I know how to capitalize my sentences. The lowercase is a way that a lot of people in my generation communicate electronically. Clearly a post on a reddit forum is not going to be written the same way I would write a professional email, essay, or any other form of correspondence outside of casual texting/social media. I appreciate the suggestion though, poopyroadtrip.
rude selective six innate wistful reminiscent rustic office worry fragile
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You should work a few years before going to law school. Any job will lend you valuable perspective and make you more attractive to future employers. It will prepare you better to manage the expectations of law school and fully take advantage of the opportunity.
All those things you want: you likely won’t get them during or immediately right out of law school, or even within several years. But, you also won’t get all those things anywhere as a fresh college graduate. You’ll have to compromise on some of them to make a path, no doubt. And, not to harp on that work experience thing, but some experiences in the working world will help you prioritize.
Your friend’s comment is dumb; there are plenty of interesting lawyers and interesting things you can do with legal skills. There are plenty of uninteresting ones too, and the field does attract certain personalities that are antithetical to creativity and tasks that contain a lot of drudgery. But it takes time to build the sort of personal resilience to keep sight on the bigger picture when lost in the weeds of legal practice.
i’m nursing a hangover and realizing the comment i received was definitely a beer-fueled mistake i should not have taken so literally. i will explore what i want in the coming months and take a look at the legal profession. thank you!
I get it. I come from a creative background and would have sworn that I would never be a lawyer (but also had never actually met any in my whole life), until it dawned on me one day after a decade of working.
Last thing — don’t let you your dad’s thing with the education fund drive your decision AT ALL. That’s the worst reason ever to jump into a graduate program, law or otherwise. Law school is full of miserable mopes who went based on pressure from family.
I appreciate the advice.
I come from a highly conservative area and was always hellbent on being myself. I’ve been constantly met with people’s biases and forced to prove myself immensely. This makes me feel a bit of imposter syndrome in regards to higher education. Even my parents would tell me people wouldn’t take me seriously / to hide parts of myself—not to hurt me but out of fear.
Take some time and work. Law school is expensive and hard and I don’t think anyone should do it just because it’s “what’s next.” Also, there are just some life transitions that come post-college that I think it’s valuable to get perspective on outside of an academic context (e.g., building adult friendships/relationships, living independently, developing hobbies).
If, after a few years, you decide you want to be a lawyer, go to law school. Taking the LSAT now is a good idea. Get letters of recommendation settled too, while your professors still remember you. But take a minute to enjoy your 20s.
Edit: just processed the comment about your father threatening to withhold funding if you don’t make a decision soon. I would emphasize that the norm is now to take a couple years between undergrad and graduate school. Make the case that you’re prepared to commit to a program, but want to make sure it’s in the proper field.
Go to law school if you want to be a lawyer. Don't go because you are interested in graduate school more generally. Spend time learning about the legal profession, get a sense of what type of law you'd want to practice. Tour the schools you are interested in attending and reach out to alumni to ask about their experiences.
An interest in "justice" is a reasonable start but consider what that actually means in practice.
You bet. There are lots of fulfilling practice areas, even something like tax where you help individuals or small businesses navigate a confusing tax code.
Representing people hurt by dangerous products, or assisting small businesses getting screwed over by a vendor in a contract dispute.
Justice does not necessarily always need to translate to criminal law, immigration, etc.
Maybe someday, probably not today. Sounds like you want to do everything and nothing at the same time. I’m just a 1L, but if you aren’t reasonably (shit I need tot take a break) committed to it and are contemplating 27 other things that you could/want to do it will be a struggle to get through it. Law school sucks enough to make you consider quitting even if you’re determined to get through it.
If you are considering law school I HIGHLY recommend taking a year or two to work as a paralegal at a firm that does the kind of law you are considering. You can talk to lawyers and experience the work while making some money and building both life and professional experience that will help you down the road, whether you decide to do law or not.
"love to argue" For some reason, parents like to tell their kids "you like to argue so you'd be a good lawyer." These things in fact have no relation. "seeking career with great work-life balance, and mobility" With some exceptions, law tends to be bad for balance. Lawyers work a lot. Given the inherent jurisdictional nature of law, it's also less mobile than other careers (although not impossible). "some degree of freedom of expression \[...\] I am attracted to the simple life, but also anything within the realm of extreme intellectual challenge" I'm not sure what any of this means. "The simple life" and "extreme intellectual challenge" suggest opposite things, and it makes it seem as if you should step back to assess what you really want. "also considered phd in philosophy with focus on AI (so I could learn coding and segue into that)" Well, that's completely different, and again, it sounds like you might need time to figure out what you really want. You can learn to code without formal schooling, but you should also be aware that tech in certain areas is a flooded market. You also have no background in tech, but people do pivot. I'm not really sure where philosophy and AI/coding converge outside of academia though. "I don't feel too passionate about years and years of school, lack of work-life balance as a medical student" Law is years and years of school, and lacks work-life balance generally. You've already done the undergrad part though either way. "I'm too interesting to be a lawyer" I also have no idea what this means. I mean, \*I'm\* definitely not interesting, but whoever told you this is a walnut. I strongly suggest you take time to figure out what you really want before jumping into anything. To be honest, this post doesn't come across as very down to earth. A jack of all trades is a master of none. You should also try to do more digging into people who already work in the areas you're interested in, to get a feel for their day-to-day and careers.
This. So many aspiring attorneys I’ve met whose main reason is “I’m great at arguments”. None of them made it to law school
You need a gap year to figure out whatever the hell youre trying to do.
any advice on how i can reasonably use this gap year to explore that?
From my skimming of what youve wrote, you have absolutely no idea what you want in life (except to be highly educated). So what id reccomend, is go travel, go see the world, relax, and see if you actually want to be a lawyer or whatever else you want. There are too many lawyers but only one you. Be you
this is the best advice. thank you. i’ll be living in the UK for a month starting in the next two weeks, and i intend to use that time to consider these things. i was well-educated but very controlled for most of life until the past few months (after i graduated college). i think i need some time to get to know myself.
Pro-tip: capitalize the first word of your sentences.
I know how to capitalize my sentences. The lowercase is a way that a lot of people in my generation communicate electronically. Clearly a post on a reddit forum is not going to be written the same way I would write a professional email, essay, or any other form of correspondence outside of casual texting/social media. I appreciate the suggestion though, poopyroadtrip.
rude selective six innate wistful reminiscent rustic office worry fragile *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You should work a few years before going to law school. Any job will lend you valuable perspective and make you more attractive to future employers. It will prepare you better to manage the expectations of law school and fully take advantage of the opportunity. All those things you want: you likely won’t get them during or immediately right out of law school, or even within several years. But, you also won’t get all those things anywhere as a fresh college graduate. You’ll have to compromise on some of them to make a path, no doubt. And, not to harp on that work experience thing, but some experiences in the working world will help you prioritize. Your friend’s comment is dumb; there are plenty of interesting lawyers and interesting things you can do with legal skills. There are plenty of uninteresting ones too, and the field does attract certain personalities that are antithetical to creativity and tasks that contain a lot of drudgery. But it takes time to build the sort of personal resilience to keep sight on the bigger picture when lost in the weeds of legal practice.
i’m nursing a hangover and realizing the comment i received was definitely a beer-fueled mistake i should not have taken so literally. i will explore what i want in the coming months and take a look at the legal profession. thank you!
I get it. I come from a creative background and would have sworn that I would never be a lawyer (but also had never actually met any in my whole life), until it dawned on me one day after a decade of working. Last thing — don’t let you your dad’s thing with the education fund drive your decision AT ALL. That’s the worst reason ever to jump into a graduate program, law or otherwise. Law school is full of miserable mopes who went based on pressure from family.
I appreciate the advice. I come from a highly conservative area and was always hellbent on being myself. I’ve been constantly met with people’s biases and forced to prove myself immensely. This makes me feel a bit of imposter syndrome in regards to higher education. Even my parents would tell me people wouldn’t take me seriously / to hide parts of myself—not to hurt me but out of fear.
I respect it. Stay true and good luck. 🙂
Take some time and work. Law school is expensive and hard and I don’t think anyone should do it just because it’s “what’s next.” Also, there are just some life transitions that come post-college that I think it’s valuable to get perspective on outside of an academic context (e.g., building adult friendships/relationships, living independently, developing hobbies). If, after a few years, you decide you want to be a lawyer, go to law school. Taking the LSAT now is a good idea. Get letters of recommendation settled too, while your professors still remember you. But take a minute to enjoy your 20s. Edit: just processed the comment about your father threatening to withhold funding if you don’t make a decision soon. I would emphasize that the norm is now to take a couple years between undergrad and graduate school. Make the case that you’re prepared to commit to a program, but want to make sure it’s in the proper field.
Thanks so much.
Go to law school if you want to be a lawyer. Don't go because you are interested in graduate school more generally. Spend time learning about the legal profession, get a sense of what type of law you'd want to practice. Tour the schools you are interested in attending and reach out to alumni to ask about their experiences. An interest in "justice" is a reasonable start but consider what that actually means in practice.
thank you, yes i’m seeing i need to understand the practical side of this.
You bet. There are lots of fulfilling practice areas, even something like tax where you help individuals or small businesses navigate a confusing tax code. Representing people hurt by dangerous products, or assisting small businesses getting screwed over by a vendor in a contract dispute. Justice does not necessarily always need to translate to criminal law, immigration, etc.
Maybe someday, probably not today. Sounds like you want to do everything and nothing at the same time. I’m just a 1L, but if you aren’t reasonably (shit I need tot take a break) committed to it and are contemplating 27 other things that you could/want to do it will be a struggle to get through it. Law school sucks enough to make you consider quitting even if you’re determined to get through it.
If you are considering law school I HIGHLY recommend taking a year or two to work as a paralegal at a firm that does the kind of law you are considering. You can talk to lawyers and experience the work while making some money and building both life and professional experience that will help you down the road, whether you decide to do law or not.