Deciding to go to law school might seem like a terrific "default" solution for those who have trouble deciding what they want to be when they grow up, but it's actually a very specific solution that's appropriate for certain career goals--not a catch-all guaranteed to give you three years to decide on a career and unlimited options when you graduate.
Here are some tips on how to decide whether you're ready to go to law school:
- Do you have concretecareer goals that involve the law? You don't necessarily have to practice law full-time, or at all, to justify the considerable expense of a law degree. What you do need issome idea of how you plan to use the degree. Don' t assume, without adequate research and independent verification, that you can transport your law degree to any profession or position. Some employers don't look at the law degree as the door-opener that others view it as and may in fact see it as a detriment, since your future boss may assume that you'll probably end up leaving him or her to practice law full-time.
- If you do want to practice law, have you given your Perry Mason dreams a road test? You'd be well-served to match up those idealistic visions of holding juries spell-bound or revealing the real killer on the stand against the reality. Practicing law can be thrilling, and not just for the criminal defense attorney, but it can also be full of drudge work and paper-pushing. It's intensely deadline-driven and detail-oriented. If this doesn't sound appealing to you, you may want to rethink your plans. Investigate whether any law firms in your area will allow you to shadow a lawyer for a day, or even engage in a short internship before law school, to see what being a lawyer is really like.
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Author: Sheryl Schelin