Is becoming a lawyer worth it?

[Thrive92 50]

Forgive me for saying this, but if you are intending to make money, why are you going into law?

I would understand if you would like to pursue a legal profession for a different reason, and bringing in lots of money is a pleasant side effect; if you are going into law school solely to get wealthy, then perhaps you would like to look into a different profession?

If I really wanted to chase after money, I would instead open a business with the law school tuition instead. Much easier and faster way to make money than spending 3+ years in a law school.

 

[besmackin 158]

5 minutes ago, Thrive92 said:

If I really wanted to chase after money, I would instead open a business with the law school tuition instead. Much easier and faster way to make money than spending 3+ years in a law school.

 

For any prospective K-JD types reading this, this is an absolutely terrible idea for the vast vast vast majority of people

[MountainMon 317]

7 minutes ago, Thrive92 said:

Forgive me for saying this, but if you are intending to make money, why are you going into law?

I would understand if you would like to pursue a legal profession for a different reason, and bringing in lots of money is a pleasant side effect; if you are going into law school solely to get wealthy, then perhaps you would like to look into a different profession?

If I really wanted to chase after money, I would instead open a business with the law school tuition instead. Much easier and faster way to make money than spending 3+ years in a law school.

 

Ah yes, "just open a business." Great idea. 

[Thrive92 50]

Just now, MountainMon said:

Ah yes, "just open a business." Great idea. 

 

Just now, besmackin said:

For any prospective K-JD types reading this, this is an absolutely terrible idea for the vast vast vast majority of people

Please! I implore you to not consider law school and open a business if your intention is to make money.

I beg you. Especially the OP

Edited November 27, 2020 by Thrive92

[whereverjustice 4939]

13 minutes ago, Thrive92 said:

If I really wanted to chase after money, I would instead open a business

I mean... lots of lawyers do this?

[setto 977]

Like @whereverjustice said, this is basically what a lot of lawyers do when they open their own shop or buy into the partnership. 

If you want to open a business, you need a product/service to provide to the consumer. For lawyers, this is legal services. 

Also, your tuition won't get you far if you want to start a business and you need to have an idea/product. It's not like the only thing stopping someone from starting a business is an aversion to risk, you actually need to provide something that someone wants. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by setto

[Thrive92 50]

7 minutes ago, whereverjustice said:

I mean... lots of lawyers do this?

 

4 minutes ago, setto said:

Like @whereverjustice said, this is basically what a lot of lawyers do when they open their own shop or buy into the partnership. 

If you want to open a business, you need a product/service to provide to the consumer. For lawyers, this is legal services. 

Also, your tuition won't get you far if you want to start a business and you need to have an idea/product. It's not like the only thing stopping someone from starting a business is an aversion to risk, you actually need to provide something that someone wants. 

Sorry, I should have clarified what I meant by starting a business with the money I would have spent on law school tuition.

OP was concerned about how by going into the legal profession, they would not be able to reach the goal of the minimum annual pay of 100k. By stating that I would have rather started a business, I meant that there are many more products/services that the OP could focus on rather than legal services to be able to provide to their consumers, and still be able to achieve their goal of annual budget of 100k+.

Also, I would stress that if you do really cannot seem to focus an idea/product/services that you may be able sell to consumers, and the only way you can focus on one is by going into law school, getting at least 50k debt + 3 years of your life to be able to provide legal services, then perhaps you are not putting your best effort in searching for a product that you can really excel in selling.

Thank you for replying so that I can clarify my point

[Coolname 277]

59 minutes ago, conge said:

I think 6th year calls make like $200k at Bay Street firms...

I suspect many hit 200k before 6th year as well. 
 

But, now that I’ve already gone through a recruit and articling, I would not advise anyone to make their decision solely  based off what Bay Street employees make, as many don’t make it there or if they do make, don’t stay.

Edited November 27, 2020 by Coolname

[bernard 1187]

You can make $200K on Bay St. as a 3rd year associate (if we're counting bonuses and you're willing to put in the hours).

[Mihael 14]

3 hours ago, Twenty said:

Securing a government job is not guaranteed (and your best shot would be getting in as a student. If you miss that opportunity, it's private practice for you for a while) 

True but nothing is guaranteed, including getting a job at a firm. I also fail to see why not getting into a government position would necessitate getting into private practice.

Regardless, there are government law co-op programs here in BC along with government articling programs. You can get into those for a better chance at securing a government job later. Idk how things are in other provinces.

3 hours ago, Twenty said:

My 0.02 as a law student: 0Ls should not be considering law school if they are not comfortable with the idea that there is a good chance they will have to sacrifice work-life balance. 0Ls should understand this. 

Disagree. Instead, 0Ls should seek out their options far in advance of getting into law school and create a rough idea of what they want to do, such as what I listed above with the government jobs (for example). There's plenty to do with a law degree, and not all of it includes working like a dog in a traditional law firm.

[Twenty 244]

@Mihael

The reason why I brought up government positions are not guaranteed is to point out that a 9-5 , public law job is not something students should take for granted. The fact that getting a private law job is also not a sure thing does not address my point. 

Yes, there are articling programs in government. They are the student positions I was alluding to in my first post. If a law student wanted to work for the government and failed to secure a government articling position, I think the natural conclusion would be that they would need to pivot and look for non-government jobs (i.e. private ones). 

We will agree to disagree. I guess I have my own biases. I just think if someone wants to go into law and work a 9-5 job, they should be willing to move to smaller centers (I suspect), be comfortable with the idea of making less than their peers, and understand that a government job is not an easy thing to get. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Twenty

[Hermione97 0]

I would say its not worth it, I am a 2020 Call and have been unemployed since June 2020. I am stuck with student debt and most of my friends are still looking for employment. It is even worse for the years after us, unless you have connections don't do it.

[QuincyWagstaff 3417]

26 minutes ago, Hermione97 said:

I would say its not worth it, I am a 2020 Call and have been unemployed since June 2020. I am stuck with student debt and most of my friends are still looking for employment. It is even worse for the years after us, unless you have connections don't do it.

I had zero connections to the legal community before I became a lawyer. I went into a significant amount of debt. 
 

Becoming a lawyer is one of the best decisions I ever made. I literally cannot imagine doing anything else, at least right now. 

Edited February 19 by QuincyWagstaff