I'm a 2nd year law student at a top 20 school and from what I have seen in the legal profession thus far, I have to echo all the sentiments in this thread. There are worse things in the world, but when you compare the payout from law to other professions it often pales in comparison. Personally, I think I made the right decision because of the connections I had to the profession before coming into law school but a lot of other people will not be as fortunate as me.
To the younger guys still in college, if you are not sure what to do career-wise, do not go to law school! Studying finance/econ, working for a few years in any typical corporate job (finance, consulting, even HR), then going for the MBA at a top 20ish school is a MUCH better investment. Finance//hedge funds/investment banking/private equity basically has no cap when it comes to how much money you can make, whereas lawyers are capped out an hourly rate.
Getting into sales is also a really good decision for many, especially if you are good at talking and have a "bro" mentality. There are so many parallels between pick-up and sales that it's not even funny. A lot of my friends who were way less "book smart" than me started clearing six figures easily after a few years of (successful) sales experience. I won't start clearing six figures as a lawyer until I'm in my 30s.
That said, based on my experience as a current law student, it does seem that the law market has bounced back a bit. This is because applications have gone WAY down in recent years due to everyone wising up to how much of a $$ scam law school is... I believe that in 2014, applications to law school went down 50% across the board. So in terms of supply and demand in the legal job market, there are less lawyers coming out at this time than there were, say, 5 years ago.
To the younger guys still in college, if you are not sure what to do career-wise, do not go to law school! Studying finance/econ, working for a few years in any typical corporate job (finance, consulting, even HR), then going for the MBA at a top 20ish school is a MUCH better investment. Finance//hedge funds/investment banking/private equity basically has no cap when it comes to how much money you can make, whereas lawyers are capped out an hourly rate.
Getting into sales is also a really good decision for many, especially if you are good at talking and have a "bro" mentality. There are so many parallels between pick-up and sales that it's not even funny. A lot of my friends who were way less "book smart" than me started clearing six figures easily after a few years of (successful) sales experience. I won't start clearing six figures as a lawyer until I'm in my 30s.
That said, based on my experience as a current law student, it does seem that the law market has bounced back a bit. This is because applications have gone WAY down in recent years due to everyone wising up to how much of a $$ scam law school is... I believe that in 2014, applications to law school went down 50% across the board. So in terms of supply and demand in the legal job market, there are less lawyers coming out at this time than there were, say, 5 years ago.