Why go to Law school?

[tgedamu]

For the money?
I sometimes ask myself that question. I became very interested in applying to law school after a sort of "intuitive" guess. I love argumentation and love logic. I love the manipulation of language to persuade. However, when it comes down to it, I wonder what about salary? A lot of people on this board talk about LSAT score differences and how 3 points affects your future income by thousands of dollars. Should I really focus on that? Or does that type of discussion take away from the real motivation some of us have in going to law school?
Just a thought...

[LSAT Eliminator]

If you only do it for the money, you are going to end up unhappy and dissatisfied with life. That's no way to live, and I know a lawyer or two who walked away from the profession because the money they made wasn't worth feeling terrible every day.

But, I think most everyone wants to get paid well for what they do, and if they've already decided on becoming a lawyer (and most people taking the LSAT have made that decision), what they then want is to maximize their salary. As a consequence, you see a lot of discussion about LSAT points and what that means to admissions chances and eventual salary.

The tough part comes when you have to make a choice between getting $50k to be an environmental lawyer (which you would love) vs $100+k to work in corporate law (which you think you might hate). But that's a decision you want to be able to make according to your own decision factors, and to get to that spot, things like a high LSAT score help.

So, focus on a good LSAT score now, and that will help open up more doors in the future.

[Anne]

Don't do it for the money. Everything else aside, given the loans you'll likely have to take out, you won't see much of all that money during your first years in a new legal career--and if, in addition to that, you also hate what you do, then no amount of money will make your life seem less miserable.

If there's one thing I wish law school hopefuls would do is really think about what they want to do with the degree, rather than just focusing on "getting in." Sure, getting into a good law school is an exciting experience, and having that J.D. will undoubtedly give you a great sense of accomplishment. But what you should really be focusing on is what a J.D. will allow you to do within a career path, and how happy that particular career will make you.

It almost sounds a little "self-helpish," but I always tell students to focus on what will make them happiest, and then tailor their educational and financial plans to fit. If money makes you happy, then I guess that's a good a motivator as any, but chances are there's a lot more going on than just a desire for money; try to keep the money aspect out of it. Otherwise, once the money is gone (or if it never comes along), then all you'll end up with is an expensive degree that makes you unhappy and forces you to do work that you'll find unfulfilling.

Like Eliminator said, just focus on working on getting the best LSAT you can. Then thoroughly think about what you REALLY want to do with your law degree, and set a path in motion to achieve that.