One of the main struggles I am dealing with right now is the fundamental disconnect between study and practice. From what I understand, many people have very positive law school experiences, then emerge into the drear corporate life, which, at 80 hours a week without any excitement, sucks their souls dry until they are bitter, amoral, or stop practicing law. Does a six-figure salary compensate adequately for a crap life?
I make enough money to be content right now. If I wanted I could get a full time job and be making a lot more. I'd be settled in for life. But I would still have to wake up and go to a job I couldn't care less about.
I do not doubt that I have the mind for the work and study. I don't think I will regret the time I spend studying law, whether I end up practicing or not. The big burning question then is whether the debt load I incur while studying will be manageable at graduation. Will I find myself with few options but to take that corporate job? I know a musician who went through NYU Law with a public interest focus and background and is now in corporate hell. He has limited options because of his debt and family obligations. I don't have a large family at the moment, but little Becketts may be somewhere over the horizon and I don't want the possibility to be precluded by a requirement that I work at near-poverty-level wages for my loans to be forgiven.
Plus, the Dozer wants me to pony up a grand by March if I choose their program. Only problem is I may not have a decision from Brooklyn or any of the others by then.
3 comments:
Dozer... I'll tell you something a litle secretiveish Beckster... unwittingly I held out from saying yes to Cardozo until the very last minute (I was waiting for UPenn) and finally, when I got the rejection I said yes. But in between waiting and rejection, Cardozo called me thrice, and raised my scholarship money tremendously. I mean, a lot.
Second secretivethingy, is that my friend who will remain unnamed, simply called the student dean and asked for more money - and she got it, and chose to come here.
Lesson? (1) Deceive and you shall receive, and, (2) Ask and you shall receive.
Lastly, work has no congruency with happiness. I agree. Now that that's been said, back to work.
It's a tough decision alright. I'm glad I don't have to make it. Surely anything I can say, you've already thought of. What does Mrs. Beckett think? She's probably also of two minds. (I wonder if that makes four minds total.)
-V.
Good advice grey. Thanks. I will probably also be waiting till the last minute while I await word from other schools.
I won't have to wait on NYU anymore. Got a very short letter from them today. Glad I got word from Cardozo 1st, or I might be a bit upset. The chances of me getting into NYU were between, oh, 0 and 5%, so I'm really most avidly waiting for word from Crooklyn, which has a better loan repayment assistance program for public interest law.
Got to visit the Dozer on Tuesday, though. Good place. I'd be happy to go there.
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