You may not want to be a lawyer if ...

If you think its anything like lawyering as depicted on TV, forget it. If you want to be a lawyer because you think lawyers make a lot of money, you might want to reconsider.

If, however, you want to work long, long hours doing excruciatingly boring reading and writing, and if you want to abandon your family and friends for the badge of elitism that you get to believe you deserve because you're a lawyer, then go for it, but ... If you are looking for cushy hours, glamorous work and a fat salary to make the Joneses want to keep up with you, a career as lawyer probably isn't the easiest way.

Bottom line is - talk to some people who actually practice law to find out what it is really like, and what it really pays. Some lawyers make a lot of money and love what they do, many don't, and many more despise the practice so much they quit and change careers. Make sure you're listening to be sure that it is the right thing for you. Law school is a lot of work and you will sink a lot of money into that tuition. You can do a lot of great things without a law degree. ...then, there's the prospect of not passing the bar - so you've got the degree, you've got the debt, and you still can't practice. That's a real kick in the head.

I'll just relate a little bit of what I know about it from this side of the bar.

Here are the important statistics in my area that I've seen - good numbers to think about if you want to be a lawyer for the wrong reasons.

I came out of law school, having worked full-time to support my family while going to school, with just under $100K in new debt for tuition loans. It is not unusual to see yourself as much as 200 Gs in the hole upon graduation.

I met all living expenses by working full-time, and even had some tuition help in the form of "bonus" reimbursements from my employer. Still, $100K in the hole.

Jobs in my area start at an average pay of $48,000/yr.
DA positions are regularly advertised at $42K/yr.

I was recently sitting in an interview talking numbers to a guy who had been with the firm I was interviewing with for 8 years and still had not made partner. After a few indiscreet disclosures on his part, I was feeling pretty good about being where I was. I still had not secured a legal position, but I was in a lot better spot than that guy! The firm indicated that they could not offer me more than $45K, a sweat shop atmosphere "churning" low dollar collections

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