I applaud your willingness to acknowledge that you “made a misguided choice in life that [you] need to rectify now” and taking responsibility for your own actions.

The profession is not “inherently broken,” but there are problems just as there are with any profession.

Much of what you describe about the conditions for new lawyers is accurate, however, there are vast regional variations so your generalizations are not helpful to a coherent, focused discussion about how to rectify matters.

Yes, I am well aware of the entry level job market situation in my area. I work with student interns who keep me abreast of current conditions. They are graduating from the best schools with debt well in excess of $100,000 — closer to $150-160k in many instances — and jobs are not plentiful. However, they do not start at $40k per year and there are many opportunities for those who graduate from excellent schools with good grades. (I do not recommend that anyone attend a non-ABA school.) Many are starting at well over $100,000/year. Do they have to work hard for that money? Yes. Are they jobs, for the most part, that I would ever be remotely interested in? NO. I did not start out in a library reviewing contracts, waiting 7 years or more to get my shot at a courtroom. But I graduated from a top-notch school, paid back the student loans, and found a good job in a firm where my prior experience as an accountant was valued & I was allowed to take on many responsibilities immediately.

Opportunities exist, but, as with anything else, the individual looking for that opportunity has to be diligent, focused, and informed.

Moreover, the best route is to thoroughly research where those opportunities are and, more importantly, whether working in a particularly profession is compatible with one’s skills, abilities, and interests.

I stand by my negative comments completely (100%) but I know there are indeed many out there that enjoy the practice of law. However, it’s not for me and the vast majority of young attorneys (friends of mine) I know intimately. I know very, very few young attorneys who are truly satisfied with their jobs. Those who entered the legal profession before the recent decade and before the recent severe saturation have had it much easier.

It’s not being bitter, but a realization that I made a misguided choice in life that I need to rectify now. Despite a desire to perform hard work, an initially fresh and eager outlook, and despite the job resources available, certain professions and careers are inherently broken due to societal issues at large. The supply of lawyers is drastically outpacing the work available. There is something seriously wrong when an attorney, a few years out of law school, and saddled with $100,000 in student loans has to take on a 70 hour per week legal position, earning only $40,000 a year in a major city, and still has to fight off other new attorney applicants who are willing to work for much less.

I just don’t want people falling into the same misguided trap that I did. JHS, I respect your views greatly, but I don’t think you have taken a look at the entry level attorney job market situation in the last 5 years. It’s abysmal.

Not ALL lawyers come to the profession in such a lackluster, unfocused fashion. It might be more beneficial to write an article about how one should choose a profession. You might encourage your readers to research the various types of legal practice available as career choices, interview real lawyers, ask to shadow a lawyer for a day or two, attend legal career fairs/days, meet with a few local judges and get their perspectives, visit several different law schools — preferably in different tiers — and discuss the academic requirements, job placement services available, etc. Someone considering law school should investigate financial aid options, primarily scholarships.

I’m sorry that your career as an attorney has turned out not to be rewarding. Obviously, it is the wrong career for you.

But your generalizations about other attorneys and the legal profession as a whole are unfair, unfounded, and do a great disservice to your readers, especially those who are contemplating a legal career.

It is possible to be called to the practice of law in precisely the same way that folks are drawn or called to other professions. I know because I have written about the fact that I was, simply put, born to be a lawyer.

My experiences are far different than yours and I encourage anyone seriously considering the practice of law to do the requisite research before jumping in with both feet.

If your readers want to read about law from an entirely different perspective, I invite them to peruse some of the articles on my site: (link)

If they want to learn about what it is like to be called to a profession and follow one’s destiny in a manner that allows you to truly make a difference, they can check out (link) or (link).

I don’t think teaching as a profession is over rated - just under paid and over worked. Teachers shape the lives of our future generations and should be paid better.

Like you, the blogger one strikes close to home. But the longer I do this, the more I realize that I definitely don’t want to be a full-time blogger. Professional blogger, yes…full-time, no. I think there’s a distinction, in how we write and how we do our sites, compared to casual bloggers. Fortunately, blogging is part of what’s helping me figure out what I DO want to do. So I’m grateful for this little turn in my life.