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Headed for Law
There seems to be a lot of talk about law school happening on this forum. I plan on attending law school next year, so i'll contribute my semi-educated two cents. You need a complete degree to get into law school, all of the websites say that you need 2 or 3 years, but people are rarely admitted without a full degree, rarely means never in most cases. You need a very high GPA, at least a B+ average across the board, and about the 80-85th percentile on the LSAT (tough). Alot of the "better" law schools advertise that they only admit students with a straight A average. So, why the intense competition? For starters, lawyers get a substantial raise almost every year. At a big firm, it probably works out to 6-10 thousand a year untill you are dead. So, imagine starting at 70K, and retiring at 400K. Unforuanetly, in BC, a 400K yearly salary becomes a 230K salary after tax. Some students choose to work in the United States upon graduation, where they make about three times more than Canadian lawyers, in american dolars of course. Secondly, there is a consideral amount of security, comfort, and prestige that goes along with being a lawyer. Consider a legal career as a chance to become a "true" proffessional. The legal community in any state/province is full of the most interesting and diverse range of people that can be found anywhere, and they will all become the people who you call your friends (and associates). I have always thought that pharmascists and nurses work very hard and take alot of shit from the government. A lawyer, especially a litigator, doesnt have a real boss. A lawyer is pretty much left to his own devices, and is expected to be responsible for his own workload. Also, (this should be taken with a grain of salt), a law degree, for some people, is a golden ticket to the upper echelons of middle-class society, and beyond. To put this in perspective, i think more than 70% of U.S. presidents have law degrees. Brian Burke has a law degree from Harvard, see where this is going? No other proffession exposes you to the higher-ups in the business world than the legal profession, and the contacts that you make are on a very personal level (sometime too personal, so I have heard) Oh, chicks love lawyers, you never really have to be worried about being fired/layed off, and the task of upward mobility is taken care of for you by the firm. Its the kind of career that allows you to automatically transcend many of lifes problems. Soooooo, I guesse i rest my case. Being a lawyer is the shit, no doubt about it. Too bad the current admissions practices (3.5+ CGPA) resembles a eugenics experiment. But, if your prepared to spend 4 years in a book, you'll reap endless rewards for the rest of your life. Oh, one more thing, take english and philosophy, those are probably the best two courses to take in preparation for lawschool. You need to learn how to write, read and argue. I figure it would be pretty stupid to go to lawschool on a science degree.
Comments
As for the income you were quoting, please tell me where these lawyers are making all this money. Perhaps some are, but not too many and boy, the hours are LONG!!!! As for being surrounded by some of the most interesting people. I don't know about that. I find that at law school I'm surrounded by a bunch of people JUST LIKE ME - competitive, hardworking and finicky about details. Interesting? hmmm....I don't know about that. Good luck Royal Gala. Get ready for some surprises if you plan on pursuing law.