Posted on 01/06/2013 7:42:41 AM PST by SeekAndFind
There is a crisis in law-school education, but don't expect the institutions to tell potential applicants about it. In short, there are far too many graduates for the number of jobs available, and the majority of those who get jobs are not being paid nearly enough to service their debt.
Nationally there are twice as many graduates as there are jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the economy will provide 21,880 new jobs for lawyers annually between 2010 and 2020; law schools since 2010, however, have produced more than 44,000 graduates each year. Yet schools continue to enroll more students than the market demands and to raise tuition faster than inflation. The result is exploding debt loads for current students and graduates whose employment prospects are appalling.
To be sure, the employment prospects for Americans across a broad swath of society have been grim in recent years. But the legal profession has clearly lost any reputation it might have once had as a safe, prosperous haven in troubled times.
I graduated in 2011 and am one of the "lucky" ones. Within six months of graduation I secured a job in my area of interest, international human rights. My class entered the worst American job market in 18 years—only 56.7% of law graduates found full-time jobs lasting at least a year and requiring passage of a bar exam.
For many new hires, even finding a job with a law firm might not be quite the cause for celebration it once was. According to the American Bar Association, the average amount borrowed by students attending private law schools has gone up 78% in the past decade, to $124,950 in 2011 from $70,147 in 2002. However, these loan figures don't reflect the true burden.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The Medical System is Crashing
under the weight of Many Factors
About 40% FP’s, 1n 2008, intended to retire in 5 years.
They are dropping out precipitously where we live
Physicians are generally good at projective thinking
and are projecting a zero crossing in work vs benefit
I expect Hospitals will start closing about 2015
I expect an attempt to resurrect the Public Health Hospital System
Having trained at Charity Hospital, in New Orleans,
I'm under no illusions as to what that means
Shortages of Common Drugs are occurring Now
This will accelerate
I hope the public can get used to Frontier Medicine
I expect about 20,000,000 excess deaths in the process
Much more with a breakdown in Sewage/Water systems
Or the equivalent of a Plague
Fasten your seat-belt, It's going to be a bumpy ride
“In short, there are lots of opportunities out there. In fact, there are whole market segments that aren’t served at all.”
Exactly! There has never been more need than there is now, but much of it is plain work for plain people and modest businesses. I also think there is a niche that has not been properly examined or filled, in preventive practice - helping businesses and individuals avoid conditions and situations which invite legal problems down the road.
Same here, sole practice.
There’s plenty of work for lawyers now: debt collections, foreclosures, bankruptcies, criminal law, divorce—child custody/visitation/support, and so forth and so on: nitty-gritty law.
Signs o’ the times and it ain’t for the faint-hearted. Not that these areas weren’t always there, they just happen to be booming as of late. We aren’t liked very much, until we get that call.
Preachers own the month of June, lawyers, the rest of the year.
I would say this guy was VERY lucky.
That is so true about the collapse of industries affecting the law practice.
Here in Washington state we used to have several railroads, a lot of fishing and timbering and the Alaska pipeline. The envioros have destroyed almost all the heavy industry with the spotted owl and other bs stuff.
Although the legal profession is a paper, soft sort of business, it needs heavy industry in order to prosper. Most of the decline in this state has taken place in the last ten years. We have yet another Dem governor which will no doubt continue to decrease the possibilities for all kinds of booming business, including the law.
That is so true about the collapse of industries affecting the law practice.
Here in Washington state we used to have several railroads, a lot of fishing and timbering and the Alaska pipeline. The envioros have destroyed almost all the heavy industry with the spotted owl and other bs stuff.
Although the legal profession is a paper, soft sort of business, it needs heavy industry in order to prosper. Most of the decline in this state has taken place in the last ten years. We have yet another Dem governor which will no doubt continue to decrease the possibilities for all kinds of booming business, including the law.
bflr
Formula should include number of jobs cut or sent overseas, retirements and deaths of employees, permanent disabilities in order to get a more complete picture of the problem. Layoffs, firings etc.
um... I didn’t say anything about “more”
who cares if there are “more” of a job that pays peanuts.
Airline pilots used to earn as much as doctors and lawyers and were nearly as respected as astronauts, now... they are basically fancy bus drivers with similar salaries. And the fall started with deregulation.
I remember when I was a kid and flying on a plane was considered a priviledge that people dressed up for, now we are just hurded on like cattle with not so much as a peanut.
But ... as I am sure you will point out next, flying is MUCH cheaper now! *sigh*
um... I didn’t say anything about “more”who cares if there are “more” of a job that pays peanuts.
Airline pilots used to earn as much as doctors and lawyers and were nearly as respected as astronauts, now... they are basically fancy bus drivers with similar salaries. And the fall started with deregulation.
I remember when I was a kid and flying on a plane was considered a priviledge that people dressed up for, now we are just hurded on like cattle with not so much as a peanut.
But ... as I am sure you will point out next, flying is MUCH cheaper now! *sigh*
At one point riding in a car was a privilege too. Do you want to return to those days? I don't.
I believe in markets, not the coercive power of government to distort markets for rent seekers. That's the province of Jeff Immelt, Solyndra, and unions.
Thanks for the feedback - I have a son who is just applying to law school and these insights are worth gold! :)
In some places every job is taken by lawyers. Desk jobs, all minor government jobs...all lawyers. They get hired because you can get them for about 22,900 and get the law degree for free.
Most lawyers I know became lobbyists.
Or politicians or judges.
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