Growing up in my community, I had so many people telling me how glamorous life of a lawyer is, how much money they make, how nice are their houses and cars, how respected they are in their community. It almost sounded like being a lawyer is one of the most fantastic careers in the world with hardly any problems.
But as life is, I am sure there are downsides of being a lawyer that many ordinary people don't know about. 1. What are the downsides of being a lawyer? 2. At the end, do you believe the good sides far outweigh the bad sides? 3. Would you recommend the career to someone who values deeply on family time and enjoying life?
Thanks in advance for any insights.
Your always swamped in working in the city, you constantly face personal ethical issues, you defend guilty people, you defend people who don't really care about themselves. I would recommend it to a single person or a person with older kids, and a spouse that doesn't mind a crazy schedule.
Seems much of the time lawyers will spend time around clients that are in a state of adversity with someone else and therefore not in good moods. Then again, people in other occupations face clients or customers that are hungry, tired, anxious, impatient, upset or more than one of these. It would seem that a steady diet of working under difficult conditions would tend to be wearing. A person facing this type of environment will need to establish early on how he will approach his work so that he can be effective without it taking a large toll.
Short term, try out a few different jobs. Analyze each one by several criteria and see what the most significant factors are for you. Then talk to a few lawyers, but don't try to find out what they think about being a lawyer all through direct questions, but also through chatting you will hear things that are likely to reveal what the lifestyle is really like.
Someone might want to kill you
The main one is that you may find youself in a situation that makes you fight for something that you don't believe in, and sometimes you may work through the night... I think the good and bad break even, but if you value what you do, then no.
I'm a lawyer, and I can say that being a lawyer has been the best career for me. I am intellectually stimulated, and I work in banking which is an exciting field.
But I often think about the downsides, too. The road to getting to where I am was a tough one. The downsides of being a lawyer are: you have to be a good test taker, you have to be naturally competitive and not feel overwhelmed by pressure, and you have to learn how to run with the pack and be a high achiever. The process of becoming a lawyer is not easy -- it requires law school (it's a rigorous 3-year process regardless of what law school you go to), passing the bar for the state you want to practice in -- another tough exam-- and then after that, you work at a law firm which can be a very arduous job (12 hour days are common), and you are often at the beck and call of a law firm partner, working on a deadline to get out various legal documents.
If you are stimulated by pressure and the need to perform well under deadline(and many lawyers are), and you are stimulated intellectually by the practice of law, you will undoubtedly have a great time practicing law. And the benefit of it is if you work at a large law firm, you will be paid well. There is a certain glamour in being highly-paid. And it's seductive. But if you're unhappy, all that money and glamour is not going to make your life okay.
If you want work life balance, most law jobs are not for you, unless you work as an in-house lawyer. Most corporations do not hire lawyers directly from law school, so you'd have to put in at least 6-8 years in a law firm before going in-house. That's a long time to work in a high pressure situation while waiting for more balanced work hours, particularly if you are someone who wants work-life balance or time to enjoy with family from the outset. Some law firms are family friendly, but most are not.
In my personal experience, I'm so glad I went to law school. I do have a glamorous job, I think, and I have a high job satisfaction. I make a lot of money. It is a respectable profession for the most part. While I delayed getting married and starting a family because of my lifestyle (and you may not be willing to do that), I have family now and I am very satisfied with my life and I wouldn't change a thing.
Good luck with your decision.
I hate the paper work. And what they say about lawyers being rich and contented is not always true. My standard recommendation for anyone choosing a career is simply to go where your heart is.
LOL, glamorous. Everyone that I know that practices law, including me, works their tails off and it is stressful. Also, some make very low pay like 35K a year. No offense, but I think you have some real naive ideas about the practice of law. A dentist makes about three times what an attorney makes on average.
It all depends on the individual person...A selected group of lawyers make this kind of success come true. Its just like any other profession. Its a good career, Go to international law and take acting classes, litigation is where the moneys at.
What do you call 10000 lawyers under the sea? A good start.
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