Today on Yahoo News, one of the featured stories had to do with law students and jobs in the profession in today's market. As the article illustrates, the number of law students has steadily risen over the past two decades, while the job availability has decreased considerably. 90.5% of law students in 2005 secured a job upon graduation as opposed to the 69.3% in 2009. That doesn't bode well for those students currently in or considering entering law school, especially if the choice for going to law school was initially based upon job availability, job placement, or even worse, the need to defer undergrad loan payments for a number of years while working to secure a higher paying job.
The reality is that being a lawyer, much like being a doctor, is a highly prestigious job, and one that is respectable, reputable, and often known for bringing in a well-paying salary. But, when a market is saturated, as this article suggests it is, what does that say for those people looking to hire a lawyer? Are we, as society, enabling an influx of mediocrity in this field by having it saturated? Does this mean we are letting in too may law students? Or does this bode well for us, working on the basis of economics, suggesting that the increased supply will decrease costs for those in need of a lawyer because lawyers will just be happy to have work and will decrease their fees in order to obtain such work? Or, is the continued steady increase in law students the result of the saturation of undergraduate degrees and people feeling that in order to be competitive in today's market they need to obtain a degree beyond that of undergrad in order to be more competitive in the job market? If that's the case, should we be looking to make entry into college more difficult in order to compensate for this phenomenon?
Where does it end? Or, is this simply the result and consequences of a poor economy and it will fix itself over the next decade or so? Either way, it's a lot of money in loan repayments for students who finish with a degree and no job.
Okay, I am a high school junior at Central and am thinking of becoming a doctor. (One of my little brother's told me about this blog.) Anyway, my dad's a chemist and my mom's a lawyer. (I know, odd match.) They want me to become a doctor for two reasons: for the prestige and the "safe" income.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the increase in law students is primarily due to the increase in college admissions even though there is a big increase in college students than ever before in history. As trends show, young adults (I guess if I relate back to my own family) cling to "safe" jobs that provide steady income. Now, fewer people are inclined to take risks that might lead them to bankrupcy.
If this continues, what you said will happen. Lawyers will charge less money than they do now, but the quality will get a hell of a lot worse. I guess the title of lawyer will get to where it equals the name "carpenter". Yeah, I mean people don't get that if they cling to a certain job, the job market will get worse.
What I don't get is why people think that the econoy is going to fix iself. Obviously, if we lock up our money and sit in a corner, nothings going to happen. People with money should spend and people without money should save what they have. Well, its always the presidents that cause every damn thing to happen. People just don't get that it's THEIR faults.
Very well said. I also completely understand what you mean about parents and where you're coming from. Growing up, my mother was a lawyer and my father worked in the family finance business, so I had a lot of different life experiences and information coming my way. (I can only imagine some of the interesting conversations to which you're privy with parents in those industries!) I had a fairly equal balance of "do what you want" and "be sure you make something of yourself / make some money" advice handed to me when I was in your shoes. It's fair, granted. Your parents want you to be happy and they want you to be self sufficient. They know that these jobs will provide a nice, comfortable net for you - and, who are we kidding, you need money to live. They worked hard to accomplish what they have and get where they are and they want the same for you. That's fair, but it's just that more people are also capable of obtaining that same degree nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI also found your last line interesting. The concept of "fault", and, if you read my entry on "generation entitlement" it's a very unique concept to study in today's society. I imagine you can even see it as a microcosm at your school. I am familiar with Central (but don't misunderstand, this is not just specific to Central by any means!) but people don't like or want to ever take blame. (and this spans ALL age groups!) It's amazing what taking responsibility and working hard can do for someone!
I hope you find something that interests you as you start looking into colleges and work towards your degrees. Nothing's a "guarantee" anymore (and that's assuming there was ever a time when that applied). Hard work, a good honest work ethic, patience, and persistence will take you very far. Best of luck to you.
I totally agree with you. I looked at the entitlement post and I completely agree. But you know, oddly enough, I can't help wondering if the idea of entitlement could be a good thing if felt in a particular way. Maybe it makes a person think (or believe like the one really long post said) that they can do the things that Edison or Wilde or Jackson did. Entitlement seems more like a craving for equality (totally socialism).
ReplyDeleteYeah, but that post made me think about my life, and I realized that I have believed in entitlement. That's why I let my freshman year slip... About the taking responsibility stuff, I agree with you. I'm a mess when I'm not proactive. Actually doing things and working hard do the opposite of the expected: they make you more relaxed. I realized that too late though.
Ok, I have to play devil's advocate: did Edison, Wilde or Jackson feel entitled? Edison tried 100 times to create the lightbulb - if he felt entitled would he have kept trying or given up saying that things shouldn't be so difficult? And Jackson (Michael I'm assuming??) - his rise to fame was brought on in part by his hatred for his father and the need to get away. Nothing about those scenarios screams entitlement. It sounds more like drive and ambition. You said it yourself - you let your freshman year slip because you thought you were entitled - maybe to a certain lifestyle or entitled to keep living life with the same effort put forth as before? But regardless, if entitlement leads to socialism - is that the type of society you want? Where those who work reap the same benefits of those who sit back and let others do the work for them? Then we would never have the Edisons or Wildes. We'd have failing economies and societies.
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