The Job Market

The job market has been strained for careers across the board. From the lack of educators in class rooms to the shortage of black engineers, the opportunities for advancement after college has a bleak outlook for recent graduates.

Recently, my mother sent me an article that focused on the job market for fresh-out-of-law-school hopefuls. The article talked about how that even if you graduated from the top of your class from a prestigious law school in the country, you still have room to fret, because a position at a high paying firm (which is where ALL law school graduates want to be) is not guaranteed. This exerpt from a Wall Street Journal article makes it plain.

For graduates of elite law schools, prospects have never been better. Big law firms this year boosted their starting salaries to as high as $160,000. But the majority of law-school graduates are suffering from a supply-and-demand imbalance that's suppressing pay and job growth. The result: Graduates who don't score at the top of their class are struggling to find well-paying jobs to make payments on law-school debts that can exceed $100,000.

The problem is not that the jobs aren't available. The fact is that the market is wide open for attorneys. But that top paying, most lucrative positions may have dried up. How did this happen? I would think that with a graduate degree, especially a law degree, would virtually make one a shoe in for a great paying career. The article touched on the fact that in 2006, a low number (about 14%) are in jobs that pay more that $100,000 per year, while the average starting salary remains at barely above $60,000. While the latter amount sounds absolutely perfect to me, it may not be enough for some of the outrageous student loans that recent graduates have accrued.

Experts attempt to reassure us that actually having a law degree does open doors, many more than with just a bachelor's degree, which makes me feel better. But, after 4 years of undergraduate study and and other 3 years of a graduate program, many people are expecting a handsome payback. And who can blame them?

While some attribute the problem to supply and demand, others, like Bruce MacEwen, believe that it is not that lack of top firms needing young, fresh lawyers, it is the lack of SMALL time firms. I would even go so far as to argue part of the problem is that new lawyers are looking to be the next late Johnnie Cochran, when they should be looking to start from the proverbial bottom and work their way to the top.

The Wall Street Journal even took an interest in this and ran story and looked at what they call the dark side of the job market. The scary part is that many law school graduates are not working in the capacity that they might have wished. The article said that many are taking contract work, and not making enough to make ends meet (and when I say "make ends meet, I mean paying off loans that the article said may top $100,000).

All of this is not enough to stop my determination to proceed into the law field (even after reading about the possible $100,000 i may get into)!

The Next Step

In May, I will be taking the biggest step of my life, out into the real world, to fend for myself and make decisions that will determine the course of the rest of my life. It's only fitting that the decisions I make be ones that ensure my happiness, foster creativity, learning and hard work and of course makes me plenty of money!

Last semester, I started thinking of going in to law. It's an exciting field where I can do all the things I love: take risks, help people, argue, and earn a living that will put me and my future husband and possible kids into a handsome tax bracket. So I started doing my research. Top schools, tuition prices, areas of strength, the general experience, black students and how they measure up to other ethnic groups and locations. I have learned a great deal in all of this: LAW SCHOOL IS GOING TO BE SCARY!!!! I have read countless e-dairies and newspaper and magazine articles, listened to law students, professors and lawyers and have come to the conclusion that law school is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, I'm up for the challenge.

I know that if I just get in, I will do well, maybe even better than my peers, but the fear and difficulty of getting in is becoming a road block. Several season law students had similar fears and were gracious enough to post their law school experiences, advice and horror stories. Below are just a few. Maybe they will be the ones to get me through...

Three Years of Hell to Become the Devil
http://www.threeyearsofhell.com/archive/005536.php

First Year Law Student 1LS) Advice
http://law-career.blogspot.com/2007/08/advice-to-1ls-at-start-of-school-year.html

Discussions!
http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php?topic=94380.0

What's really going on?

The media is all in a uproar about Dan Rather's recent litigation against CBS and whether he is justified in his actions. Many media professionals and others are at a mental tug of war about Rather's intentions with the law suit since he was handsomely compensated at the time of his termination. Should he be opening old wounds by dragging CBS through this, or should he go after the network that unfairly let him go after apologizing for an honest mistake that was made.

In a recent post on Contactmusic.com, Josh Howard, executive producer of 60 Minutes, the show that aired the story that ultimately put Rather in hot water with CBS, was upset about the comments Rather made about his involvement in the Rathergate issue. Howard said that Rather made it seem like he had a minimal role in the scandal and down played the things he actually did to make the story work, by making himself out to be, as Howard calls it "just a narrator". Some of these things include Rather working with all the sources, doing every interview and working closely with document experts.

In all honesty, Rather has every right to be upset at the chain of events that has lead up to the point of this recent law suit. He has lost his coveted job and much of his creditability, and is losing more and more each day with the media coverage of the lawsuit. It looks like a bunch of finger pointing and careful playing of the blame game, of which Rather should be in the championships. But does it just come down to someone taking responsibility for what was done, either on Rather's end for messing up with a false story, or on CBS's end, for cutting a man loose who didn't deserve to be treated as such.

I'm wondering, when will it end? Will Rather ever get his "good name" back from the media that he served for so long? This is one of those things where we just have to wait and see, because we can rest assured that coverage of this event will clog the news feeds for a while...