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Be an analyst at an investment bank or a research associate at a corporate strategy consulting firm. Be a reporter for a small-town newspaper. Choose something that appeals to you on its own, or because it will allow you to see close up the legal field you might wish to enter. If you like the field, and like what lawyers do in it, you will have learned something very valuable. If you do antitrust consulting work as an economist, for example, you may prefer to do what the antitrust lawyers do. On the other hand, you may stay on the economics side or move on to something else entirely.
Career Dissatisfaction
Every major survey done of lawyers in recent years has revealed a very substantial degree of career dissatisfaction. In every instance, a large minority of respondents has suggested that they would prefer to have entered another field. In some cases, the most important reason for the dissatisfaction has been the lack of a suitable quality of life (interminable work, the need to be available to clients year-round, and so on); in other cases, it has been the nature of the work itself (dull, overly detail-oriented).
This does not pertain only, or largely, to those who attended lesser law schools. In fact, there is a great deal to suggest that the graduates of top law schools are the most likely to feel intensely dissatisfied by their careers in law.
An interesting feature of the legal scene of recent years has been the publication of literally dozens of books cautioning people about the true nature of legal practice and the development of a mini-industry that helps practicing lawyers determine what they really want to do in life and another that helps them transition to other fields.
The number of Websites, studies, and support groups regarding lawyer dissatisfaction is extraordinary. This is very predictable because many of those people did not know why they attended law school in the first place. They did not do, on the front end of the process, the kind of self-evaluation that was called for. A person cannot survive in this stressful profession without having an enthusiasm for law.
Law is a fine field, but it is not for everyone. The risk that you will be one of the large number who dislike it—and the cost and difficulty of getting out once you are in it—should propel you to do substantial investigation before entering it. If you choose law as a default choice, because you lack the common sense to try something else or the nerve to enter the work world after college, you are setting yourself up for real trouble in the future.
If you do decide to enter law, learn as much as you can about the legal field you intend to enter. Make sure you get into the best quality schools that you can.
