Friday, March 21, 2014

Where I ended up after not pursing a law degree

A gentle reminder from WashU Law that they offer graduate programs reminded me that I would have graduated last year had I chosen to pursue a legal degree. Assuming I passed the bar and was able to get a job, I would likely be in the first months of a job with some big firm in some big city. This alternative to my current life made me realize that comparing my current situation to my hypothetical situation may be worth sharing. This blog is about providing information. This is another piece of information that I can share.

Let's assume I had left my job and gone to law school. For the sake of argument, we'll assume a best case for my law school career. So let's pretend that I set myself up for a job with a big firm with a big paycheck. In my alternate reality, U or R was the school that I would most likely attend. To keep things simple, let's say that I ended up borrowing $175,000 to cover tuition and various living related expenses. I would have given up a job over that time as well. I made about $275,000 over the three years that I would have been in law school. Stepping in my new job as a freshly minted lawyer, I would be $450,000 in the hole relative to where I am now.

I was recently promoted to management in my organization. That boosted my pay up to a level that is comparable to what I would likely be making as a new lawyer. The exact numbers aren't relevant. All that matters is that I would be a very deep hole, and I wouldn't be making any progress to making up that differential. This scenario also assumes a best case outcome from my legal studies. Any other outcome would result in an even bigger gap between what I gave up to attend law school and what I would be making after getting the degree. Let's not forget that I would paying back all those student loans. That drag on my earnings would push them well below what I'm making now.

In the very best outcome, I would have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lose ground financially.Of course, it isn't always about the money.Looking at the non-financial side of the situation makes staying at my job look even better. My quality of life was pretty good over the last three years. I wasn't spending all my waking hours working my ass off in class. No all nighters studying for finalsl I just did my normal nine to five type of thing. In the process of doing that normal nine to five thing, I'm one class away from my MBA, a degree that my company is paying for (I just have to stick around for two years after I'm finished). I took vacations, spoiled my kids, took care of my house, put aside money for retirement (another huge chunk of money that I would have forfeited to get a law degree), and didn't have to worry about every penny that I spent. I also suspect that I would have hated being a lawyer. I like my current job. So I would lose money to pursue a job that I would likely hate.

The bottom line, getting a law degree would have been a HUGE mistake. This is how things looks for me. I recognize my good fortune when it comes to having an industry job. I'm not stuck in post-doc purgatory or struggling to make a living as a non-tenure track professor. Law is a viable option for many. Maybe that big financial gap would have been covered if I'd been a successful lawyer, but I suspect that the price of that success would be very high. I made the right decision. I hope this blog helps you find the best path for you.