Here’s what you don’t want to happen: you devote three years of your life to attending law school, you spend countless hours studying, you sacrifice time with your family and friends, you take on tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, and then, you finally graduate! But, after all that time, effort, and money, you don’t have a legal job or even any good leads on a legal job. You have a J.D. and a student loan payment coming up, but no legal work. Or, perhaps the more common scenario, you have a post-graduation job lined up, but it’s just something you took to pay the bills and isn’t a job that has set you down your preferred career path.
So how do you avoid this scenario? Recognize that law school is, in some respects, a means to an end. Yes, it’s a chance to challenge yourself intellectually and explore new concepts, but law school is about preparing you for a legal career. Most people go to law school because they believe it will allow them to attain a more rewarding job. But to land that rewarding job you need to make a focused, concerted effort during law school to set yourself up for it. Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone! The career services office at your law school exists to help you achieve your professional goals and building a relationship with that office can have huge benefits.
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