Today's guest post is by Greg Schmalz, president of Schmalz Communications.
The future. No one has a crystal ball as to what tomorrow will bring. Just ask your local weatherman. There are no guarantees, especially in life. But for teenagers and college students, the one thing they cling to is hope for the future.
The value of a good education has been drilled into them by parents and educators. College students pick their majors and then pursue their dreams. Pretty much like a leprechaun hoping to reac h the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow- to reap the rewards, there must be some risk.
And while U.S. News in 1997 painted a rosy picture for future law students, today is anything but rosy with unemployment hovering around 10 percent. An article in Sunday's New York Times focuses on how graduates with law degrees are steeped in debt (some in the neighborhood of $250,000) for schooling, yet are unemployed. Like any other industry, the law profession has been hit hard by the economy. While tuition costs vary, paying in the range of $150,000-$200,000 is not out of the realm.
Sure, once a graduate with a J.D. degree finds employment, salary could be upwards of $150,000 annually. But how long will these graduates need to sit on the sideline before they get their chance in the real world?
Unemployment checks aren't going to help much when they are overwhelmed with debt. Is the risk worth it? The only job I know where you start at the top is a grave digger. Have some of these students who chose law as a profession made a "grave" mistake?
While there may be prestige in becoming a lawyer, it still doesn't put food on the table if you don't have a job. Many of us have transitioned from one career to another. Students these days are going to have to take a serious look at this profession before determining their career path or at least have something to fall back on.
What suggestions would you have?
Recent Comments