We’re all looking at the big picture – you, us and the pre-law students we serve. More than ever, those considering a JD are surrounded by others asking, “Why law school?” The employment stats don’t paint a pretty picture for aspiring attorneys, but flexibility about their future career and their passion for it is driving them forward. According to a recent Kaplan Test Prep survey* of more than 200 pre-law students, 50% say they plan to use their law degree in a non-traditional legal field. Of that 50%, nearly three out of five (58%) said the current job market for lawyers factored into this decision. Forty-three (43%) percent of survey respondents overall said they plan to use their law degree to pursue a job in the business world rather than in the legal world—which helps explain why 42% said they’d likely pursue an MBA if they weren’t already pursuing a JD.
The growing interest in non-traditional legal jobs comes on the heels of the latest report from the American Bar Association which shows that just 56% of 2012 graduates secured long-term, full-time jobs that required bar passage—a 1% increase over the class of 2011.
Other results from our survey:
-Most students say they’re motivated to go to law school by passion, not money: 71% say the primary reason they are applying to law school is “to go into a career I am passionate about.” Only 5% listed salary potential as the primary reason.
-Passion only goes so far, without financial assistance: 43% say they are likely to postpone or alter their plans to attend law school if they don’t get the financial aid package they were hoping for. That line of thinking aligns with advice proffered by graduating law school students: in a separate Kaplan Bar Review survey** of third-year law students, 87% say a law school’s financial aid package should play a significant role in helping pre-law students determine where to enroll.
As Jeff Thomas, Kaplan Test Prep’s director of pre-law programs says, “We’ve always encouraged pre-law students to think about how to finance their legal education and what they can do with their degree, but with the recent contraction in the job market for lawyers, it’s clear that students are more concerned than ever about the financial investment in law school and are seeking assistance to ensure that they’ll get a strong return on that investment. Also, in addition to putting greater focus on prioritizing and planning, pre-law students are increasingly considering non-traditional career options. While we’d always counsel students to go to law school with the intent to practice law, society is filled with lawyers in all types of positions—politicians, lobbyists, authors, law enforcement officials, executives at professional sports leagues, and more—which shows that law degrees can be applied to a broad range of career options.”
How are your students reacting to the still struggling job market for lawyers? Are they optimistic? Realistic? Maybe a bit of both? Have any of them expressed trepidation about ultimately pursuing a JD because of the job market? What non-traditional jobs have some of them told you they may pursue? We know that pre-law students are strivers and passionate about the law, but we also know it’s important to give them the facts, as unattractive as they seem right now.
*The online survey was conducted in February 2013 of 228 pre-law students who took a Kaplan LSAT course.
** The online survey was conducted in February 2013 of 264 law school students who took a Kaplan Bar Review course.
