Best Undergraduate Programs! Did you choose right?

Warning: this post may make you very, very angry.

I guess I chose the wrong major, because these are the five best majors right now for jobs according to Yahoo News, which ran this "story" here:  The Best of the Best: Undergrad Degrees.

BEST UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES 2012

Hot Pick #1: Bachelor's in Business Administration
Hot Pick #2: Bachelor's in Health Care Administration
Hot Pick #3: Bachelor's in Accounting
Hot Pick #4: Bachelor's in Communications
Hot Pick #5: Bachelor's in Computer Science





When I was an undergrad, there were few of these lists, so I really didn't know what to pick and choose from.  I guess it's good that kids today have something to guide them.  For that I am glad.



I wonder what the best graduate programs are...

***

And wait, there's more!

Hot Career #2: Paralegal!  (Hot Careers that are Hiring Now!!!!!!! )


Don't want to go through law school but still fascinated by the legal system? Good news, you don't have to spend the time and money on law school to get into the legal field.
Paralegals lawyers prepare for hearings, trials, and corporate meetings, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. They might even get to research case law and write legal documents and arguments.

Hot Factors: The paralegal field could see its employment grow by 18 percent from 2010 to 2020, says the Department of Labor. Following cutbacks during the recent recession, some law firms are rebuilding their support staff by hiring paralegals, adds the Department. (THIS INFORMATION WAS NEVER SHARED ON PERRY MASON!!!!!!!)

"Paralegals can do things a lawyer can do for a lower cost, so it's necessary to have them readily available," says Crawford.  (yes, it is necessary to have 'em nearby at all times!)

Education Options: An associate's degree in paralegal studies is one common route to preparing for a paralegal career, according to the Department. If you already have a bachelor's degree, look into earning a certificate in paralegal studies.

The Law School Avengers

Law school is a scary place.  It all begins with the LSAT.  Actually, it all begins the first time you sit down and watch Perry Mason and realize that you want to be a lawyer.  It begins when you are sitting there with your family in front of the screen and Judge Judy is screaming at some person for not being as smart as she, a New York Law School grad, is.  And you figure, if a NYLS grad like Judge Judy can make $45 million a year, why can't you?

So, you are gearing up for law school, mouth foaming as you sit there in a big room full of LSAT takers, and you know that once you get those scores back you will be strolling into an amazing law school and beginning your career as a lawyer.

Well, somewhere a few other individuals are gearing up for law school.  They are considered some of the finest people to have ever walked the Earth.  Nobody told them the difference between a tier 1 and a tier 4 school, and frankly, they don't seem to care.  They just want to graduate and practice law. 

They are known as: The Law School Avengers

Iron Man




Tony Stark had a STEM degree and a big science background which lead him to believe he would do well in IP law.  He started his first year paying close attention to the cases and taking good notes.  In fact, many were jealous of his laptop, which was the finest in the class.  He'd always sandwich himself in between two hot women on the first day (you know, when the professors make you write down where you will be sitting for the whole year). 

Tony was quite the gunner, always raising his hand and speaking when he had the chance.  In fact, everyone just knew that Mr. Stark would walk away with all the big awards and the highest class rank.  When Tony Stark explained the science behind the Hairy Hand Case (Hawkins v. McGee), everyone, including the professor, was all ears. 

But something happened.  Exam day came and everyone pulled out their calculators for the Contracts exam.  Tony suited up right there in front of the proctor, whose mouth hung open.  The proctor began furiously pointing at the board, which said "no outside materials except for laptop, calculator, and scratch paper."  Tony was forced, to his dismay, to remove his Iron Man suit.  Since his only calculator was built into the suit, Tony Stark ended 1L with the lowest grade in Contracts.

Everyone thought this gunner would be on the top of the class, but instead he walked out of 1L with an almost failing GPA and would have to take Contracts again.  Instead of doing that, Tony dropped out of law school and fell back on the STEM degree he had earned earlier.  Oh, and the multi-billion dollar defense company he owned didn't hurt either.

Captain America



Captain Steve Rogers had one thing in mind when he started law school.  That was justice.  He was the type who always said he wanted to be a lawyer to help those in need.  He didn't care about BigLaw or big money.  Further, as a military man, he figured he would get in on JAG if things didn't pan out.  He also was aware of the loan repayment option for public interest law that his law school offered.  He would need it, as he got no institutional grant money or aid of any type.

Let's back up a moment, shall we?  You see, Captain America had practiced hard for the LSAT.  He took the practice exams and eventually scored a 177 on one of these practice exams.  He was feeling good about himself.  In fact, he was preparing to go to one of the finest public interest law schools in the land, CUNY law.  However, when Captain America begin the LSAT, he found himself falling into a deep cryogenic sleep.  He was awoken at the end of the LSAT and forced to hand in his blank scan tron.  Since he got a 120, he was forced to attend Cooley Law School, who took him mostly on account of his strong military background.

Captain America got alright grades at Cooley and was liked by his professors as well as the dean as being the kind of guy who follows the rules and doesn't talk back.  In fact, when the Cooley sign fell off the Lansing Lugnuts Stadium, it was Captain America who volunteered to hang it back up.

Spiderman



Spiderman, like Tony Stark, had a science background which he figured he would fall back on.  However, since his uncle's death, young Peter Parker figured he would use law school as a way to get jerks like the man who murdered his uncle put behind bars, and sue the Daily Bugle for defamation.

To Spiderman's dismay, he found that he was paying more money in law school than he would get in any defamation suit against the Bugle.  He took out many loans, but since he was going to a lower T1 school part time, he got some good aid on the side (mostly as a result of going to Columbia for undergrad). 

Spiderman's fate came whenever he would try to study.  He found that his girlfriend wanted all of his time and attention, and whenever he tried to open one of his law books, he found that his webbing always made the pages stick shut.  Spiderman eventually decided he should just drop out after reading JDpainterguy's blog. 

The Hulk


They still talk about the hulk in the halls of the law school he attended.  Dr. Bruce Banner was always a quiet type.  He sat in the back row and always took the most meticulous notes.  He used a note taking program that Tony Stark let him use.  One day, in his 2L class, the international law professor was going over the case The Paquete Habana.  Dr. Banner enjoyed this case thoroughly (many seem to enjoy this one, for some strange reason) and was hoping he would be called on to tell it to the class.  However, he was not.  Instead of paying attention as normal (what more could he learned by paying attention to this case?), he began searching the internet.  Somehow Dr. Bruce Banner found a link to one of the scam blogs and started reading through it.  Realizing that he was now a 2L and in deep debt, and further realizing the job outlook for graduates of his school, Dr. Bruce Banner started to rage. 

The professor looked up, after telling his own anecdote about being aboard a Navy ship at Fleet Week, and noticed the Hulk running through desks right at him.  The hulk picked up the professor by the throat and demanded to see the Valvoline Dean.  

The rest is history, and the Hulk actually had to serve a short jail sentence, which would have probably made it so he could never pass the character and fitness portion of the bar exam.  It's a shame too, because up until then, Bruce Banner was #1 in his class and on law review.

Thor



Thor didn't really care about law school, but was connected (his father was a partner at a big law firm), so he figured he might as well go to whatever school would take him. 

Thor was somewhat cocky and did not pay much attention in class.  He found right away that he had no taste whatsoever for the females of law school and it made him feel somewhat depressed.  At first he thought it was his school's fault and planned on getting top 10% grades and transfering.  However, right away Thor knew that he would not get the grades needed to move up to top schools like Fordham or University of Oregon.  So, he sat back and drifted aimlessly through law school.

Thor was famous for always missing the exact number of classes allowed plus one.  For his first year he interned his his father's firm in Asgard, finding himself doing regular intern stuff like scrubing walls, watering plants, and plungering out toilets until the plumber arrived.  Thor knew that this would not last though, and eventually he would be next to his dad working hard on multi-planetary contracts and property issues. 

In Thor's third year he was told by his father that there would only be one position available at the firm and it was going to his brother Loki, who got into a much better law school (Georgetown University Law Center).  So Thor dropped out two weeks before finals and fell back on being the heir to the throne of Asgard (which was more prestigious and paid more than BigLaw).

Man of Industry

It was only a few months ago when I met this "man of industry".  I knew he'd be large in many things.  He walked out from my sister's house, greeting me with a grin.  This was not any house, mind you.  This was a home.  Sitting on the edge of a cliff surrounded by thousands upon thousands of pines, overlooking some of the most beautiful back country in Idaho, it commanded an awesome view. 

The man's eyes gazed on me.  It was the first time we met.  He had wedded my sister and was now gearing up to make his way to the Emerald City, a.k.a. Seattle.  And deep in the living room, with a baby suckling, was my sister.  She had a look of emptiness on her face.  She stared blankly at me when I walked in.  With this marvelous mansion surrounding her, I wondered how she could be anything but giddy.

The man of industry sat next to her.  His new son continued to drink from her as his father grinned at me.  This man was proud of his accomplishments.  Behind him windows that were four times as tall as he was took in the landscape.  He looked me up and down, as if I was a threat to him.  He smiled.  We spoke.

"How do you like it over there?" He asked, regarding my home in New York.
"I like it." 
He was amazed.  He hated it.  "I used to go there for business.  I hate it."
"I see."

His words were spoken quickly.  He knew what he liked in life.  He also knew what he did not like.  He was large, like the house he was in.  His woman, my sister, at his side, said little.  She was annoyed at my presence most likely.  We have never been close.

"What are you doing?"
"Law school."

He was not impressed.  Many laymen may be impressed when you tell them law school, but not this man.  By now, you are probably wondering what this man of industry does for a living.  He told me that he was buying this amazing house from a man who owned a helicopter company.  The company went under shortly after the crash of '08.  He was now unloading the house, and brother-in-law was going to take over everything. 

"What are your plans for life?" he asked.  This was where he was sizing me up.  He wanted to see what kind of threat I was. 

"I don't know.  Maybe start a business," I said, meekly.  It was right then that I realized that I had no plans or goals.  I was just sailing along.  Just in law school at the time, hoping to "do my best".  Hoping against all odds that I would find that amazing job and find that my worries were for naught.  Maybe the scam blogs will be wrong for me, I thought.  But this man slapped me back into reality when he asked me that question.  How can I expect to be different than the others?  Some of them went to T6 schools and they can't find jobs!  How can I expect to do better?  And look at this man's house!  It's huge!  And his child, his 9th!  Surely he is doing something right! (keep in mind, he was married once before)

"Why don't you have any children?" He asked.  I laughed inside.  Truthfully, I do not want children.  That is something that I am adamant about.  I have never had the desire to reproduce.  "I don't really want any."  Having nine children himself, he was perplexed.

"I love all my children," he said, looking down at his son.  "I would never do anything differently."
Of course not, I thought to myself.  You have it all.  He then leaned back and fell asleep as I sat there, staring at that view beyond.  The family dog came out and tugged at my pants and the other kids would be arriving home from school soon.  Sister was quiet for the most part, but eventually showed me the place.  We went into the basement and then to the loft.  I saw the bedroom where he had a massive bed all surrounded by toy trucks.  The bathtub was her "pride and joy" as she put it.  Outside on the deck was a hot tub.  The loft was where their office was. 



About an hour later we parted ways.  Surely now, you wonder what this man of industry does for a living.  It's not something that one may think.  He had no higher education whatsoever.  In fact, when my little cousin was talking about going to college, he told her college was stupid.  Just right out told her.  If there's one thing about this man of industry, it's that he's a straight talker.  In fact, he's just a regular ol' truck driver.  He hauls cars across the country for a living.  That's it!  No fancy office job, no MBA or PhD.  No JD.  Heck, I don't even know if he finished high school.  He sits behind the wheel of a big rig and claims to make well over $100k a year.  No student debt. 

Something for you all to think about.

Someone Has to be the Guinea Pig...

I am proud to say that I am the very first in my family not only to go to college, but also to go to law school.  That being said, my family has no clue what law school is like or what the legal profession is really like.  Recently I talked to a family member who said that I was probably going to be "set for life."  I did not know what to say to this, as I expect utter hell ahead of me to find a job - and I have little to no hope of success.  I have also considered joining the military, teaching English outside of the US, or leaving the US upon graduating for other work as other options.  I fully expect to have to settle for one of these options.  After all, who am I, a bottom of the class law student in a lower tier law school, with very little work experience and no connections, to expect something better?  I have also prepared myself for work at Starbucks or in Fast Food, as I at least have experience with that sort of thing, and while I hated it, one has to do what one has to do to survive.  I have resigned myself to the idea that I will never own my own home or partake in any such large purchase using credit.

Being the first in my family to go to college and law school, I have realized that I am the guinea pig.  When I started my undergraduate 'career' I took out much loan money.  I did not live at home, nor did I consider that a viable option at the time due to issues that were taking place at home during that time in my life.  As such, I incurred much extra debt to cover rent.  At the time I lived in Seattle, WA shortly after the wake of the 9/11 attacks.  The airline industry, which is huge in Seattle, was severely hurt due to the attacks.  Boeing and other large companies had laid off many workers, making the unemployment in Seattle and Washington state skyrocket.  Finding a job at that time was quite hard, so I did school instead of finding a job.  Sometimes I sit back, and think, to the sounds of NIN or Rancid blasting loudly on speakers behind me, what would have life been like if I had went to work instead of school?

I moved out of state and transferred schools to finish my undergraduate degree.  After that I moved to the east coast for law school as I was not accepted to any of the west coast schools I applied at.  I am sure this is quite common, as I know of a lot of TTTT and TTT students on the east coast from places such as California, Washington, Oregon, etc.

As I have gone through college and know the reality of the college 'experience' and the 'real job market' that exists after college, I could help my own children with the whole college experience.  Problem, I do not plan on having children (never felt the want to) and I don't think I would have any with such debt even if I wanted some (which, again, I don't).  Therefore, even though I have served as the Guinea pig, I will not have any children of my own to tell about the results of this experiment.  Therefore, I am a wasted experiment in many ways.

Yesterday I was told a niece of mine is gearing up to go to college.  She lives on the west coast and I don't talk to her, except when visiting (once every couple years, maybe).  She is from a lower income family and her mother has done a couple years of college, but never finished.  Like me at one optimistic time, my niece probably imagines that college will lead to wealth.  Her boyfriend comes from a family that is, according to her mother, 'well off'.  Of course, the boyfriend's parents are boomers who succeeded partly due to college.  Surely these boomers paid little for their educations and are reaping the rewards.  If my niece goes to college, surely she will end up 'well off' just like them, right?

I imagine she will one day have children of her own, and one day can be the Guinea pig of her family, telling them about her college experience and the results of it.  Who knows, maybe my niece will find success.  Maybe she will win the college lottery.  I hope she does.  Since her mother has some college experience, I am sure she can benefit from learning about not taking out loans and living at home.  After all, I was informed that she does not want to talk out loans at the outset.  That's great.  I wish I knew not to back then.

I will graduate law school with around $200,000 in loans.  I do not share this tid bit often as it's somewhat disheartening to think about.  However, at the same time, I know my situation, and I know that even if I make $100,000 I will not be able to buy a house for a few years.  I know, however, that I will not make this kind of money out of law school.  People at my school who think they can make this much, and who are not in the top 1-2% of the class or who are not well connected are fools.  There is no nice way to put it.  It's the honest truth.

However, that being said, they too, in a way, are Guinea pigs.  They will eventually realize the absolute hell that is before them.  They will have the sleepless nights, the fear of the reoccurring nightmares of law school, and the unending lament of having went to law school in the first place.  Many will break.  Some will kill themselves (oh yes, they will).  Others may end up in prison, which, may not be a bad alternative, as there is no debt and job search in there to worry about (sore rears, that's another story).  Others will flee the country, feeling the shame of not being able to have paid back their debt.  Having left the US on a few occasions, the idea of leaving the country does not bother me.  However, what does bother me is not having a choice.  What bothers me is having WASTED years on getting a worthless education.  I have learned a lot through college, but I could have learned it all on my own without paying $200,000.

What a waste...

Bankruptcy for Student Loan Debt?

It has been said that bankruptcy should be allowed for student loan debt.   When I first heard this, I was not sure what to think.   However, as time passed by and I started to think of the situation regarding student loan money being granted to individuals and how this debt plagues some very hardworking people, I started to understand the case for allowing students to declare bankruptcy in order to remove their student loans.

People go to college, generally, to gain the skills to enter the workforce.  Some individuals go to college for seven years or more.   This is the case with law students.  However, due to the current economy, many law students are finding that there are no jobs for them.  Yet, what is there for them is six digit student loan debt.  Furthermore, many students were sucked into the higher education system as a result of being told all their lives that college was not an option, but a necessity.  That in order to be even remotely successful in life, you need a college education.

Sadly, many students are finishing college, expecting to land a good job that allows them to be a productive member of society and reap the rewards for their labor.  However, many students will never have home ownership (or will have to defer it) or will not be able to secure credit for their own business.   Many will be stuck with a very limited income after college, barely able to pay back these massive loans.

Many people go to college in order to do something better with their lives.   The opportunity cost of college is high.  One must defer the earning of income in order to attend college.  This income could be used to pay for a down payment on a house, to start a new business, or to be invested towards retirement.  The person who does not choose college will not have to worry about student loan debt. The person who goes to college feels that he or she is making a responsible choice.  A choice that will benefit them and their family in the years to come.  However, upon graduating, many students are inundated with student loan debt (some also have credit card and other debt, which I will ignore here). This debt is often crippling.  The student can try to enter the workforce with their college degree, but often they will realize that the jobs are just not there.   Therefore, the graduate schools make their siren calls, offering the life of glitz and glamor.  Come continue your education, and reap even greater rewards than your peers.   Young men and women fall for this.   Our parents, teachers, and the rest of society tells us that this is the right choice.  More school is always good.   The more education you have the better off you will be.  However, the reality is, if you can not find work, you will only be in more debt.

Six figure debt is said to be life crippling.  Many people have years of depression ahead of them when they realize that the rest of their youth will be spent trying to pay off this debt instead of doing the things, such as starting a family, buying a home, starting a business, etc. etc. that their less educated friends are able to do.   They were told to go to college, that it was the responsible thing to do, and in the end their reward is a life of desolation.  And they are told, unlike their less educated counterparts, that they can not discharge that debt.  They are told that, even though they worked for years on getting a degree, that the debt is there to haunt them for the rest of their life.

Some individuals are unable to pay such debt, and are saddled with extra payments.  Payments that spiral out of control due to compound interest.  Other individuals flee from the United States, feeling that the only way to escape the debt is to leave their homeland behind.  They become known as the student loan debt pariahs.

One reason that this debt has got out of control is that student loan amounts have grown like crazy.   A person should not be allowed to take out over $200,000 in loans for higher education.   In fact, an individual should not be allowed to take out over $100,000 in loans.  Why?  Because when the loan rates are increased, the tuition increases in step with it.  In fact, college tuition has risen faster than the cost of medical care, yet which of the two gets the most media attention?  Most of the college students I have spoken to have no idea how fast college tuition increases!

The higher education system is one of the biggest businesses in the United States.  It is truly a business in every sense of the world. Ride the New York subway system and see the trains plastered with ads from schools you have never even heard of.  Watch television and see advertisements from multitudes of schools.   Drive around the country and see billboards advertising colleges.  Anyone can join now, thanks to the ease of student loan debt.  If student loan debt was capped, the schools would be forced to reduce their tuition.   Society now thinks that education is a right for all, and people would be angry at the idea that their kids could not go to college, so schools would be forced to reduce their tuition in order to allow everyone to go to college.  To have to pay $40-50,000 for a year of education is ludicrous.  As I said in a previous post, one could go from New York or Los Angeles to Cancun or another tropical locale for the same price as a week of class at some schools.  It truly is out of control.

Well meaning parents tell their children that they have to go to college.  They give up much time that they could be earning money in order to learn to be a better member of society.  They are told what they are doing is great.  Their families celebrate their choice.  They endure 4-7 years of higher education, and then, as a result, are not able to partake in the joys of humanity.  There is something wrong with this picture.   I say let there be some kind of bankruptcy protection for student loans. Maybe after five years.  If a person is unable to find work, why should they be a slave to debt for the remainder of their life?  Why should a well meaning individual not be able to partake in the ability to own a home or start a business?

I say this, because I imagine I will never own a home or property.  At one time I thought I would, but now I realize that the course I have chosen will be to my detriment.   I don't know if I would file for bankruptcy if given the choice, I have come to terms with the reality of the situation and use this blog to warn others and to express myself.   While there is a stigma with filing for bankruptcy, there are some cases in which bankruptcy for student loans is necessary.  Why should the college graduate who worked hard for almost a decade be told that he can not file for bankruptcy, when the higher education system is to blame for the insane and out of control prices of college and graduate school?

A Trip to the Psychiatrist: Session I

It's so expensive these days to afford a psychiatrist or counselor, especially when riding over $100,000 of student loan debt. So I thought I would be my own counselor, as it's not too hard to figure out what they would ask you, and the answers are all up to me anyway.   So I am going to write about my feelings and thoughts here, as if I was talking to a real psychiatrist.
 
---

Psychiatrist: How are you today?

Me:  I’m having a more ‘positive’ day.  There was no law school classes today, spring break is around the corner, and afterward it’s all downhill on the way towards summer.  Well, I still have to find a summer job, and I am going back home for the first time since starting law school, and frankly, I’m a bit nervous about that.

Psychiatrist:  I see.  What makes you nervous about going back home?

Me:  Well, my parents think I am going to be a rich lawyer, but not all lawyers are wealthy.  Many are actually deep in, as a fellow scamblogger would say, NON-DISCHARGEABLE student loan debt.  They seem to have watched a butt ton of Perry Mason and similar shows and have based reality around television.

Psychiatrist:  That sounds like psychiatrists.  I am very lucky to have this job. 

Me: Well, you only have a job inside of my mind.  Furthermore, what really irks me about it is that my parents are divorced and live in opposite sides of the state, so when I go back I have to explain the law thing twice and they may think I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Psychiatrist:  How does that make you feel?

Me:  Not too good.  I try to not think about it, as I won’t be going back until May, so I have time to get myself prepared for it.  And finals.  And find a summer job.  And figure out what to do after graduating.

Psychiatrist:  Do all law students feel this way?

Me:  No, not at all.  Some are excited to be there.  In 1L law students are like children, playing with color highlighters and trying to appear smarter than their peers.  They are all fighting for the top grades and play a game of seeing who can talk the most in class.  In 2L the students realize that they are in deep now and the color highlighters are not as appealing.  In fact, by that time they are sick of carrying the books and say ‘screw the highlighters’, highlighting instead in pen or not reading much at all.  I don’t know much about 3L, but I would imagine it has something to do with those suicide cards I keep seeing around my law school.

Psychiatrist:  Whoa, back up.  Suicide cards?  

Me:  Yeah, there’s these little cards around in envelopes about the signs of suicide.  I have not heard of anyone in my class doing it, but it’s obviously a concern.  I think I put one of those cards in my wallet actually.  You know, to have a jump on 3L.

Psychiatrist:  Earlier you said you were having a more ‘positive’ day today.  Tell me, what is a more ‘negative’ day like?

Me:  Well, I skip class, figuring ‘what’s the point?’  Then a few hours later, when I realize class was going, I feel like an idiot.  I wonder what I am missing, if something I missed will be on the test.  I think of how much I am paying per class, it’s a few hundred dollars probably.  I mean, if I paid for a plane ticket to Cancun, which is about what a day of law school costs, would I just skip it?  I think not.  

Psychiatrist:  I can see why you would be upset.  Anything else?

Me:  Well, on those days I find myself looking at the job sites, wondering if I could find a job outside of the law.  I sometimes send a few e-mails out and maybe a resume or two, but then I ask myself if I would skip class to go to an interview, and what would I say?  Would I say I am in law school?  Would I say I am dropping out or plan on dropping out?  What would I say I did for the last couple years if I didn’t say I was in law school?  I then feel like I really should have went to class.  

Psychiatrist:  When was the last time you missed a class?

Me:  Over a week ago.  

Psychiatrist:  How does that make you feel?

Me:  A bit better.  In a way.  I still wonder what the point is, sometimes.   I just sit there in some of my classes and wonder what the point to all this stuff is.  I mean, sometimes I read the books and there is this long case.  I read it and try to understand it.  I try to go through it slow, taking in the law like a man takes in a good looking woman.  I mingle the thoughts around in my mind, feeling real good because I am learning stuff and I feel I can use this information on the next exam.  Then I write all that stuff down in my notebook, all the rules and stuff.  Then, I read on and at the end of the case, in the notes, it says the case was overturned.  I wonder why the hell I had to read that long case if it was just overturned in the end. Furthermore, the book doesn’t say why exactly the case was overturned, so I am thinking ‘what the hell is the point of all this stupid theory?’  I want to learn how to file a lawsuit, and I don’t mean civil procedure cases.  I want to learn how to physically do a case.    

Psychiatrist:  I can imagine so.  Maybe one day the law schools will learn that they need to teach you all more hands on.  Kind of like how a dentist learns dentistry or a brain surgeon learns surgery. 
 
Me:  That would be nice.  But then I wonder, why not now?  What am I paying for?

Psychiatrist:  Well, maybe you could be a professor and teach that same kind of theory.  Maybe you learn the good stuff when you go for an LLM?

Me:  That’s just another big scam.  It’s another two years of the same theory.  If you want to learn the real law you have to get a job, but those are scarce. 


Psychiatrist:  You are in a world of hurt.  Why did you go to law school again?

Me:  I figured it would supplement my degree nicely and make me a powerhouse in the working world.