Lately I have been looking at a site called JDUnderground. It's basically a site for law students and grads who are struggling as lawyers. Some seem to be doing alright, but the overall consensus on the site seems to be that "life is miserable, so I will be, too." That's too bad, but it seems to be the norm with any internet forum that I have been to. Here I want to talk about my experiences with the site and why I will not be back.
At first, I thought it was an interesting site, in regards to the way that people discussed their day to day jobs. There are some good posters on there who talk about the realities of buying a house with IBR and opening a solo practice. However, for every good apple there is at least a few rotten ones. Case in point: some people thought I was trolling because I asked a question re: should I get an LLM or go to graduate school for Economics. Others felt the need to completely tear this blog apart, as if they have written something better. The truth is, I have found that there is a sickness going around where everyone either thinks that they are better than everyone else (which they are not) or that people are trying to prove they are somehow better. The kicker? This is all being done over the internet.
Case in point: many of the posts on JDUnderground are critical of the hobbies of so-called losers. So what if someone plays Magic or World of Warcraft. Is that really going to hurt your masculinity? So what you have a JD. That doesn't make you any better than anyone else. It's kind of funny that many people will, on the one hand, say that law school is a huge scam and anyone and everyone can get a JD, and on the other hand, the same people are so proud to have got one that they think it gives them a license to completely dis everyone and everything else. I guess this is why these types are on JDUnderground and not enjoying life.
I have seen some people who have 5,000+ posts on that site. Talk about pathetic. I can't imagine investing so much time on an internet message board. Top-Law-Schools was the same way. People would have thousands upon thousands of posts and I just shook my head wondering how they had so much time to amass that many posts. Imagine what people could do if they did something more productive than posted on the internet all the time?
I will not be going back to JDUnderground, but I can imagine that this post will probably be ripped apart. My advice to those who have never been on the site or who have given it little interest -- don't bother. It's a huge waste. It's another cesspool of the internet. It's rife with racism, classism, sexism, and a bevy of other 'isms'.
What we behold we become
It has been said that we become that which we behold. If one spends all day reading such a vile website, one may start to think or act in the manner of what they read. I don't want to become that way.
The last thing I read on that site was this:
Kids who went to law school and took out 200k in loans because of lies that told them that was an investment that would allow them to climb into a comfortable middle class lifestyle, and instead find themselves living in their parents basement at age 30, unmarried, unmarriable, and doing document review in a damp basement have a right to be a little mad I think.
It's honestly amazing that people can think that they are so smart when they spout stuff like this. First, I have more than this taken out in loans. I am not mad. Second, I would not call what one was told 'lies.' If you can not read between the lines, you might want to find out how to. Nobody guaranteed you a job.
Second, a comfortable middle class lifestyle is highly overrated. There is happiness in living with less. What is so great about mass consumerism and having so much stuff? Do you really need all that crap that is advertised to you? Do you really need a car that is better than your neighbors? Do you really need a bigger house? Do you really need all that?
Third, there is no reason a 30 year old should be living with their parents unless their parents are sick or they are. A single person can survive even off minimum wage. Get a room mate. Get used to living in a cheaper place. Get out of your comfort zone. I guess I'm mostly dealing with people who grew up in such lifestyles that made it so that they are terrified of the real world. I am glad I grew up in a low income household because, honestly, I realize that the world is not that bad.
Forth, you are not "unmarriable" because you have debt. You are "unmarriable" due to your TOXIC attitude on life. No woman wants to be with a guy like that. Further, I have seen TONS of women who marry guys who are on the sex offender registry, drug abusers, and what JDUnderground labels as "losers." Granted, I would not wish half these guys on women, but the reality is that there are people out there who will marry you if you MAN up. Grow the heck up and stop whining on the internet. It's pathetic beyond belief and I honestly can see why women don't want that in a man.
Fifth, most doc review pays a very livable wage, especially coupled with IBR. Why in the heck would you have to move in with your parents if you are making $25-35 an hour? If you are even doing so over the course of half a year, there's no reason you should have to move back home with mother and father. Why would you? Because you can't go out every night and party after work and pay $3000 a month in rent? Get a room mate in Queens or somewhere cheaper. You should be able to find a place, as an adult, for $800 or so a month.
I have, once again, been proven at just how stupid the whole anti-law school message is. These people, however, will whine and complain their way through life, thinking of EXCUSE after EXCUSE on why law school is a losing bet. This is why they can't succeed in life. Misery loves company, and that company can be found on JDUnderground.
See Also: How I Think, and Why I Think That Way: A Struggling Law Grad's Positive Outlook on Life.
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