Help Any lawyers or law students on this site?

[ScorpiusDragon]

I'm in the process of studying for my upcoming LSAT. I think I will do ok and be able to get into a decent law school. My question is: Is it worth it?
I already want to die everyday and I don't see life getting any better during or after law school. I know law school is a huge pressure cooker, and I know being a lawyer isn't much easier, especially if you are working in a corporate firm. I have already worked in a law firm as a paralegal for over a year, and I'm not happy. I can already see I'm not really passionate about the law, and I'm only doing it because I already invested so much time into this goal. I'm mentally debating whether I'm better off ending my life sooner (before the end of this year) so I don't have to continue on a path that will bring me no joy.

 

[Darkhaven]

Yeah i'm on my 4th year but as i failed some subjects i will have to stay in college next year to repeat them.
I'm in europe, though.
I face the same dillema. I know that after the degree is done i will only feel worse as i won't be able to get a job.
I have social and general anxiety plus depression and a neurological disease that is making my life become increasingly miserable.
My parents are wasting money on my education and it will all probably go to waste.
I didn't want to end up like this but life ain't giving me any choice.

 

[ralphnol]

yep, and yes. Lawyer here. Terrible profession at least where I live.

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

Yeah i'm on my 4th year but as i failed some subjects i will have to stay in college next year to repeat them.
I'm in europe, though.
I face the same dillema. I know that after the degree is done i will only feel worse as i won't be able to get a job.
I have social and general anxiety plus depression and a neurological disease that is making my life become increasingly miserable.
My parents are wasting money on my education and it will all probably go to waste.
I didn't want to end up like this but life ain't giving me any choice.

I'm not worried about getting a job after law school graduation. I'm worried about being stuck in a job I hate for the next ~40 or so years, grinding away as a miserable corporate lawyer to make money for some boss that sees me as a disposable cog. Yes, I'll make money, and I know money is very much needed to survive in this world. But that's not enough to make me actually want to live.
And I know having kids and building a family won't make me happy. I know a lot of people will suggest that I find meaning in building a family but I know I will just be bringing more wage slaves into the world to feed a broken system, repeating the cycle all over again. I suppose if my kids are "lucky," they will be blissfully ignorant normies who can't possibly understand depression. But if my kids are anything like me in terms of personality, I will essentially be forcing them to living in a selfish world without their consent, and they will have to live a miserable existence of living many years of wondering whether life is worth living (just like me).

yep, and yes. Lawyer here. Terrible profession at least where I live.

what country are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in the USA.

 

[ralphnol]

what country are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in the USA.

I dont mind. Brazil. And lawyer is a very public oriented, hustling job here. So... if I had a more sheltered experience (dont know what that would be, perhaps a judge. something like that), maybe it is okay. But to get to that point you have to hustle a lot... so... among many other factors.

 

[Lilanel]

I am a lawyer in the United States. It is a miserable profession. I am not exaggerating. The people are terrible, most of the work is drek. Not a single one of my friends is happy with being a lawyer or with the choice they made, whether they have a job or not.

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

I am a lawyer in the United States. It is a miserable profession. I am not exaggerating. The people are terrible, most of the work is drek. Not a single one of my friends is happy with being a lawyer or with the choice they made, whether they have a job or not.

Lol. Maybe this is a sign I should kill myself sooner while I still can.

 

[Lilanel]

Lol. Maybe this is a sign I should kill myself sooner while I still can.

There are other options. I'm just here to tell you that if you already don't like the law as a paralegal, don't become a lawyer. This profession has already crushed me to dust and I am barely out of law school.

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

There are other options. I'm just here to tell you that if you already don't like the law as a paralegal, don't become a lawyer. This profession has already crushed me to dust and I am barely out of law school.

I don't have experience in other types of professions, aside from teaching for education companies. The education companies I worked at required a lot of social skills, and I was miserable.
Oftentimes, to get a job, you either need relevant work experience or you need to know people. I have no IRL friends, and I don't really keep in touch with my college classmates. So I don't see how I can realistically transition into another professional field.
I'm extremely socially anxious and introverted. I'm not good at social networking, and I've struggled a lot in the professional world because of that. I've felt crippled throughout my life because of my social anxiety, and I think this will continue to hold me back, even if I leave law.

 

[Wayfaerer]

That's a difficult position to be in. You could go back to school for something else but if I were in your situation I really wouldn't know what to do other than that or CTB. If you went back to school, yeah it'd shed more years off your life and you'd have a lot more debt but it would at least have a chance of being worth it in the end (however small). If you CTB, then you'd have zero years. I couldn't imagine being a lawyer, though, what a soulless profession, and for a lifetime at that! However, with all that having been said, Is something always better than nothing? This is the question I ask myself every day, and if you decided on CTB I would not blame you at all if your answer to that question was "no." If it's any consolation, I'll be getting my B.S. in the time that it'd take to get two of them plus a couple of years, although the debt issue will surely be a bigger hurdle than the time It'd take to earn another degree. It's worth a shot at least, what else do you have to lose?

I suppose one of the very few things in my life that I really lucked out on was to have found a profession that became my life's passion as well as it being very lucrative. On top of that I was able to go to school 100% debt free! If only I wasn't going to CTB for completely unrelated reasons, I'd be happier than ever and I'm 100% positive I wouldn't have discovered this forum if I had changed my major a year or two sooner than I had. Studying your passion is more important than studying for wealth (so long as it isn't liberal arts.) If you hate what you do now, then jump ship ASAP if you can afford to do so.

 

[DepressionsAHo]

It was my plan. Specifically human rights.
I don't have my bachelors yet as I'm working towards my associate's. I'll never be able to do it though. I'm smart enough to get the degree but I can't hold a job. That's my main reason for suicide actually

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

That's a difficult position to be in. You could go back to school for something else but if I were in your situation I really wouldn't know what to do other than that or CTB. If you went back to school, yeah it'd shed more years off your life and you'd have a lot more debt but it would at least have a chance of being worth it in the end (however small). If you CTB, then you'd have zero years. I couldn't imagine being a lawyer, though, what a soulless profession, and for a lifetime at that! However, with all that having been said, Is something always better than nothing? This is the question I ask myself every day, and if you decided on CTB I would not blame you at all if your answer to that question was "no." If it's any consolation, I'll be getting my B.S. in the time that it'd take to get two of them plus a couple of years, although the debt issue will surely be a bigger hurdle than the time It'd take to earn another degree. It's worth a shot at least, what else do you have to lose?

I suppose one of the very few things in my life that I really lucked out on was to have found a profession that became my life's passion as well as it being very lucrative. On top of that I was able to go to school 100% debt free! If only I wasn't going to CTB for completely unrelated reasons, I'd be happier than ever and I'm 100% positive I wouldn't have discovered this forum if I had changed my major a year or two sooner than I had. Studying your passion is more important than studying for wealth (so long as it isn't liberal arts.) If you hate what you do now, then jump ship ASAP if you can afford to do so.

The problem is the things I'm passionate about are hard to make a living out of. My passions are art, creative writing, and learning new languages. I know I'm a talented writer, but it's hard to break into the creative fields if you don't know the right people. If I could imagine an ideal world, I'd sell my artwork or become a published novelist, but I know that isn't realistic.
I also have no social skills. No matter how hard I try, I struggle to understand social interactions or notice social cues. But this is probably one of the most important skills to have in any job, unless maybe if you are working in tech or academia.

 

[Wayfaerer]

The problem is the things I'm passionate about are hard to make a living out of. My passions are art, creative writing, and learning new languages. I know I'm a talented writer, but it's hard to break into the creative fields if you don't know the right people. If I could imagine an ideal world, I'd sell my artwork or become a published novelist, but I know that isn't realistic.
I also have no social skills. No matter how hard I try, I struggle to understand social interactions or notice social cues. But this is probably one of the most important skills to have in any job, unless maybe if you are working in tech or academia.

You could consider going back to school to become a linguist. If you went back to the same school or could transfer the credits then I'm sure many of the classes you've already taken could be applied to a new degree. As for creative writing, why is that not realistic?

I'm with you on the social skills thing. I was homeschooled and that messed up my social development really bad. I had Social Anxiety as a teen, diagnosed and all and was a complete agoraphobe during all of it. I snapped out of it when I entered college but I traded old problems for newer, worse ones. Getting over that requires exposure, exposure and more exposure. The more accustomed you are to it, the less anxiety-provoking it is. Adults are much less judgmental than adolescents and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be. Practicing good eye contact is also important. I went from not being able to look people in the eyes at all to it being as natural as breathing.

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

You could consider going back to school to become a linguist. If you went back to the same school then I'm sure many of the classes you've already taken could be applied to a new degree. As for creative writing, why is that not realistic?

I'm with you on the social skills thing. I was homeschooled and that messed me up as far as that goes. I had Social Anxiety as a teen, diagnosed and all and was a complete agoraphobe during all of it. I snapped out of it when I entered college but I traded old problems for newer, worse ones. Getting over that requires exposure, exposure and more exposure. They more accustomed you are to it, the less anxiety-provoking it is. Adults are much less judgmental than adolescents.

Why writing isn't realistic:
oftentimes for becoming a published fiction writer, who you know and who likes you matters more than talent. I am introverted and have no connections in the publishing industry.
And I strongly disagree. I think adults are just as judgmental as teens but they just do a much better job of hiding it. Teens might bully you in your face, while adults might smile sweetly in front of your face and gossip about you with other coworkers behind your back. I've worked at companies where most of my coworkers were extremely social, and I felt like I was thrown in a shark tank.

 

[Wayfaerer]

Why writing isn't realistic:
oftentimes for becoming a published fiction writer, who you know and who likes you matters more than talent. I am introverted and have no connections in the publishing industry.
And I strongly disagree. I think adults are just as judgmental as teens but they just do a much better job of hiding it. Teens might bully you in your face, while adults might smile sweetly in front of your face and gossip about you with other coworkers behind your back. I've worked at companies where most of my coworkers were extremely social, and I felt like I was thrown in a shark tank.

Admittingly, I don't understand how the publishing industry works but if you offered a well-written book to them, they'd still reject it? You could just shotgun it through as many publishers as possible and see if any of it sticks. As cliche as this sounds, you'll never know if you don't try. Or you may just be frustrated in the end, I can understand that too. I missed out on valuable opportunities because it all seemed vain and pointless so I thought "why try?" I regret that very much now, even if it would've ended up in failure anyway.

Aside from the introversion, do you stand out? What would they have to judge you for? I'm not saying this is necessarily the case, but perhaps there is a chance you may be over-thinking it? I was guilty of that at one point at least which is why I suggest that. I understand what it is like standing out from the crowd. Maybe it's the area you grew up in or the school you went to but in my case, I wouldn't have had a single friend from ages-13-to-right-now if not for university and the people in my area are more laid-back.

Point being is that you've got to break out of that shell if you want those connections, even if you have to take little baby steps to do so. It seems impossible at first but improvements can be made. I'm living proof of that. Or you may just be on the spectrum, and I'm not (although I live like I am) so I don't know how you could overcome that without professional help.

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

Admittingly, I don't understand how the publishing industry works but if you offered a well-written book to them, they'd still reject it? You could just shotgun it through as many publishers as possible and see if any of it sticks. As cliche as this sounds, you'll never know if you don't try. Or you may just be frustrated in the end, I can understand that too. I missed out on valuable opportunities because it all seemed vain and pointless so I thought "why try?" I regret that very much now, even if it would've ended up in failure anyway.

Aside from the introversion, do you stand out? What would they have to judge you for? I'm not saying this is necessarily the case, but perhaps there is a chance you may be over-thinking it? I was guilty of that at one point at least which is why I suggest that. I understand what it is like standing out from the crowd. Maybe it's the area you grew up in or the school you went to but in my case, I wouldn't have had a single friend from ages-13-to-right-now if not for university and the people in my area are more laid-back.

Point being is that you've got to break out of that shell if you want those connections, even if you have to take little baby steps to do so. It seems impossible at first but improvements can be made. I'm living proof of that. Or you may just be on the spectrum, and I'm not (although I live like I am) so I don't know how you could overcome that without professional help.

No I'm definitely not overthinking the negative effects of my introversion. In my first job out of college, I was bullied regularly by more extroverted coworkers. They sometimes deliberately excluded me from social gatherings, and they would deliberately make passive aggressive comments about my social awkwardness in group meetings. People judge you for sure, if social interactions do not come naturally to you. Of course, I'd be much less depressed if I could delude myself and say "it's not THAT bad." And to your question, "What would they have to judge you for," in my personal experience, if you are different and noticeably so, they will judge.

There are plenty of talented writers that never make it in the publishing industry. I already know. While I never tried to make an attempt to publish my works after college, I had other experiences I'd rather not share. I don't even want to try anymore.

"Professional" help is just a bunch of people with pieces of papers called degrees pretending to know what they are doing. I can say with complete honesty that talking to people on this forum helped my mental health much more than talking to "professionals" ever did.

 

[Wayfaerer]

No I'm definitely not overthinking the negative effects of my introversion. In my first job out of college, I was bullied regularly by more extroverted coworkers. They sometimes deliberately excluded me from social gatherings, and they would deliberately make passive aggressive comments about my social awkwardness in group meetings. People judge you for sure, if social interactions do not come naturally to you. Of course, I'd be much less depressed if I could delude myself and say "it's not THAT bad." And to your question, "What would they have to judge you for," in my personal experience, if you are different and noticeably so, they will judge.

That's the environment your in. Smarmy lawyers with degrees from elite universities. I've never encountered such snooty elitism but then again I'm in the physical sciences and I don't go to a prestigious university. Do you like being introverted? I've always been as well but I've learned that even I can't live isolated 100% of the time. Going from community college to university really opened my eyes to all of the opportunities I was missing out on all this time.

There are plenty of talented writers that never make it in the publishing industry. I already know. While I never tried to make an attempt to publish my works after college, I had other experiences I'd rather not share. I don't even want to try anymore.

That's really too bad, I don't know what to say about that. Connections are very important things to make and once you're out of school, your chances of making them dwindle fast. I've already made some in school but I don't think I'll be getting much use out of them on the account that I'll be dead and all. It's worth taking chances and doing things you normally wouldn't do when you're suicidal. After all, what's the worst that can happen? That's where I'm at now, at least when it comes to experience. I'm not planning for the future anymore but if you are, then doing something new is worth a shot especially if you do not like the course you are on at all.

"Professional" help is just a bunch of people with pieces of papers called degrees pretending to know what they are doing. I can say with complete honesty that talking to people on this forum helped my mental health much more than talking to "professionals" ever did.

By professional help, I meant specifically with people with aspergers or autism. For anxiety and depression? Yeah, they're for all intents and purposes useless in that regard and sometimes even worse than useless.

 

[Rocksandsand]

I'm studying law now. I keep having to defer because of my mental health issues. It's a really hard path, but I will say that there's a lot of ways to help people if you aren't interested in getting paid the big bucks. In Australia it's called 'social' or 'equitable' justice, and it is actually one of the few things that kept me sane in law school. Having said that, I am more suicidal than ever, so it can't be that sane

 

[ScorpiusDragon]

That's the environment your in. Smarmy lawyers with degrees from elite universities. I've never encountered such snooty elitism but then again I'm in the physical sciences and I don't go to a prestigious university. Do you like being introverted? I've always been as well but I've learned that even I can't live isolated 100% of the time. Going from community college to university really opened my eyes to all of the opportunities I was missing out on all this time.



That's really too bad, I don't know what to say about that. Connections are very important things to make and once you're out of school, your chances of making them dwindle fast. I've already made some in school but I don't think I'll be getting much use out of them on the account that I'll be dead and all. It's worth taking chances and doing things you normally wouldn't do when you're suicidal. After all, what's the worst that can happen? That's where I'm at now, at least when it comes to experience. I'm not planning for the future anymore but if you are, then doing something new is worth a shot especially if you do not like the course you are on at all.



By professional help, I meant specifically with people with aspergers or autism. For anxiety and depression? Yeah, they're for all intents and purposes useless in that regard and sometimes even worse than useless.

I'm sort of at the point where I don't care about getting "help" for my problems anymore. I just want to go. I'm ok with my depression because I know it will one day push me to suicide. And suicide just means I won't have to continue living in a world I want no part in.

 

[Wayfaerer]

I'm sort of at the point where I don't care about getting "help" for my problems anymore. I just want to go. I'm ok with my depression because I know it will one day push me to suicide. And suicide just means I won't have to continue living in a world I want no part in.

I feel you 100%, but there are nice things about living too. For so many years I thought about suicide as a coping mechanism for my shit life with circumstances that where not my fault, beyond my control and devastating to me but now that suicide has finally arrived at my doorstep, I'm not so eager for it anymore. It feels much different now then when I was just daydreaming about it. Back then, my behavior was a reflection of such suicidal ideation and as a result, it led to future consequences where it became my only escape and not something I truly desired. I'd choose to live otherwise if I could undo the damage, despite what garbage society throws at us.

I'm the most depressed and yet least depressed in my life. I know I'm doomed but I also feel alive. A very confusing duality, but I'm also off my meds too so that may be why. SSRI's made me feel so dead and empty inside that I'd rather die than continue to be on them. I now see everything that I've been taking for granted all this time.

If I were you, I'd at least consider another career path if possible (you even might find something that makes you want to live!) and change your setting because it sounds like you're surrounded by stuck-up douchebags all of the time but if you've had enough of everything then I can't fault you for that either. I'm certainly past the ability to tolerate my circumstances. I'd say that I had the last "straw" which broke the camel's back, but it was more of an I-Beam that seemingly came out of no where and almost instantaneously. Going from sheer misery to sheer suicidal misery so fast it made my head spin. I know my time is short, but if I could stick around, I would if it were feasible. It's just not and I lament over what I now must do.

Do you think you'd still be depressed now if you had chosen another career that you at least found tolerable?

 

[Life+me=error]

Dear, consider becoming a occupational therapist.
Getting the degree is very easy and the pay is good. Also, this job is pretty much stress free.