Want to Pursue a Law Career?
The best time to plant a tree was two years ago; the second best time is now! As with any other career choices, pursuing a career in law is never too old. The decision to go to a law school is a big choice to make, irrespective of your age count. It’s a huge monetary as well as time commitment, but worth all the hardships if you’re truly passionate concerning the same.
It should be noted that the average age of students in their first year at law school is somewhere around 24, but what if you’re older than that? What if you want to shift your career path and decide on going back to law school to attain a degree?
Without a hint of doubt, there are various disadvantages associated with this choice. It can be a radical change for the older students, especially for those who are completely detached from academics. In addition to this, concerns such the saturated marketplace, rising competition and an evolving legal industry make you wonder furthermore. But before jumping to a conclusion, it is imperative for you to assess both sides of the coin and then decide on your next career direction. With a motive of helping you with exactly that we have formulated a list of possible advantages and disadvantages of going back to law school at a later age:
Possible Disadvantages:
Time Constraint: Commitment to time plays a huge factor when you’re deciding to go back to law school at a later stage in life. Older students often have a far wider pool of responsibilities to cater, from aging parents to commitment towards ones children. It prevents them from spending or rather fulfilling the time commitment that is required for studying and attending classroom lectures.
Career Longevity: Even after passing your law school, older students tend to have fewer working years ahead of them. Law firms often prefer to hire employees who are willing to ink a long-term commitment to their firm.
Possible Advantages:
Life and Work Experience Counts: Older students bring with themselves years of life and past working experience, which plays as a major advantage for them. Older students tend to have far wider skillsets, communication abilities, and maturity in handling different situations.
Maturity: Various research and studies have showed that employers value old workers owing to their maturity level, reliability, honesty and commitment towards work. Older employees know what they want to get through their career, which comes in handy for both law school admission processes and post-graduate job hunts.
Students now have distinct opportunity to prepare for their law examination through LSAT Prep Courses, which enable them to manage time effectively and efficiently. Along with the above factors, there lies various other Pros and Cons on both side of the table as well. It is imperative on your part to weigh them both and decide your future goal. Don’t write off your willingness to go back to law school just because of your age, consider the possibilities and give it a serious thought.