Follow Up to law school for Cyber security.

Clm

Hello all we had a discussion about law school the other week and I was still in my research stage, Discussed the matter with my wife and she is comfortable with me going to Law school full time and not working my only concern is when I come back to the job market do you think it would look bad not working in the field for 2-3 years.

I thought about trying to do night classes and work full time but I'm nervous it might be too much.

My other alternative was to do some freelance tech work.
what do you think

stryder144

I would say go to Law School full-time. It will give you the time to study and give you networking opportunities. Then, during the summer, pick up a contract or two in IT. This will keep you in the game and provide a bit of extra money. As for how the employer might view your 2-3 year hiatus, I don't think you'll have to worry about that too much. They should see that the years you weren't working in the field coincide with law school.

Good luck!

EnderWiggin

Another idea might be to find a part-time job you could do. And on your resume, it wouldn't look like a gap in work. But yeah, it won't be an issue having a gap in work anyways, since you'll be going to school full-time, and likely doing internships as school requirements.

the_Grinch

If you can do it full time I would suggest you do as it will shave a year off versus going part time. Work wise, you will probably have your first summer off, but your 2L summer you will probably be interning somewhere. Two of my classmates are currently doing internships (will be 3L's) one is with a District Attorney and the other is with ICE. No employer will question the gap in employment if you're pursuing a JD.

TranceSoulBrother

- You will have to discuss with the VA how far will your GI Bill go towards tuition. You will receive BAH as an E5 for a while, so rent is covered.
- Check with your state NG to find out how much tuition assistance can you receive also.
- Calculate how much else is needed to cover all incidentals so that you don't drown in debt over the next 3 years.
- Employers understand the time requirements and constraints of law school and won't hold it against you, granted that you actually finish and come out with a JD. If your program is not in top 25, then endeavor to rank near the top of the class to have good employment chances afterwards.

I would advise you to get on Quora or Google and read up on law school blogs about that life. It is very much different and more difficult than it is portrayed. The job prospects in the last 5 years have been dismal and many students that are drowning in debt can't find commensurately well paying jobs. Look up the Army Reserve Legal Affairs unit in your state or city and talk to some of the JAGs about their experience as military or Veteran students and what do they think of the law now. I was in such a unit in So Cal and my leadership was the heavy hitters there. Our BN XO was even a federal judge and I could have clerked for him if I had wanted. I couldn't see myself living that life full time back then. That's why I went into the Infantry then I.T.
Personally, if I decide back on a legal education, it would be St Francis or Concord. I have no intention on going to a firm and join the rat race to make partner. I don't think that I will hang my shingle but rather will employ the legal education for corporate and personal purposes.

636-555-3226

I'll just chime in here as I did before - law jobs are pretty tough to get now. If you're going to do it, plan on being in the top 10% of your class which means you're going to need to work your butt off and spend more time doing homework than you think you're going to spend. You could easily have to read and comprehend 200+ pages of material every single day. If you're willing to invest a lot of your life to reaching that top 10% and can hit that 10% mark, you'll be in good shape. Otherwise you may have some issues landing a good job. Law school isn't a few years of your life then you graduate with an awesome attorney job making $150k+ a year for 35 hours a week.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just making you aware of the reality of law school. It's a burden and in no way guarantees a return on your investment unless you're really good at it.

Clm

636-555-3226 wrote: »

I'll just chime in here as I did before - law jobs are pretty tough to get now. If you're going to do it, plan on being in the top 10% of your class which means you're going to need to work your butt off and spend more time doing homework than you think you're going to spend. You could easily have to read and comprehend 200+ pages of material every single day. If you're willing to invest a lot of your life to reaching that top 10% and can hit that 10% mark, you'll be in good shape. Otherwise you may have some issues landing a good job. Law school isn't a few years of your life then you graduate with an awesome attorney job making $150k+ a year for 35 hours a week.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just making you aware of the reality of law school. It's a burden and in no way guarantees a return on your investment unless you're really good at it.

I Believe it will be extremely difficult that's why I want to go full time and treat it like a Job giving it 40+ hours a week. As for getting a job I want to be an information security professional with law experience and knowledge. Not a lawyer on the rat race like trancesoulbrother stated. Eventually I would open up my own law\consulting firm that work with technology specifically. I truly thank everyone who is commenting for there great advice

Clm

the_Grinch wrote: »

If you can do it full time I would suggest you do as it will shave a year off versus going part time. Work wise, you will probably have your first summer off, but your 2L summer you will probably be interning somewhere. Two of my classmates are currently doing internships (will be 3L's) one is with a District Attorney and the other is with ICE. No employer will question the gap in employment if you're pursuing a JD.

That was one of my main concerns is shaving off time and it will save me more money some of the schools I was looking at offer summer classes so hopefully that will speed things up.

TranceSoulBrother

If you're interested in technology, find out what niche you want to invest in but then be aware that you might have to do other stuff to pay the bills. You can go in patent law or more broadly into other technology stuff like privacy or id theft or related stuff. It might seem too niche at the beginning but you would eventually build a reputation.
If you're not too concerned about partnership, it might relieve you of a lot of stress and allow more flexibility.

Clm

TranceSoulBrother wrote: »

If you're interested in technology, find out what niche you want to invest in but then be aware that you might have to do other stuff to pay the bills. You can go in patent law or more broadly into other technology stuff like privacy or id theft or related stuff. It might seem too niche at the beginning but you would eventually build a reputation.
If you're not too concerned about partnership, it might relieve you of a lot of stress and allow more flexibility.

Im thinking policy and procedures,IP,privacy some CFAA and Governance. I even thought of some hacker help stuff.

Danielm7

Clm wrote: »

I Believe it will be extremely difficult that's why I want to go full time and treat it like a Job giving it 40+ hours a week. As for getting a job I want to be an information security professional with law experience and knowledge. Not a lawyer on the rat race like trancesoulbrother stated. Eventually I would open up my own law\consulting firm that work with technology specifically. I truly thank everyone who is commenting for there great advice

When you open a practice eventually are you looking to actually do legal work with the emphasis on understanding the tech side. Or tech work with an understanding of the legal side? I'm trying to figure out the end game and how worth it law school is vs hiring a tech company that has a legal staff.

Clm

Danielm7 wrote: »

When you open a practice eventually are you looking to actually do legal work with the emphasis on understanding the tech side. Or tech work with an understanding of the legal side? I'm trying to figure out the end game and how worth it law school is vs hiring a tech company that has a legal staff.

In the future I would like to be a lawyer who consults with companies dealing with tech issues.