Should I study law or human resources management?

I started as a sole practitioner in a small city. That was a huge struggle, unsustainable without a 2nd income from my spouse.

  Hr Classes   Apr 16, 2024   113  Add to Reading List

I practiced Law for 40 years before retiring 5 years ago. I didn’t go to a prestigious law school, I didn’t land a plum job with a firm in a big city. I started as a sole practitioner in a small city. That was a huge struggle, unsustainable without a 2nd income from my spouse. Unlike most lawyers in my city, I wasn’t born and raised there & had zero family or friend networks to rely on for referrals. Fortunately, advertising by lawyers had become permissible at that time, when it was previously prohibited, unfortunately the specialty I chose (real estate) was not not particularly lucrative. I survived for 40years, but never had a large yearly income. My point is that just getting a law license is not necessarily a path to success anymore, as competition for good jobs is heavy. You could end up underemployed with unsubstainable student loan debt. My recommendation is that unless you are an exceptional student with a high LSAT and able to get admitted to a prestige law school, I would think twice. Prestige school plus good grades leads to the likelihood of a good job. Even so, Burnout is common in the legal profession. Therefore if you’re bound to burnout anyway, do it in a big firm with a high income.