Crossroads: Law School vs Flying Career

All kidding aside, I think you already know the answer you're looking for mate. You realize that you have a passion for flying. If you have the opportunity, go for it and don't look back! Right now I think your trying to persuade yourself into becoming a lawyer and anytime you have to do that, its never the option you truly want. The fact that you are on an aviation message board shows that you have an interest. The wild blue yonder is calling, will you answer?
 
I'm betting that Todd is back in 5 years wishing he had never left his job at SWA.

I've been around long enough to see multiple examples of that before. Not wishing ill of you in your new venture Todd. Quite the opposite, since I'm more of a positive person. Wish you the best even after all of our, ehem, debates over the years.

I think in a way this thread is a little bit about you justifying your decision to leave a major airline.


TP
 
ATN_Pilot said:
The best advice I can give you would be this: just remember that loving something doesn't mean that you would necessarily love doing it for a living.

I love flying. Always have, always will. Been obsessed with it since I was 4 years old, and I still look up whenever I hear a plane. I'm currently looking to buy a GA plane, and I'll probably put hours on it every weekend. But when that alarm goes off at 4am and I've got a 12 hour duty day ahead of me, the only thought in mind is "this sucks." And I'm one of those guys with one of the handful of "career jobs" that pays very well in this business. But I still don't think it's worth it. Not by a long shot.

So what you really need to do is not think about the flying, but the lifestyle and the path that your career will likely take to get to that "career job." Don't be in your 30s wishing you had realized earlier that the love of flying isn't enough to get you through another 30 years. At that point, you may have a wife and three kids, and changing careers won't be a viable option. There's an awful lot of guys I fly with who, when I tell them that I'm leaving aviation in a few months, say "damn, I wish I could do that." Don't be that guy. Now, to be fair, there are plenty of guys who also say "man, I can't imagine doing anything else for a living." You'll mostly see that type of guy posting here on JC, so it looks like it's unanimous in the industry when it's really not. But those guys definitely exist in big numbers, so maybe you're one of them. Just make sure to figure that out before taking the plunge.
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I thought working at an airport would make me jealous - seeing all of the mainline pilots passing through. Just the opposite. Seeing them toil in the airport trying to get a seat, or talking to the locals after they've been gone four or five days and get to see their kids for two before going back. I did a four day trip to Chicago two weeks ago after spending three days in SFO two weeks before that and thought I was neglecting my kids. Couldn't even imagine doing it every week.
 
Louie1975 said:
Wait...I thought you didn't need to be a science major to get into med school. I heard about an art history major becoming a doctor...as long as you had the basic sciences (pre-med) done.
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Correct. There is a required undergraduate science curriculum (biology, physics, chemistry, math), but it is far less coursework than a major in any one of those fields. As long as you have the required pre-med coursework, you can major in anything you want. Med schools actually like applicants with non-science majors because there's a current trend of emphasizing the more human side of medicine over the cold science. With thousands of identical biochem majors applying, the degree in music performance makes you look interesting.

The downside is you still need a strong MCAT score, which is doable with the minimum coursework if you grasp the material well and study hard. But it is obviously easier with more advanced knowledge.
 
I agree with Typhoonpilot 1000%. Pursue your passion and the money will follow(Provided you have the talent to match that passion). I've had a passion for aviation ever since I took my first plane ride at 4 years old. I've spent all my life pursuing that passion.

Many have tried to deter me and many have said I'm overly positive. Years ago Derg sent me a text saying with my attitude I'll be where I want before I know it. By keeping a positive attitude and enjoying the career several opportunities presented themselves in which I was prepared for(Some call that Luck). Today I'm exactly where Derg said I'll be. Now I try to help many other passionate pilots reach their goals and aspirations. Pay it Forward.

Long story short to the OP, Pursue your passion. Keep Climbing!
 
jtrain609 said:
This is the type of response that I always find hilarious, and I'm not trying to call you out, but I'm going to use this post as a jumping off point.

Folks don't "just" go to law school, or medical school, or any graduate program. You don't wake up one day and say, "Hey, you know what sounds good? Law school! I think I'll apply and see if they're interested in my brilliance!"

First you have to have an undergraduate degree, which seems to be a problem in this industry.

Then you have to not only study for the LSAT for a few months, but then get through the marathon test. Think you'll destroy it and get in the 90th percentile? There's only a 10 percent chance of that happening no matter how smart you are, because EVERYONE taking the LSAT is smart.

Getting in is a year long process, to say nothing of GETTING THROUGH.

And medical school is even worse.

You have to have all the pre-requisites completed prior to application, you'll need a 4.0, a great MCAT score AND you'll likely need patient care experience. Right now medical schools are turning away FULLY QUALIFIED applicants, who would have no problems getting through the program and being successful. But because there are fewer slots than there are applicants, you can have a 4.0 from an top undergraduate program and a great MCAT score and still not get in.

And at Michigan's medical school, 5776 applied last year and the program admitted 177 of those. At Wayne State's medical school, it was 4,952 applications and 541 offers made.

You guys think the new ATP written requirements are challenging? We don't know what true academic challenge is in this industry.
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Dude, whatever, like 1/3 of the Captains I fly with would have gone to med school or law school if they had only known they weren't going to make 350K a year at a regional airline. This job just ain't what it used to be.
 
@Plata, I did check out some law forums, but most of the members are unemployed/underemployed attorneys who lost their jobs during retrenchments in 08 or recently graduated from law school with massive amounts of debt. Consequently, the views expressed there were not really balanced, but the general consensus suggested that the career prospects for the vast majority of lawyers are bleak at the moment, and unlikely to improve in the near future. As with most occupations, you make your own luck to an extent and since there is no seniority tying you to one firm in particular, you can leverage your experience and abilities (granted you do have to settle somewhere eventually if you want to make partner).

Although my experience at a big firm isn't representative of all the different opportunities in law (in-house, government etc.), it has been an eye-opening introduction to the best-compensated areas of practice and what that work entails. I am going to give it a bit more time and see if my negative impressions are just part of an initial shock (my law school applications are in anyway), but make sure that I've considered other options too.
 
Beech_Flyer said:
@Plata, I did check out some law forums, but most of the members are unemployed/underemployed attorneys who lost their jobs during retrenchments in 08 or recently graduated from law school with massive amounts of debt. Consequently, the views expressed there were not really balanced, but the general consensus suggested that the career prospects for the vast majority of lawyers are bleak at the moment, and unlikely to improve in the near future. As with most occupations, you make your own luck to an extent and since there is no seniority tying you to one firm in particular, you can leverage your experience and abilities (granted you do have to settle somewhere eventually if you want to make partner).

Although my experience at a big firm isn't representative of all the different opportunities in law (in-house, government etc.), it has been an eye-opening introduction to the best-compensated areas of practice and what that work entails. I am going to give it a bit more time and see if my negative impressions are just part of an initial shock (my law school applications are in anyway), but make sure that I've considered other options too.
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It seems to me that the law path and the aviation path are very similar. Maybe there's a reason so many pilots say they should have become lawyers.
 
mastermags said:
Dude, whatever, like 1/3 of the Captains I fly with would have gone to med school or law school if they had only known they weren't going to make 350K a year at a regional airline. This job just ain't what it used to be.
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I don't think that any career, with the exception of software programers, CEOs, politicians, hedge-fund managers and professional athletes/celebrities, has actually improved over the past several decades (assuming half of those even qualify as genuine "careers"). Doctors work under conditions far worse than they used to, for appreciably less pay. Not to come across as fatalistic, but for most of us the new reality, while far from ideal, is still much better than you would find elsewhere in the world.
 
Louie1975 said:
Wait...I thought you didn't need to be a science major to get into med school. I heard about an art history major becoming a doctor...as long as you had the basic sciences (pre-med) done.
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You don't HAVE to have 4 year degree to get hired at the majors either, but in reality........
 
Trip7 said:
I agree with Typhoonpilot 1000%. Pursue your passion and the money will follow(Provided you have the talent to match that passion). I've had a passion for aviation ever since I took my first plane ride at 4 years old. I've spent all my life pursuing that passion.

Many have tried to deter me and many have said I'm overly positive. Years ago Derg sent me a text saying with my attitude I'll be where I want before I know it. By keeping a positive attitude and enjoying the career several opportunities presented themselves in which I was prepared for(Some call that Luck). Today I'm exactly where Derg said I'll be. Now I try to help many other passionate pilots reach their goals and aspirations. Pay it Forward.

Long story short to the OP, Pursue your passion. Keep Climbing!
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You should give some additional background - age, family situation, etc. Everything has context. When I was 21 I was paid $12k a year to be a graduate teaching associate at Ohio State. At $12k a year I thought I was living like a fat king. Today that wouldn't even cover my wife's Amazon addiction.
 
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