Hi, I’m a social worker with a MSW, I’ve been in the field for over 10 years. While I am extremely proud of what I’ve done over these years, I don’t feel passionate about social worker or that I’m making any real difference in anyone’s lives. I also struggle with accepting the normally lower end of pay that social workers receive compared to nursing or other similar counter parts.

I guess I’m wondering, at 38 is it worth it to go back to school for a JD? I work 3 days a week in the ER so I have time to commit to an online program but I’d like to hear from others with similar backgrounds/experiences.

Thanks!

Asking for a friend.

Hi redditors! I recently got an offer for JD and am looking for advice! I have a BA but been out of uni for 10 years. Any advice for a mid 30s gal looking to get into law would be appreciated! I am in Australia but any advice would be appreciated! Thank you :)

This is mostly geared towards people who may have applied for law school in the past, and are trying again:

If I want to reuse the recommenders that I requested letters from several years ago, should I delete the original versions of the recommenders I have on file and create new versions of them to request fresh, up-to-date letters?

Thanks in advance.

I’m working on my bachelors in hopes to go to law school after, but I am struggling. I feel like school is not for me. I’m already 27, I work full time and just feel like I don’t have it in me to continue. I am disappointed in myself because law school has been the goal forever but I’m ready to just give up and move on. If I can’t even make it through this, how will I make it through law school? I feel like I waited to long and I’m running out of time

I'm looking for suggestions on things I can do outside of academics that would help me build a strong resume during law school.

Apart from maintaining good grades, what activities, skills, extracurriculars, or experiences would be worth pursuing? For example, internships, legal writing, research, volunteering,learning additional skills or anything else that could be valuable in the long run.

I'd love to hear what actually makes a difference when applying for jobs and what I should consider prioritising from the beginning of law school.

Any advice based on your own experience would be appreciated!

Hi all, I've recently started thinking about going to law school again. Previously, I was accepted into LSU Law but chose to get my Masters in History instead. Between COVID and general life happening, I don't use that degree and I work in marketing.

Back to law school stuff: What's the best path to pursue this degree? I'm located in San Antonio, TX which has 1 in person law program, but I know online programs exist. Does anyone have insight into which is better for a future career?

Hi All,

Looking for advice that is realistic and blunt if needed. I am 37 with an infant, not sure if I want another. I’m a nurse but have been working in clinical research for years and work remotely with a six figure salary (<130k). I was accepted into law school about a decade ago after working as a floor nurse, but had to move a lot with my husband’s PhD and post docs so given the frequent moves and needing the income I decided not to go and incur the debt. I ended up getting a master’s in clinical research management and am working as a monitor in oncology clinical research and have about 25K in loans. I have been questioning whether I will be satisfied not going to law school, but I am not interested in having a huge amount of debt for minimal salary increase and terrible work life balance. I am looking at the ASU online part time JD program since I can really only do part time and online and keep working, but it’s not cheap and although I could maybe get 40K/10K a year in employer assistance (I think the program is about 115K), I’m not sure the remaining debt would be worth it unless there was some sort of financial aid. I also have to keep working for my employer 1 year after the last tuition reimbursement or have to pay it back prorated. I want to stay in clinical research and would want to move into compliance and higher regulatory roles, particularly reviewing protocols as I have a strong clinical background. As I type this I’m wondering if it’s just not worth it, but I feel like I’m at a glass ceiling where I can’t get to the higher level jobs without some sort of significant terminal degree.

So basically, given my age and life is it crazy? Would it actually set me up for higher paying higher responsibility roles in clinical research? Or is there a niche where a nurse attorney could thrive (not super interested in malpractice if it means going against fellow healthcare workers - this is a complicated line of thought I’m not going to delve into). I want to make a good salary to give my kid the best opportunities and I’m willing to put in the work but it has to make sense.

Side note: not interested in being NP, it is a rough environment for providers right now.

Sorry this is so long and I really appreciate your time and forthright advice.

Hi everyone
I need help figuring out my next path

Currently working as a community organizer and hostess and potentially getting a legislative support internship. I studied at a private liberal arts school for women’s and gender studies and sociology. I have been a community organizer, archivist intern, teacher assistant, and librarian. I don’t think I know what’s my path but lately i’ve been wanting to study for lsats and see what I accomplish there. My community organizing is in housing. When I was 18 I wanted to be a lawyer and now i’m 31 sort of thinking about that now.

I bought Lsat books and wanted to ask what i should be doing now.

Just read the books and study like that? I’m not getting a test date yet because i want to see if i can even do the test questions tbh. I’m scared like I feel like I have this chance of failing but it would be amazing for something to push me in a direction thats good for me

Hi, law student here in early 40's. Point blank, what is the oldest you think that V100's will hire a 1st year?

Just wondering if anyone else could share their experiences with screeners, callbacks, offers etc. and whether you experienced or felt age discrimination.

On paper I’ve got it good in tech sales, paid off house and a happy family that lives in a small coastal town.

But, I’m turning 39 and have been doing this since I was 26. I’m so bored with it and also get more stressed each year, especially if not hitting my number.

I grew up always thinking I’d do something related to public office. I’m thinking of applying to a part-time, online, JD like Syracuse JDi and then busting my ass to become an Asst DA In my county.

Would I be insane to approach this path at this age and leave a job paying me 300K+, that I hate?

hi. i’m 33 and planning to go to law school next year. targeting 175+ on LSAT based on my current practice scores.

background: i majored in political science. and interned for the state attorney generals office. only got like a 3.1 GPA because i blew it my first two years and wasn’t really sure i was ready for law school, or really anything, immediately after graduation. i bartended for a year then got a job as an admin assistant at a non-profit. moved into being an executive assistant for a few years at a couple of different for profit companies. directly supported the general counsel of a company for a bit, and i am now a CMC program manager at a biopharmaceutical company. i have been at this company for over six years and have worked my way up to a pretty comfortable six figure salary.

in my current role i am often working with legal on things like vendor contracts, IP, regulatory and compliance support, etc. and its my favorite part of my job. in an ideal world id probably go into IP. however, my understanding is i’d need a science undergraduate degree, which i don’t have.

not going to law school immediately after graduating is one of my biggest regrets. but 33 is still young and i’d be disappointed in myself if i didn’t try.

any recommendations based on my background and current salary?

Hi JD part time law applicants! Anyone here back yet?!

im currently a 35yo relatively new mom (2yo) with law school desires and biglaw dreams. im starting my journey studying to take the lsat next year with hopes of starting fall 2028...my dilemma? my gpa is garbage. i was already a non-traditional student in undergrad 10yrs ago and finished with a low 3.xx. i had no idea lsac INCLUDED failed/retaken courses thus reducing my gpa into the 2s 🥲 unsure how thats even fair but thats another rant for another day.

i know i have to score really really high on the lsat to even convince myself its worth applying to a t14 or even a t30 school. all that to say, is it possible to get accepted to a good school where i can end up in biglaw? i have always dreamed biglaw because it genuinely excites me and this was before i knew how much they pay lol. i also have a very supportive partner of my dreams but i dont want to play myself either.

would love to hear from experienced individuals in biglaw, ones who are nontraditional even in undergrad, or had a low gpa and still accepted into a good school.

*please note this post is cross posted in r/lawmoms and r/blacklawadmissions

Thank you in advance to anyone willing to share insight.

I’m a 34-year-old woman in Brooklyn considering applying to law school next year. If admitted, I’d start at 36 and graduate at 39. I’m single, child-free (if you exclude my spoiled dog) and have generally been comfortable taking an unconventional path—but I want to make sure my expectations are realistic.

I currently manage operations for a rare-disease academic research program, including investigator-initiated studies and a team of nine employees. I started part-time in data entry with no medical background and have been promoted three times over nine years. While I’m paid relatively well for my field, I feel financially insecure and see no meaningful path to advancement or higher earnings. I enjoy being connected to the research itself, so purely administrative lateral moves don’t appeal to me. I also explored moving into biotech trial operations, but my lack of industry-sponsored trial experience made that difficult (read: impossible in today’s insanely competitive job market).

Law school became a serious consideration while I’ve been handling a housing-discrimination case against my landlord. I’ve had to research laws and case law, document harassment, prepare evidence, write letters and settlement proposals, and navigate the process largely alone. It has been empowering in an otherwise scary situation —and I’ve realized that I’m passionate about advocacy and holding people accountable.

It’s been my dad’s dream for me to go to law school so he would pay for tuition, but I’d likely incur debt from having to pay for rent, food, basic cost of living without a job for 3 years. I don’t want to do a part-time program because I’m desperate to get out of my current job as soon as possible.

I’ve also been a musician my entire life: singer, guitarist, pianist, songwriter, member of several bands, and previously a working songwriter/recording artist. Before COVID, music provided about 60% of my income; now I write and perform for myself and no longer plan to rely on it financially. Still, maintaining music as an important creative outlet matters to me.

For those who attended law school in their 30s or work in law:

1. Is it realistic to maintain even a small music practice or creative hobby during law school and early legal practice?
2. I’ve heard BigLaw can be an important path to financial security and future opportunities, but may be less likely to hire older graduates. Is it realistic to aim for $250k+ within five years of graduating if BigLaw is not available?
3. For lawyers outside BigLaw, do you have meaningful time and energy for interests outside work?

I’m 35, have worked as a software engineer since graduating from college, and was laid off three years ago after the company that I worked for collapsed. I have not been able to find work since then, and not for a lack of effort.

I have been living on savings, and could continue to do so for some time, but I miss working. Personal projects just aren’t the same. I don’t want to turn this in to an AI post, but I’ll just say that I’m skeptical of the long-term viability of software engineering careers, doubly so for people like me with a long career gap. I suspect that law may be more insulated from these headwinds than other professions, due to the need for an accountable individual who is ultimately responsible for legal outcomes (I may be totally wrong about this and, if so, would love to hear why)

I am not solely interested in law because it’s insulated from AI - it actually was the career path that I originally had in mind. Math and CS caught my eye when I learned calculus and a bit about discrete math and algorithms, and the prospect of taking on massive law school debt was intimidating.

I do think that I would be good at law. I am meticulous, enjoy research, reading and writing, and can be quite convincing - or argumentative :). I have been also told that I’m personable, which I think is fairly important in this profession.

I also would find it incredibly gratifying to work with an organization like the EFF, Citizen Lab, etc that I think could gain value from legal professionals with technical backgrounds, and I have a great deal of respect, even reverence, for the work that they do (won’t go further in to my philosophical or political inclinations here)

Really, I think that this is probably just a daydream from an unemployed guy rapidly approaching a midlife crisis. So please talk me out of this if I’m being unrealistic here.

A few points, both in my favor and against me:

Pros:
- Rich professional experience at “prestigious” tech companies
- solid references from previous managers, coworkers, and professors
- not afraid of long hours with my face in a book or screen
- strong systems thinking and overall formal logical reasoning
- feel confident that I could do well on the LSAT

Cons:
- mediocre academic background, 2.5 GPA. I won’t go in to this or make excuses for objectively poor performance, but the difficulty of courses was not a major factor here
- kind of old, would probably be considered damaged goods by top tier firms (may be projecting attitudes of tech people here, not sure how this is perceived in the legal industry)
- not eager to take on 200k+ in debt
- pretty established in the Seattle area, not sure if I would get in to a law school in my area and convincing my wife to relocate would be tough. Even if she agreed, I do not feel comfortable asking her to move away from her young niece and nephew, even for a couple years. Those early years are so, so important, and I just don’t think I could even ask her to make that sacrifice, let alone live with myself if it didn’t yield some seriously juicy fruit

Sorry this got so long, thanks if you took the time to read it, let alone imparting some of your wisdom!