Poll Finds Would-Be Law Students Are Getting the Message About Scarce Jobs
Would-be law students are less optimistic about finding a job after law school and more worried about student debt, according to a new survey.
Sixty-seven percent of surveyed people considering or applying to law school say they are concerned about finding a job after graduation, compared to 63 percent who expressed concern last year, according to the poll (PDF) by Veritas Prep.
At the same time, the number of students who are extremely confident about finding a job is declining. Twenty-six percent of the respondents said they will always be able to find a job if they have a J.D., a drop of nine percentage points from last year. The National Law Journal has a story, while Veritas summarizes the findings in a press release.
Finding a job that would allow payment of student debt was the top concern, expressed by 73 percent of the respondents. Last year, the top concern was finding an appealing long-term career path.
The fears aren’t deterring most of the respondents. Sixty-eight percent said they would still apply to law school now even if a significant number of law school graduates couldn’t find jobs in their desired fields. The percentage is lower than last year, though, when 81 percent said they would still apply in such circumstances.
Veritas Prep conducted its online survey of 148 college graduates and undergraduate students in June and July 2011.
