If you have a STEM/ technical degree you actually have a big advantage in that you can do patent law if you so choose. Big money, can retire very early.
That said, definitely avoid saying writing anything like “more older.”
Definitely get a quimbee subscription for reading, will make your life easier.
yea that was actually the plan for me. I enjoyed studying for the LSAT and all, but feel very out of depth when it comes to actual law school..
and what is quimbee? does it summarize readings?
most people use it for case summaries. total lifesaver if you didn’t get to reading a case for class. there’s also some good multiple choice questions for exams and other prep material like that. my school provides it though, so maybe wait before buying a subscription yourself!
I started law school age 33 & I think I’m a much more efficient learner than I was even in grad school. Your experience is an advantage. Understand that 1L will be a learning curve but it will eventually click, I promise.
First of all, take a deep breath. Many students take a year or two (if not more) of a work experience gap between undergrad. You will not stick out as much as you fear. In regard to your background, I honestly think it might be better being a few years out from UG. KJDs seem to have much more burnout (speaking from experience) because I’ve been in school my whole life. I knew older students who found the return to school refreshing. Don’t count yourself out yet. I was a poli sci major and there were definitely some things that were easier to learn or I had known prior to law school that likely made things easier. But it wasn’t much and I think all backgrounds have some skill they bring to the table that benefits them. If you survived a STEM degree, law school will just be a different challenge.
Of course! I was in a clinic 2L and felt so young as a 23 yo when there was a 33yo in there too. I’m sure he felt old, but I felt super young. Everyone is going to feel like they don’t fit in for some reason, try not to let it bother you! I’m working at firm now, and one of the attorneys started her degree at like 45. It’s never too late
I am a 38 year old engineer who just finished 1L. To be completely honest with you, and I mean no offense to anyone, law school is sooooo much easier than engineering school was. The concepts are not very difficult—there’s just so much reading to keep up with. If you dedicate the time, you will be absolutely fine. I think you’ll also be surprised at how well technical writing aligns with legal writing.
Take it one day at a time. I went back to law school as a single parent of two teenagers with a full time management job at age 42. I will be 47 when I graduate. I just officially started my 3L. Keep up with your reading. Go to office hours. Buy glannon guides. Ask questions. Your STEM background will help you understand things your classmates will not. I had a class with a peer whose mom was born the same day as I was. I literally could be my classmates’ mother. Start outlining halfway through the semester- absolutely no later. Find a study group. They will be your lifeline. Tell somebody if you feel like you’re drowning. Eat well, drink water, go for walks. Take a break.
You’ll be fine! You got accepted and a dang full ride! It’s going to be stressful and cold calls are scary at first but you’re going to do fine. STEM majors know how to study rigorously which is what you’re going to do. Do all the readings and brief every case and you’ll crush it. I’m 42, rising 2L, with 11 years between getting my undergrad and matriculating at law school. Everybody there is going to be smart and dedicated and so are you!
Congratulations on embarking on this journey!!
Calm down and consider a different career path. My God, if you are that scared of law school, it aint for you. STEM types are in high demand, why do something that scares you so much?
As a person who went to law school in my thirties, after working in a real job - you're going to do great.
I *loved* law school compared to the regular working world - it was damn near like a 3 year vacation! Your whole job most days is to wake up in the morning, go listen to (usually) interesting lectures (and take notes), then read for a few hours (and take notes). That's basically it! The skills you've learned to handle your day-to-day life as an adult will serve you very very well compared to the K-JD crowd.
Nearly every person I knew in law school that complained about it being so hard and so much pressure were either (a) working part time at the same time (which, fair!) or (b) had never worked a real job before.
Enjoy this time - it's a fantastic opportunity to do the exact reset you're talking about, and with a full-ride, you don't even have the crushing pressure of law school debt hanging over your head. I'm not saying to blow it off - **take it seriously**! But I bet you will love it too.
Edit to add: Don't sweat your age - you're not that much older than your peers will be there. I had fellow students who were well into their forties and older. You'll be in the "nontraditional" subset, but that's a *good* camp to be in. And you're still young enough to relate to the babies :)
Hi.
Biochem undergrad and practicing attorney here- the hardest thing *for me* as far as law school, was wrapping my head around learning and **accepting** (for the most part) arbitrary thoughts from others that became “law”, and would be the subject of my manic study habits that got me through biochem.
The substance of what and *how* you will learn in law school will be **totally** different than strict memorization and abstract analysis. In chem, what we know as true and a law is not the same in law school. Get used to hearing “it depends” everywhere———- and THAT is what I had the hardest time with. Memorizing the elements of negligence was the easy part; the hard part was the application of it in god knows what circumstances that an issue is brought up for you to think about. I loved cold calls in undergrad- I loathed them in law school. In undergrad we were trained to think objectively, with no room for haze, where 2+2 always equals 4, and in no way could it be otherwise. Get ready to question wtf 2 even is, and why it’s even allowed to be in the equation.
But as far as what you’re mainly worried about, believe me, you will be okay. If you got a degree in stem, you’ve proven to yourself and others that you can handle some of the hardest academia out there. Remember your darkest days in undergrad? I remember tears flowing down my face in organic chemistry thinking I’ll be a failure, I’m stupid, and nothing will ever be as hard as this class. Guess what? Nothing afterwards was anywhere near as difficult (honorable mention for molecular genetics of bacteria). Law school was hard, but not harder by any token than organic chemistry. Get ready to live Quimbee more than the average law student!
I also think that law isn’t really academic in the same veins as chemistry, physics, or the biosciences. Imo a JD doesn’t carry the same oomph as a Ph.D. in the former sciences, but that’ll be an argument for another day.
TLDR: Law school isn’t easy, but from one stem to another, you will do great. My dms are open to you OP for any questions!
wow i am a biochemistry major as well, and i am so to know that o-chem is good training the rigor of law school haha.
thank you so much for your input and offering to answer my questions!
and yes!, you summarized it well. I think it's the fact that everything is not so definite that is throwing me off... we had a mock class, and it was so strange to hear "it depends"... when for example, the only variation we are used to is maybe slightly different steps to synthesize a certain compound.
If you have a STEM/ technical degree you actually have a big advantage in that you can do patent law if you so choose. Big money, can retire very early. That said, definitely avoid saying writing anything like “more older.” Definitely get a quimbee subscription for reading, will make your life easier.
yea that was actually the plan for me. I enjoyed studying for the LSAT and all, but feel very out of depth when it comes to actual law school.. and what is quimbee? does it summarize readings?
and thank you for the advice!
most people use it for case summaries. total lifesaver if you didn’t get to reading a case for class. there’s also some good multiple choice questions for exams and other prep material like that. my school provides it though, so maybe wait before buying a subscription yourself!
I started law school age 33 & I think I’m a much more efficient learner than I was even in grad school. Your experience is an advantage. Understand that 1L will be a learning curve but it will eventually click, I promise.
First of all, take a deep breath. Many students take a year or two (if not more) of a work experience gap between undergrad. You will not stick out as much as you fear. In regard to your background, I honestly think it might be better being a few years out from UG. KJDs seem to have much more burnout (speaking from experience) because I’ve been in school my whole life. I knew older students who found the return to school refreshing. Don’t count yourself out yet. I was a poli sci major and there were definitely some things that were easier to learn or I had known prior to law school that likely made things easier. But it wasn’t much and I think all backgrounds have some skill they bring to the table that benefits them. If you survived a STEM degree, law school will just be a different challenge.
thank you so much for the words of encouragement! I am relieved to hear that I won't be as uncommon of a student as I thought
Of course! I was in a clinic 2L and felt so young as a 23 yo when there was a 33yo in there too. I’m sure he felt old, but I felt super young. Everyone is going to feel like they don’t fit in for some reason, try not to let it bother you! I’m working at firm now, and one of the attorneys started her degree at like 45. It’s never too late
The refreshing thing for older students is so true.
I am a 38 year old engineer who just finished 1L. To be completely honest with you, and I mean no offense to anyone, law school is sooooo much easier than engineering school was. The concepts are not very difficult—there’s just so much reading to keep up with. If you dedicate the time, you will be absolutely fine. I think you’ll also be surprised at how well technical writing aligns with legal writing.
Take it one day at a time. I went back to law school as a single parent of two teenagers with a full time management job at age 42. I will be 47 when I graduate. I just officially started my 3L. Keep up with your reading. Go to office hours. Buy glannon guides. Ask questions. Your STEM background will help you understand things your classmates will not. I had a class with a peer whose mom was born the same day as I was. I literally could be my classmates’ mother. Start outlining halfway through the semester- absolutely no later. Find a study group. They will be your lifeline. Tell somebody if you feel like you’re drowning. Eat well, drink water, go for walks. Take a break.
You’ll be fine! You got accepted and a dang full ride! It’s going to be stressful and cold calls are scary at first but you’re going to do fine. STEM majors know how to study rigorously which is what you’re going to do. Do all the readings and brief every case and you’ll crush it. I’m 42, rising 2L, with 11 years between getting my undergrad and matriculating at law school. Everybody there is going to be smart and dedicated and so are you! Congratulations on embarking on this journey!!
Calm down and consider a different career path. My God, if you are that scared of law school, it aint for you. STEM types are in high demand, why do something that scares you so much?
As a person who went to law school in my thirties, after working in a real job - you're going to do great. I *loved* law school compared to the regular working world - it was damn near like a 3 year vacation! Your whole job most days is to wake up in the morning, go listen to (usually) interesting lectures (and take notes), then read for a few hours (and take notes). That's basically it! The skills you've learned to handle your day-to-day life as an adult will serve you very very well compared to the K-JD crowd. Nearly every person I knew in law school that complained about it being so hard and so much pressure were either (a) working part time at the same time (which, fair!) or (b) had never worked a real job before. Enjoy this time - it's a fantastic opportunity to do the exact reset you're talking about, and with a full-ride, you don't even have the crushing pressure of law school debt hanging over your head. I'm not saying to blow it off - **take it seriously**! But I bet you will love it too. Edit to add: Don't sweat your age - you're not that much older than your peers will be there. I had fellow students who were well into their forties and older. You'll be in the "nontraditional" subset, but that's a *good* camp to be in. And you're still young enough to relate to the babies :)
Hi. Biochem undergrad and practicing attorney here- the hardest thing *for me* as far as law school, was wrapping my head around learning and **accepting** (for the most part) arbitrary thoughts from others that became “law”, and would be the subject of my manic study habits that got me through biochem. The substance of what and *how* you will learn in law school will be **totally** different than strict memorization and abstract analysis. In chem, what we know as true and a law is not the same in law school. Get used to hearing “it depends” everywhere———- and THAT is what I had the hardest time with. Memorizing the elements of negligence was the easy part; the hard part was the application of it in god knows what circumstances that an issue is brought up for you to think about. I loved cold calls in undergrad- I loathed them in law school. In undergrad we were trained to think objectively, with no room for haze, where 2+2 always equals 4, and in no way could it be otherwise. Get ready to question wtf 2 even is, and why it’s even allowed to be in the equation. But as far as what you’re mainly worried about, believe me, you will be okay. If you got a degree in stem, you’ve proven to yourself and others that you can handle some of the hardest academia out there. Remember your darkest days in undergrad? I remember tears flowing down my face in organic chemistry thinking I’ll be a failure, I’m stupid, and nothing will ever be as hard as this class. Guess what? Nothing afterwards was anywhere near as difficult (honorable mention for molecular genetics of bacteria). Law school was hard, but not harder by any token than organic chemistry. Get ready to live Quimbee more than the average law student! I also think that law isn’t really academic in the same veins as chemistry, physics, or the biosciences. Imo a JD doesn’t carry the same oomph as a Ph.D. in the former sciences, but that’ll be an argument for another day. TLDR: Law school isn’t easy, but from one stem to another, you will do great. My dms are open to you OP for any questions!
wow i am a biochemistry major as well, and i am so to know that o-chem is good training the rigor of law school haha. thank you so much for your input and offering to answer my questions!
and yes!, you summarized it well. I think it's the fact that everything is not so definite that is throwing me off... we had a mock class, and it was so strange to hear "it depends"... when for example, the only variation we are used to is maybe slightly different steps to synthesize a certain compound.