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Summary: An information-packed tome written for only for lawyers.
Review: Deborah Arron covers career assessement, career change, issues and concerns unique to lawyers. I read her book and didn't feel so alone when I finally admitted to myself I didn't want to practice law after three years of law school and $X in student loans. After thoroughly covering psychological issues specific to attorneys considering transitions to non-traditional careers, Arron provides effective assessments to determine a new direction. The final chapters teach exactly how to obtain that new career, including cover letter and resume tips. Arron's book also helps attorneys who want to continue to practice law, but in a different way. Buying "What Can You Do With A Law Degree" is among the best investments I've made.
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Summary: Ignore the bad reviews
Review: Having been out there with a law degree looking for a job I know how unrealistic the book's suggestions are. My suggestion, if you want to make money don't become a lawyer. Instead of that law degree go to pharmacy school, business school, medical school, etc. Having a law degree prepares you for being a lawyer and that's all. And lawyers are a dime a dozen. Maybe you'll be one of the luck ones, out there making six figures. More likely you'll be sweating away in some law firm, working 80 hours a week for $35,000 a year.
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Summary: The BEST career change book for lawyers--a must read
Review: I am a career counseler at a law school in Chicago, and I used Ms. Arron's book about a year ago to decide what career I should pursue when I left the practice of law. I bought other career-change books and found none of them to be as useful as this one. I knew I wanted to stop practicing law, but was completely lost as to what career I wanted to pursue next. I kept dragging my feet because I felt so unsure of what awaited me. As soon as I started reading Ms. Arron's book, I instantly felt that she understood exactly what I was going through. Doing the self-assessment exercises really brought me a lot of clarity, and helped me decide what career I wanted to pursue next. Her book also contains an abundance of valuable resources which I used to research my options. By the time I applied for my job as a career counselor, I felt 100% ready to leave the practice of law and very excited about embarking on my new career. I had a much better understanding of my strengths, weaknesses, and values than I ever had before. Without this book, however, I think I would still be unhappily practicing law (or worse yet, that I would have left the practice of a law for a job that suited me even less than being an attorney). I recommend this book to all the law school alums I counsel with respect to career change issues, and I have also recommended it to several laywer friends of mine who are struggling with the question of whether they should continue practicing law. Everyone I know who has read the book has enjoyed it as much as I have and found it to be just as useful. It is, without a doubt, the best career-change handbook for lawyers.
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Summary: This book was overly simplistic and had little good advice.
Review: I could sum this book up in eight words:
So you didn't like law school? Try teaching.
There I just saved you the time of ordering and reading it. This book was a typical one of those books you see in a public library with really basic common sense ideas and little insight.
Rating:
Summary: This book was overly simplistic and had little good advice.
Review: I could sum this book up in eight words:
So you didn't like law school? Try teaching.
There I just saved you the time of ordering and reading it. This book was a typical one of those books you see in a public library with really basic common sense ideas and little insight.
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Summary: WHAT ARE THESE OTHER REVIEWERS TALKING ABOUT?
Review: I have copies of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and now 5th editions of this book and it keeps getting better. I provide career guidance for lawyers and sent in a review of the 4th because I and so many of my clients found it very helpful. I'm pleased to continue to recommend it and find that all of the strengths of previous editions remain, accompanied by some invaluable additions such as realistic advice about an on-line job search. This book can be read cover to cover but it's also accessible and effective in pieces and in any order. This book is a tremendous resource for those who are seeking answers to their own career dilemmas but it is no substitute for the hard work and introspection that must accompany this process. If you're not ready to do the work you probably won't like the book. If you are a lawyer who really wants to explore change, it's the best publication available.
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Summary: The best book of its kind out there
Review: I have looked through practically every book on career change/transition for lawyers, and generally found them totally lacking in concrete advice as to lawyer-specific issues, self-assessment and options. This book not only hits the nail on the head as to reasons for dissatisfaction with the law, but offers sound ways to evaluate possibilities for change, both inside and outside the law, in terms of one's personal interests. And the examples of people who did make changes are very inspirational. The resources offered are the most comprehensive I've seen. Very valuable. If, as a lawyer, you question the path you are pursuing, this book will make you feel less alone in the process.
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Summary: A Classic Keeps Getting Better
Review: In 1997, I reviewed the third edition of this book for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. (see www.counseltocounsel.com/career/alternat.htm) Since that time, I have recommended this book to hundreds of lawyers who are looking for more career satisfaction. The 5th Edition of the book is yet another improvement to what is already the classic text for lawyers who are questioning their career choices. No single book can provide all the answers; but this is a great place to start. The 5th edition adds more internet resources and provides additional articles to help lawyers better understand their own likes and dislikes.
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Summary: Ignore the bad reviews
Review: Some of the people who have given this book negative reviews are obviously not the target audience for the book. This is NOT for law students looking for a job or for certain types of lawyers. This is for lawyers who are dissatisfied in their careers and are looking at career transition. For the target audience, this book in invaluable. Deborah Arron really understands the issues involved and helps navigate the reader through the problems with letting go of a bad situation, finding ideas for next steps and getting to a solution. There is no other book on the market that addresses these issues in the way this one does. I can't understand why people who aren't the target audience feel the need to trash the book publicly.
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