Comments on: What I Do For a Living

By: Mar

Mar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:38:48 +0000

… These complaining law students… Are they the same ones banking on being overpaid lawyers upon graduation?

By: Scott Moss

Scott Moss — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:25:04 +0000

What’s always amazed me is that this complaint by law students — “our tuition is too high b/c the professors get paid too much and do too little relevant work” — is equally true of (at least high-profile) colleges. Yet college students don’t levy this complaint — and neither do law students levy this complaint about colleges, even though their 4-yr college tuition was about the same as (or more than) their 3-yr law school tuition.

This leads me to suspect that law students have other reasons for being hostile to their law schools. Why else would they let colleges off the hook but complain so loudly and regularly about law school?

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 06:38:50 +0000

In successful countries, a large number of people are paid for doing what they enjoy doing. Bakers, bankers, teachers, journalists, fire fighters what have you. The concept is not remotely unique to law professors.

By: Jack

Jack — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:31:57 +0000

NE2d,

I'm neither a lawyer nor a law student, so my position might seem strange to a lot of readers here, but I'd have to suggest the crazy idea that law school is optional at best (and for many people the idea of affording a graduate education is iffy or flatly impossible, regardless of abilities or desires). Don't like paying what it costs, leave, do something else. (I'd also guess tuition prices have a lot more to do with the institution than the professors; how likely do you think it is that most of them are seeing the 5% yearly tuition increases that most universities have been averaging over the last decade?)

Back to lurk mode

By: NE2d

NE2d — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 17:46:02 +0000

The “hour a day” was an exaggeration, of course, but I stand by my charge that professors are overpaid and underworked, and live fairly leisurely and privileged lives on the backs of America’s young people. Mr. Lipshaw gets paid for writing that article when his students fork over their tuition checks.

This is a very sore subject for me and I would like to hear the view from the other side, so I’m trying to keep the tone civil.

By: Miriam Cherry

Miriam Cherry — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:47:09 +0000

NE2d, I wonder where you go to school, where the professors work only an hour a day. The faculty at Pacific-McGeorge are a hard working crew. Perhaps you can clue us into where this luxurious lifestyle exists.

By: Jeff Lipshaw

Jeff Lipshaw — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:56:29 +0000

Nate, I think your wife has been talking to my wife. Except when I am beaming with pride for having placed an article, she pops the balloon with “so when do you get paid for the articles?”

By: NE2d

NE2d — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:52:51 +0000

As a 3L who will be in debt for decades for paying the salaries of people who make a comfortable living working an hour a day, I have to say that the reputation that professors have is richly deserved.

By: Brent D

Brent D — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:16:42 +0000

Have no fear, there are far greater wastes of tax money than your profession.