US News & World Report used to be a news magazine. Nowadays it is primarily a propaganda organ for the higher education industry, in particular, the law school education industry cartel.
US News has recently put out some self-serving, mealy-mouthed propaganda about how the law schools need to be more forthcoming and transparent with their use of employment stats. Ya don't say?
Here is my response to that propaganda:
don't believe a word us news says.
Same for the aba and the nalp and the law schools.
these entities all work hand in hand together to fleece these naive, young kids.
the law school industry is a 3 billion a year income machine. And those at the top of this law school industry make very handsome salaries, and they will do almost anything to keep the $$ rolling in.
For example, the us news law school propaganda outlet has long ranked law schools in multiple tiers: 1st tier, 2nd tier, 3rd tier, and finally 4th.
Been that way for many years.
Well, as the number of law school grads has increased over the past few years, and as the number of lawyer jobs going overseas has increased, and as the number of law jobs here in america has decreased, it has become increasingly apparent that the job and income numbers used by the cartel were fake, and that these false employment stats were simply used to entice us to sign those student loans.
As a result an online coalition of new lawyers has formed (we call ourselves the lawyers against the law school scam), and we have spoken out against the law school education cartel.
One of the ways that we lawyers online have fought back against the cartel is to create our own buzz words and phrases to show the truth behind the 'law school scam.'
One such phrase we created was "third tier toilet." That phrase captures the truth behind the fact that most of the grads from lower ranked law schools (i.e., the law schools in the third and fourth us new tiers) are doomed, that they have wasted several years of their lives, put themselves into huge debt, and come away with nothing to show for it. Just like me.
The phrase 'third tier toilet' and its shorthand version 'TTT' caught on big online.
And how did the law school cartel (the law schools, the NALP and US News) react to our use of 'third tier toilet'?
They eliminated the tiers. Gone are the tiers. They did an end-run around our use of TTT (third tier toilet) by eliminating the third tier and all the rest of the tiers. Now US News simply has ranked and unranked schools.
Big change from many, many years of having tiers. Now the phrase 'third tier toilet' has little meaning. And that was the intent of US News.
US News works hand in hand with the rest of the law school industry to keep those 3 billion dollars of student loans rolling in.
To find out more about the law school scam, google the phrase "law school scam."
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Wow. At least it shows they are paying attention. The thing is, the numbers don't lie- and this debt is not worth it for these schools, if any school. It shows what pigs they are and how they are deliberately trying to deceive people. Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteEver since I stumbled over this blog, I've been reading it and others on the same subject. While I'm not as familiar with the situation for law students and lawyers, what I'm reading bears remarkable similarities to the situation for students pursuing both undergraduate and advanced degrees in any number of areas.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, I think it's wholly unethical for any but the top handful of programs to issue PhDs in areas like English, Comparative Literature, Philosophy and History. The job market for PhDs in those areas has been glutted for about 40 years, yet mid- and lower-tier programs continue to churn out graduates. In fact, in one recent year, the CUNY Graduate Center conferred more PhDs in English and Comparative Literature than there were openings in the entire US in those fields. You have a better chance of becoming a rap star than a tenured English professor, no matter how good you are.
And, recently, CUNY's York College and the Graduate Center started programs in Journalism. I know a number of journalists, some with more than a decade of experience, who were forced out of their profession because of shrinkage. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there are more journalism professors than people actually making their livings from journalism. For every big-name news anchor, there are hundreds, if not thousands, who are scraping by on free-lance assignments or who are working in, or have returned to school, in other fields.
But I think that in some ways, the situation in law schools is even more exploitative and simply disgusting. At least, when I was in graduate school, I had an assistantship and was able to supplement that meager income by working as an adjunct in another nearby university and doing some free-lance work. Law students really don't have those options and, as any number of disgruntled law graduates have pointed out, they really can't work in other areas because there is little, if any, sympathy for lawyers.
US News used to be a great magazine until it discovered how much money it could make prostituting itself to higher education providers. I stopped getting it in the early nineties because the stories it was covering were boring. I read The Atlantic Monthly now, and it is no coincidence that The Atlantic Monthly is much more honest about the real value of a college education in its articles on the subject and the fact that the magazine is worth subscribing to. Honest journalism is always interesting (probably because it is so rare).
ReplyDeleteJune 10, 2011 11:00 AM:
ReplyDeleteGood comments Justine.
What makes the law degree UNIQUE among the graduate degrees is its explicit downside. No other degree is actually hated by people outside the field. If a kid with a graduate degree in Art History is applying for a job in sales, or as an insurance adjustor, for example, he will not be held up to scorn, ridicule and derision, even suspicion, as will the JD person. Outside law, employers affirmatively HATE law degrees, and are highly suspicious of anyone with a law degree/law license "choosing" to not engage in what they see is the "lucrative" practice of law. Americans know only what they see on tv, and believe all lawyers are wealthy and powerful people. Such employers won't hold an advanced English Literature degree against someone, but they sure hate that JD.
That is what makes the law degree a dangerous investment. It is an absolute ball and chain.
Check out my earlier post, where I flushed Bob Morse's face and ass down the commode:
ReplyDeletehttp://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2011/03/taking-ball-shrinkage-disorder-to.html
In the end, this "man" would rather see students take out $130K to attend fourth tier trash pits such as TTTThoma$ Jeffer$on $chool of Law than refer to these advertisers as fourth tier.
Third tier toilet is actually misleading, as it implies that 2nd and low end first tier schools are fine. I'm glad that phrase is being retired.
ReplyDeleteI found this by accident. I was looking for the oldest law student in the U.S. I'm an unemployed college grad and thought that maybe law school, even a bad one, would help increase my chances of getting a job. Reading this jogged my memory about something that happened about 10 years ago. I was working in a 7-11 in Williamsburg, VA. A young man came in smiling from ear to ear. He had just graduated from William and Mary. He proudly announced "I'm a Doctor of Jurisprudence!" Then, he gazed around the store and said "Now, all I have to do is find a job." I was shocked. While I can imagine a worthless Liberal Arts graduate with no connections working at a 7-11 (alongside a fellow who had a Master's Degree in music from William and Mary), I could not imagine a lawyer being out of work. I thought lawyers got snatched up for jobs in their second year. I'm astonished at the thought of a homeless lawyer! You have opened my eyes and made me think. What can be done other than exposing the fact that many of you are out of jobs and preventing future mistakes for those considering law school? Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteI just checked out the cost of attending William and Mary law school. It's $42,000 per year and that's not all inclusive. It obviously doesn't cover what it actually costs to live because it lists living expenses at $14,400. Presumably, that is supposed to include food, shelter, clothing, transportation, medical, dental, a social life of some sort once in a while and the bag of chips. This is crazy!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that a JD is a ball and chain/scarlet letter for lawyers trying to find non-legal work. Prior to law school, everyone told me a law degree would "open a lot of doors." As I told a fellow unhappy lawyer just last week, the only door it opened is the door to my creativity because I am constantly trying to think of new ways to hide my law degree from prospective employers.
ReplyDeleteJoin me in reporting these criminal to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It seems that many of our esteemed professors and deans have engaged in mail fraud.
ReplyDeletehttps://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/mailfraudcomplaint.aspx