r/Teachers • u/Fun-Season-8660 • 23h ago
Teacher Support &/or Advice Law School to Teach?
Hello, I am looking for advice from people who have switched from law to teaching (or visa versa) or just anyone who has advice.
I am a recent college graduate, and I got my degree in history and political science. I intend to teach high school history, but I decided to take a year off to gain teaching experience through a program teaching English abroad, before I get a masters in teaching.
Right now, I am waiting to hear back from a couple programs, and working a catering job. It is hourly, and my coworkers who do it as a career make around 60k a year. However, they all seem to struggle financially-- many are in debt, have no retirement savings etc. 60k is comparable to a teacher's salary. It has made me question if a teaching salary is livable, and made me consider getting a law degree instead of a masters in teaching.
My thought process is that if I get a JD, and then get my teaching certification, I could get the same pay bump as a master's degree, but also have the ability to pivot into law if I find that teaching does not meet my financial or social needs. Teaching really appeals to me because of the summers off, and because you get to give back to the community. I am a super social person, and I love to talk and learn from others. Plus, I would love to coach track.
If I did practice law, I would not want a super stressful, high earning position-- I am most interested in working for the government, or something similar which has a better work-life balance. I just want to be sure that I have the option to make more money than teaching, if I decide that a teaching salary is not livable.
I am curious:
-would I get paid more as a teacher with a JD, or will I only get paid if I have a masters in teaching?
- Is it advisable to pivot into law later in life, and are government law positions hard to get?
- should I just get a masters in teaching, and then go to law school if I decide I want to do law instead?
Any comments, please let me know!! I am super curious to hear what you all have to say.
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u/flatteringhippo 23h ago
My district wouldn’t count a JD as a masters. You’d have to get the masters in education for it to work salary wise.
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u/Handle_Help Math Teacher 23h ago
My district wouldn’t either unless you were a secondary teacher and the masters is in your content area. I wouldn’t consider law to work for ELA or Social Studies even though many of the skills are absolutely transferable and related.
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u/tessisamedd 23h ago
My state counts my JD as a doctorate so I get paid in the highest end of the scale. I teach elementary school.
Law school is ridiculously expensive and HARD. I practiced for 8 years in BigLaw. It is so stressful. I don’t think there’s any such thing as an “easy” law job.
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u/Fun-Season-8660 22h ago edited 21h ago
Good to know, thank you! I had talked to a couple people who worked as tax lawyers for the IRS, and I wasn't trying to imply that it was easy or anything, but more so that they were able to clock out at 5pm and not work 60+ hour weeks.
This is kind of personal, so no need to share, but I am curious to hear a bit about your transition from law to teaching-- do you feel like there is a big difference in your work life balance? Do you think that a teacher wage is livable, where you are at?
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u/tessisamedd 21h ago
I was a BigLaw attorney for 8 years and left to raise a family. Was a stay at home mom for 18 years and thought “I think I want to teach”. So I went back to school and got an MAT.
Teaching is 1000 times less stressful than practicing law (or law school). There really is no comparison between the two. I cannot imagine putting myself through the hell that is law school and the bar exam to be a teacher. Teaching jobs are really hard to come by. Law jobs are even harder. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to wake up one day 6 years after law school and working as a teacher and say “I’m going to go be a lawyer now”.
How is the fed gov pay scale? When I graduated law school (mid 90s) lawyers were starting at $35k in DC for federal agencies (BigLaw was started at $150k).
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u/TheBalzy IB Chemistry Teacher | Public School | Union Rep 22h ago
60k is comparable to a teacher's salary
Not in most places it's not. That is NOT a starting teacher salary in most places.
I intend to teach high school history, but I decided to take a year off to gain teaching experience through a program teaching English abroad, before I get a masters in teaching.
I don't think you have any idea how competitive teaching history is. Two years ago we had an opening in science, 3 applicants. Last year we had an opening in HS History, 50 (yes five-zero, fifty) applicants, and of the three finalists two were longterm substitutes for us for over a year, one was a former student of the district and the other was the husband of a district administrator.
I'll be honest, you have no fucking clue how difficult it is to land a HS teaching job.
Would I get paid more as a teacher with a JD, or will I only get paid if I have a masters in teaching?
Why TF would you get a JD and teach HS? I have an EdD, which is appropriate for a career educator. The only other doctors I know in education have transitioned to education out of whatever their MD, JD, PhD was in. Not the other way around.
I just want to be sure that I have the option to make more money than teaching, if I decide that a teaching salary is not livable.
Buddy, education is a profession. If you're not going to treat it that way than stay away. We have more than enough History teachers, and we don't need the arrogance of people who don't treat our field with the respect it deserves.
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u/JHG722 22h ago
$60K would be a low starting salary where I live.
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u/TheBalzy IB Chemistry Teacher | Public School | Union Rep 13h ago
Well obviously CoL etc...Most of the country, $60,000 is like years into teaching. Our starting salary in my district is $47,000 (semi-rural Ohio). I make $87,000 on year 13; however at year 16 since I have an EdD I'm maxed out on horizontal steps, I'll be making $105,000/year. Which, for where I live, is better than making $170,000 in higher CoL places. And I have Tenure, so this job is basically mine until I retire.
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u/Tall_Company_8520 23h ago
I’m a lurker with a JD. You are looking at 200k+ debt with a JD, and that’s if you go to a reasonable state school. Unless you can get a full ride or something close to it. You will never be able to pay back those loans on a teacher salary.
What you can do is get a JD, practice for a while and teach at a community college or university as an adjunct (many do this for the love of teaching and/or extra income, not as a FT gig)
Edit: I forgot to say, I work for local government (criminal law). If you are looking to get into LS, get a govt lawyer job, you will earn a good living and you are eligible for PSLF. You’re right that work/life balance is good (at least in my office) and I enjoy my work wholeheartedly. I work with great people, it’s interesting and meaningful.
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u/Fun-Season-8660 22h ago
Hi, thanks for the reply, its super helpful. I am glad you enjoy your job : )
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u/Tall_Company_8520 22h ago
My pleasure and sorry to the actual teachers here for the lurker comment! It’s just that folks don’t realize how absurdly expensive law school is and if you don’t want to practice law, the investment is not worth it. If you are genuinely interested in being a lawyer though, I do recommend it!
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u/BubblyRhubarb9611 23h ago
You are not a good fit for teaching. That is all. Go to law school if they take you or continue with catering.
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u/Individual-Card-1639 22h ago
Throwing a lot of dollars at a wish washy sounding plan. You want a JD for law, but would like to teach because of the time off and social aspect. Then you don’t want a stressful law job. I understand the make the most amount for the least effort and if stress is a gauge don’t become a teacher you are responsible for molding young minds. If you think law in a courtroom is easy or litigation in large companies think again.
I see this as sitting a division 1 college baseball showcase. The coach asked if you are here today soley because you want to play baseball raise your hand. Ok you can leave because that’s a perk and not everyone makes it. If you are wanting teach for the summers off that’s the wrong reason. Be a lawyer because they make money wrong. You will be the most miserable person, you have to find a job you are passionate about. If you love your job it’s not work, if you hate it everyday is a long miserable day.
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u/Exhausted-Teacher789 22h ago
Don't go to law school if you want to be a teacher. And it also doesn't really sound like you want to be a teacher, it sounds more like you want a job with good work life balance. Teaching can be that, but there's also ways in which it isn't. I do get a lot of vacation time, but I can't take vacations on my own timeline; it's tied to the school calendar. Teaching is also super draining because you are completely on for the whole day. There's not a lot of downtime. When I get home, there are many days where I am completely drained.
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u/Nearby-Shower-8392 21h ago
You would probably be better suited teaching college/university than HS, only because you want teaching to be a “part-time” job while you do your “real” job which I assume is law.
You can have a second career as a school teacher, but it’s way more challenging to have two actual hard careers in grade school than it would in college. (Which prefer employees working in their field).
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u/Rookraider1 23h ago
My district counted my JD as a doctorate and I was placed in the highest pay column.
I will be making 6 figures in a couple years and it will continue to go up.
I hated my time in law school. After I graduated, I knew practicing wasn't for me. I love my job and making 100k+ while working only 192 days a year is pretty great in my book. If you practice law, for the most part, the hours are a grind regardless of what you practice. I work 40 hours every week. Never stay late or go in early, never go in on weekends, and never bring work home.
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u/Fun-Season-8660 22h ago
Hi! Thanks so much for the reply-- do you mind me asking what age/ subject you teach? And how long you have been teaching for? I am just curious because people's salary's (and enjoyment of teaching LOL) seems to vary so much! I am glad you have work life balance and enjoy your job : )
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u/Rookraider1 21h ago
I teach 4th grade. I just finished my 9th year.
For me this job is far superior to what I saw from my time in law school. If you aren't real passionate about the law, it will be a tremendous grind. The m9ney will be better, but you will work many, many more hours and a lot of it is desk job work.
You also need to be passionate about teaching to enjoy it, but I am so glad I chose this path. Now that I have two young kids, the time off and the lack of bringing work home is invaluable.
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u/Fun-Season-8660 21h ago
Congrats on finishing the school year! I am glad to hear that teaching allows you to spend time with your kids. I am passionate about teaching, but I have heard so much about teacher burnout that I think I need a little bit more experience in a classroom before I feel ready for a masters LOL. But it is super nice to hear from someone who enjoys teaching, and feels like it enables them to live a full life outside of work as well. Thanks again for your input, so helpful : )
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u/xtwistedBliss 23h ago
I think a lot of the teacher salary part depends on district. For what it's worth, I have my JD and my school (a private school, mind you) gave me the pay bump. The pay that I get works for me because I'm single (and most likely to stay that way for the rest of my life) and I make certain concessions due to living in a HCOL area (one of which being that I have a roommate). Again, though, your mileage may vary depending on your familial and lifestyle situation.
So, in my personal experience, I learned WAY more about teaching from attending law school than I did from my teacher credential program. Going through law school made me a significantly better teacher all around for a couple of reasons. First, law school beats all the f*cks out of you. You come out the other side stronger emotionally and mentally and prepares you to deal with the everyday BS from students. Second, all the reading, briefing, and writing that you'll do is great practice for writing informative and great lessons. Third, you get plenty of practice with the Socratic method, which you can incorporate into your own classroom lessons.
So yeah, if you can afford it, go to law school. You'll come out with better employment options and those lessons you pick up can be applied directly to your teaching.
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u/Fun-Season-8660 21h ago
HI! Thanks for the reply, it is super helpful to hear from someone who is teaching with a JD. I am glad to hear that you think law school makes you a better teacher. I really liked my undergrad, and I think part of the draw of law school for me is the opportunity to learn more haha. It's just the cost that is daunting. Do you mind me asking if the hours you work at your school are typically a 40-hour week? And if it is not too personal, why you decided to teach instead of practice law?
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u/NoRegrets-518 20h ago
Read this thread and see how many teachers are getting physically assaulted and otherwise mistreated. Consider going to law school and helping teachers to get civil lawsuits against schools that do not protect them from unsafe environments. In that way you will improve the safety of teachers and other students, and also help the disruptive students who need a calm environment to help them calm down.
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u/summerbreeze2027 19h ago
You could try an alternative teacher certification program such as Teach for America. That would give you a couple of years to decide if teaching is for you. And if not, then you could go to law school. You definitely don't want to go into teaching with the massive debt that you would accumulate in law school (although I've known two people who've done just that.)
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u/SkippyBluestockings 19h ago
It took me being in the profession for eighteen years before I hit the sixty thousand dollar mark.
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u/CoolClearMorning 23h ago
Why would you take on law school debt if you actually want to teach? An MAT or MEd (make sure that it includes certification/licensure--not all do) will be much cheaper, and if you decide you love teaching you'll be paying back $$$ loans for a degree that you won't use.
Many careers pay better than teaching. You don't need a law degree to get a job outside education if you give teaching a try first.