Did you know that a lawyer can earn as much as $120,910 per year?
If you want to give your salary a boost, you may want to become a lawyer.
But while you may like the idea of being a lawyer, you probably have no idea how you can get started. What kind of degrees do you need? Do you need to take any special exams?
Read on to learn about the basic steps associated with becoming a lawyer. Make it to the end, and you’ll know what you’ll need to do to get your first job as a lawyer.
Let’s begin!
Get an Undergraduate Degree
Law schools will only consider you if you have an undergraduate degree of some sort. For the most part, the actual subject matter isn’t too much of an issue. You just need to ensure you achieve a GPA that’s higher than 3.0.
Pass Your LSAT and Get a Law Degree
Once you’ve obtained your undergraduate degree, you can then apply to a law school.
To do this, you’ll need to complete something known as an LSAT, otherwise known as a “Law School Admission Test.” Once you’ve passed this test, you can then start applying to schools that offer law degrees.
Pass the MPRE and Bar Exam
Upon completing your law degree, you then need to pass a set of exams, before you can actually work as a lawyer.
The first exam is the ‘MPRE,’ which stands for “Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.” The purpose of this exam is to test your knowledge regarding legal ethics.
The second exam you need to pass is the “Bar Exam.” The purpose of this exam is to test your knowledge of the law, and during the test, you will need to answer questions based on specific scenarios.
Applying to Jobs
Before applying, you may want to ask someone to look over your resume, to make sure it looks good. Ideally, you’ll want to ask some fellow attorneys as they’ll know what to look out for.
There’s a lot of competition, and you might struggle when applying to some of the larger law firms.
Because of this, you might want to apply to a local law firm instead. You can find local law firms by performing a quick Google search.
If you live in Cedar Rapids, you might search “attorneys Cedar Rapids.” You may also want to find law firms that employ alumni from your college.
These people will likely give you some of their time because you share something in common. If you contact these individuals, they may be able to tell you about any opportunities they’re aware of.
Becoming a Lawyer: Is It Easy?
At this point, you’d probably agree that becoming a lawyer isn’t an easy thing to do. After all, there are many exams to take, and the process can take many years.
It’s because of this that you need to think hard about your decision before you go down this route. If you don’t think it through, you may end up wasting a lot of time and money.
Of course, if this is something you want, there’s no doubt that this path can transform your life, provided you put in the work.
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