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The Ugly Truth about Employment Statistics

First, a confession: I graduated from Boalt in May 2010, and I am unemployed. I got good grades. I have a solid resume. I was Editor-in-Chief of a Journal. I was on the AAJ Trial Team. I externed in federal court, interned in several public offices, and spent a summer at a big firm. I passed the California bar. I have applied to hundreds of jobs and worked dozens of personal connections, all without success.

Last week, in a hilarious turn of events, I was rejected from a VOLUNTEER position with a City Prosecutor's office. It's like if a guy came up to you and asked if he could just show up at your house and clean it for free every day, and buy you groceries, and kiss your ass a little, and you're like, "I'm sorry, there has been overwhelming interest in this position, and I cannot accommodate you at this time."

That, my friends, is the state of the legal market. That is the state of my life.

I bring this up not to bitch or engender pity. In fact, I remain fairly upbeat and optimistic about my future, despite mounting evidence that I should reconsider. No, I bring this up only as a warning to others following in my path. I want to give it to you straight, because I am not sure our school will do the same.

I have been fielding calls from the CDO this week. The calls go like this:

CDO: Hey Dan, I'm just calling to check in! What's your status?
ME: Well, still looking for a job. I tried [insert futile effort], but no luck there.
CDO: That's too bad. I can send you some links to help you search for alumni connections.
ME: Thanks, I'm sure that'd be helpful.
CDO: But Dan, do you have any kind of income right now?
ME: Does charity count?
CDO: Any kind of income at all--part time, contract work, even non-legal stuff? How are you getting by?
ME: Great question. I'll let you know when I figure that out.
CDO: Well, keep us apprised.

A while back, I read this article in the New York Times. It explains how so many law schools can continue to report 99% employment rates, even after an apocalyptic downturn in the legal market. Basically, they count anything: part time work, contract work, non-legal work, movie theater work, prostitution. Also, if a student doesn't expressly report they're unemployed, the school will count them as employed.

I am not going to claim Boalt is guilty of the worst of these crimes. In fact, I think that just by calling to actually confirm that I'm unemployed, instead of taking a "no news is good news" approach, the CDO has gone the extra mile. But I also know that the CDO seems very concerned with whether I'm receiving "any income," and I know they didn't start calling this frequently until the numbers were due.

To some extent, this is just part of bureaucracy, and I don't mean to malign the hardworking individuals at the CDO or in the Berkeley administration. They have a tough job right now, and they really do try to help. At the end of the day, though, they're part of a system, and that system's survival depends on convincing people to come to law school, even when it's really not a good idea.

The fact is, no matter what anyone tells you, you can go to a great law school, do well there, work really hard to find a job, and still end up unemployed and living with your parents in your shitty hometown where you said you'd never return. I'm just saying, that can happen. You will probably learn a lot from the experience, and you will hopefully find a way to come out a stronger person. But I refuse to call this state of being "employed," and I don't think my law school should either.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on March 07, 2011 (boomark / email).