Where to Get Your JD, ASAP

(NEWSER) - The sluggish economy has more law firms deferring offers of positions to graduating law students, Time reports. The idle young lawyers join more than 3,000 attorneys who have lost jobs since January 2008; the industry is expected to earn up to 10% less this year than last. One upside: Firms are offering as much as $75,000 to those who defer for a year. More»

Lots of new grads, but big salaries are hard to come by

(NEWSER) - Lawyers are entering the work force in record numbers, but demand—and salaries—aren't keeping up. Law schools advertise six-figure starting salaries for grads, but these wages materialize only for those from elite schools or at the top of their class, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the rest, $20-an-hour contract work may be the best they'll get. More»

Money invested will be paid back, and then some: Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse

(NEWSER) - In his State of the Union address , President Obama called on all states to require that students stay in school until they graduate or turn 18. It's a good start, but it doesn't go far enough, write economics professors Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse in the New York Times . Since 1970, the US has dropped from the top spot all the way to No. 21 when it comes to high school completion. Just seven out of 10 ninth graders will graduate, and that dropout rate "imposes a heavy cost on the entire economy, not just on those who fail to obtain a diploma," they write. More»

Unemployed grads furious over dry job market

(NEWSER) - Recent law school grads are having a tough time finding a job, and there’s a very good reason for that: the recession drove tons of people into law school. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of people who took the LSAT shot up 20.5%, Slate reports, as students decided to sit out the recession in classrooms. At the same time, loads of universities have tacked on law schools—critics accuse the Bar Association of approving too many. More»

It's a four year—or more—waste of time, author says

(NEWSER) - College is a must if you want to have a real career, right? Nope, it’s “a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now,” writes James Altucher for DailyFinance.com . Here are his seven reasons you shouldn’t send your kids:

• It’ll cost more than you think: Thanks to the fact that more than 60% of college students will take more than 4 years to wear that cap and gown.
• It doesn’t matter, money-wise: Yes, the difference in income between a college grad and a non-grad is approximately $800,000 over a 45-year career. But if you invest the $200,000 likely college cost in bonds yielding 3%, over those 45 years plus the 4 spent in college, you’ll end up with $851,000.