5 answers
Bervelyne
Student
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1
Question
Asked
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I'm 15 and I am planning to go to law schoo,l and after I'm done with law school, I was also planning to have a acting career after I get my degree. Is this a good plan? (If you want to know, what I was gonna do with the degree). I'm going to quick acting when I get older and get into my law career.
#attorney #actingcareer #actress #lawschool
#acting #law #career
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5 answers
Edward Overtree
Senior Counsel
57
Answers
Pennsylvania, PA
Updated
Edward’s Answer
To combine these professions, you're smart to begin with law school because it can be tedious and you need youthful energy and lack of cynicism to make the most of law school.
I myself chose law practice over show business because I wanted a family of my own and I knew show business pays a family-supporting income only to one of every thousand entertainers (it's even fewer nowadays). Law supports about 10 times more families.
So I advise deciding whether or not you want a family before choosing show business. By the time you're finished with law practice, you will be old enough to know what to choose, so you're right try law first!
I myself chose law practice over show business because I wanted a family of my own and I knew show business pays a family-supporting income only to one of every thousand entertainers (it's even fewer nowadays). Law supports about 10 times more families.
So I advise deciding whether or not you want a family before choosing show business. By the time you're finished with law practice, you will be old enough to know what to choose, so you're right try law first!
Thanks, I will be doing that.
Bervelyne
Yasemin G.
Aspiring physician
635
Answers
Updated
Yasemin’s Answer
Hi Bervelyne! It's very cool that you are interested in two career choices. First of all I noticed your comment about having difficulty with grammar, I would recommend to read books in English, and always practice speaking with your family and friends in English as well. It takes time to master a language especially the grammar, so don't worry about having difficulty and just keep practicing and working hard because it will pay off! In addition, I would recommend Duolingo, it is a free website that helps you in practicing many languages, one of them English, and I think it is very beneficial because it really shapes your language skills.
For your career I am not too familiar with law school and acting however I do know that to go to law school you will need to take the LSATs. Researching further, I believe that you do not have to be considered pre-law but definitely take some courses to help prepare you for the LSAT, which is the exam you will take to apply to law school. I am attaching a couple links below that gives more details about law school and the LSAT exam. For acting, possibly you can be a double major or minor in acting as well; if you are interested in it keep up with it. Sometimes it may be difficult to really secure an acting career especially with the responsibilities of preparing and going to law school but it always nice to be diverse and have hobbies as well. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, keep working hard and stay passionate!
https://www.concordlawschool.edu/blog/news/law-school-requirements/
https://blog.collegevine.com/10-best-undergraduate-majors-for-law-school/
https://www.lsac.org/lsat/prep/types-lsat-questions
For your career I am not too familiar with law school and acting however I do know that to go to law school you will need to take the LSATs. Researching further, I believe that you do not have to be considered pre-law but definitely take some courses to help prepare you for the LSAT, which is the exam you will take to apply to law school. I am attaching a couple links below that gives more details about law school and the LSAT exam. For acting, possibly you can be a double major or minor in acting as well; if you are interested in it keep up with it. Sometimes it may be difficult to really secure an acting career especially with the responsibilities of preparing and going to law school but it always nice to be diverse and have hobbies as well. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, keep working hard and stay passionate!
Yasemin recommends the following next steps:
David Steines
Business Operations & Sales Strategy
1
Answer
San Francisco, California
Updated
David’s Answer
Hey Bervelyne -
Great question. First let me say its awesome you're discovering and pursing your passions. Keep that up. I would encourage you to learn as much as you can about what kind of entertainer and what kind of lawyer you would like to be. The good news is you have a lot of time to think about that.
The short answer to your question is: No, this is not a good idea, at least not in that order. Let me explain why.
Heres a hypothetical scenario. You spend 3 years studying and finally complete law school. on the same day land a role in a movie. You spend the next 10 years acting, after which you decide to use your law degree. All the information you learned 10 years ago during law school may be out of date, or forgotten. Law firms will frankly not be interested in hiring someone who went to law school years before and never used the information they learned.
If you're interested in acting and the legal profession here is my advice - go to college, participate in theater classes, take some pre-law classes and see how you feel about each subject.
If you decide you want to act - go spend time acting until you no longer have a passion for it. If you decide you'd like to pursue the legal profession go that rout.
The good news is - its never too late to start a career in either field. But bouncing back and forth between them will make it very difficult to find success in either.
Great question. First let me say its awesome you're discovering and pursing your passions. Keep that up. I would encourage you to learn as much as you can about what kind of entertainer and what kind of lawyer you would like to be. The good news is you have a lot of time to think about that.
The short answer to your question is: No, this is not a good idea, at least not in that order. Let me explain why.
Heres a hypothetical scenario. You spend 3 years studying and finally complete law school. on the same day land a role in a movie. You spend the next 10 years acting, after which you decide to use your law degree. All the information you learned 10 years ago during law school may be out of date, or forgotten. Law firms will frankly not be interested in hiring someone who went to law school years before and never used the information they learned.
If you're interested in acting and the legal profession here is my advice - go to college, participate in theater classes, take some pre-law classes and see how you feel about each subject.
If you decide you want to act - go spend time acting until you no longer have a passion for it. If you decide you'd like to pursue the legal profession go that rout.
The good news is - its never too late to start a career in either field. But bouncing back and forth between them will make it very difficult to find success in either.
Yeah your right, I will forget everything I learned in Law School. I think I'll just do acting as a hobby then.
Bervelyne
Leahanne Thomas
Career Coach
42
Answers
Baltimore, Maryland
Updated
Leahanne’s Answer
You can continue to act for your entire life - community theater, etc., so you never have to give up acting. It can be a part of your life no matter your profession.
Law is a big commitment, financially and time wise. And while litigation (the courtroom stuff you see on TV) certainly leans heavily on the similar skill sets as acting. But transaction law does not. Regardless of the law track you pursue, a good percentage of your time is spent in solitude researching and writing. It can also be highly competitive and conflict-heavy.
The first thing I recommend you do is find any and all the lawyers in your network and ask to shadow them for a day on the job. Find out first hand how much it interests you.
Also, test out some other areas such as business with summer jobs in sales/customer service. Tutoring and babysitting will also help you discover if you like working with people or not.
Good luck!
Law is a big commitment, financially and time wise. And while litigation (the courtroom stuff you see on TV) certainly leans heavily on the similar skill sets as acting. But transaction law does not. Regardless of the law track you pursue, a good percentage of your time is spent in solitude researching and writing. It can also be highly competitive and conflict-heavy.
The first thing I recommend you do is find any and all the lawyers in your network and ask to shadow them for a day on the job. Find out first hand how much it interests you.
Also, test out some other areas such as business with summer jobs in sales/customer service. Tutoring and babysitting will also help you discover if you like working with people or not.
Good luck!
Pamela Vaughn
2
Answers
Updated
Pamela’s Answer
You might consider a way to combine both fields of interest. Perhaps - entertainment law. Certain law schools have this as a speciality. UCLA, Loyola Law in Los Angeles, and USC, Fordham are some examples. If you do that, be sure to look for internships in entertainment law to not only learn from the industry, but also to network. It could be difficult to break into entertainment law - considering it is confined to certain areas of the country. Also, consider cost of living as a factor. Important to find your passion, but also be do-able.
Thank you! I don't think I'm interested in entertainment law, but I'll look into it.
Bervelyne