I wish I knew better in undergraduate. I could have gone into engineering or something else. Law didn’t work out for me and I don’t believe I can recover from how awful this career attempt has been. I want to go back to school but I can’t afford it now. My undergraduate was an utterly useless major with no STEM or even real world job market usefulness so to make any real change I’ll have to out of pocket virtually an entire second bachelor’s to fix my transcripts for grad programs. Big oof. 😞

Don't get more education unless you have a plan for it. A lot of us patent attorneys are engineers who weren't good enough at math to practice . . . If you want an actual suggestion, and you want STEM because you are interested in writing patents, you can go back and get the courses you need inexpensively at a local school or online school and then sit for the patent bar. Patents are nice because you actually can work solo if you can find clients (preferably with a mentor). If you actually want to be an engineer, that is different. I went back after law to get an engineering degree. I went to a local school (a few hundred dollars a credit), and I immediately found a tech incubator on campus, went to the director, and offered to provide office hours if they covered my tuition (and gave me a parking spot, since it was Manhattan). I then spent the next few years doing a couple of classes a semester until I finished my degree, but I developed a client base at the same time. If you just want to vent and don't want advice - sorry, feel free to ignore. Good luck.

Perhaps consider providing legal services in a STEM related company. Many engineering, med tech and bio tech companies need counsel. Learning a client's business while providing legal services can provide them value from what you know and give you a chance to expand into a quasi-legal and managerial role over time. Many emerging companies need counsel. Consider networking (albeit virtually for now) into fields that interest you. Many people who lead companies have undergraduate degrees unrelated to what they are doing now. You can do the same and add further value from your legal experience. Give it a try and best of luck.

Can’t you just become a corporate b**** like the rest of us? I guarantee at least the money is good

Oh good lord, more education/debt is NOT the answer.

We need more details on why this career isn’t working out and why you can’t make a lateral move within law to maybe find something that would work for you. Ours is a diverse profession—I know plenty of people who felt like the law wasn’t for them, until they moved to a different type of practice entirely

What do you mean law didn’t work out for you?

The grass isn’t always greener.

Agree with switching practice areas if you can. I kind of fell into what I’m doing and can’t imagine doing anything else. You can always try to go in house, do government work, academia or become a recruiter. I’m sure there is plenty more you can do with your degree. Hoping you find what you are looking for.

Try practicing law somewhere new or a different practice area. You could go in-house, govt, non-profit, smaller firm? Move into politics/policy, lobbying, teaching, consulting? There are a lot of things you can do with the degrees you already have. If you don’t want to practice anymore just search on LinkedIn for JD preferred positions.

I’m on the other side of the fence. Non-lawyer here who is in law bowls wishing they didn’t get an advertising degree because advertising sucks and it’s not a stable career and I’ve hit a glass ceiling for income. I’m commiserating with you. But also, I’m trying to use my skills for a career pivot. What else can you do? I can write so I’m using that a lot. I can use speciality software. Etc etc. what are you good at that helped helped? Do you depose people? BOOM! Journalist! Good luck my friend. You’re not as stuck as you think.

Try tax

Don’t re-live your past decisions. What do you want now?

Did you get disbarred? You have a vast area of law you can still explore that might suit you better. How long have you been practicing?

What makes you think you would be more successful in another field ? Not meant to be a dig, I am genuinely interested as I have often thought about the what ifs.

Tell us what you’ve been doing for the last three years. Why haven’t you found a law job? What’s the story? We can’t help you if everything you say is vague.

I suggest applying to a big4. Bar won’t matter there.