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I graduated from law school last year and spent almost a year applying for jobs, must’ve applied to around 5000 places, if not more. All I got in return were either no replies or offers for 5-10k exploitative litigation jobs or LPOs which I didn’t want to take up because I saw no growth there.
Right now, I’m working as a compliance associate. It’s night shift role, and I handle stuff like pre-employment background checks, so basically stuff completely unrelated to law. I’ve been here for nearly two months. Not only does night shift suck but I can already tell there’s no real career growth in this. It feels uncertain cause our clients are from US.. so its a glorified process associate role. Every day I just feel stuck and wonder if this is all it’s ever going to be. I’m not afraid of working or upskilling but I do feel lost. I don’t have any connections. I don’t come from money. I don’t have a niche. I’ve tried for long enough and now I don’t know where I’m heading.
Is a legal career still possible for someone like me, who’s had so many rejections and detours already? Or should I start looking in some other direction altogether? I don’t want to give up on law, but I also don’t want to spend the next few years barely surviving as im already in my mid twenties. The guilt of pursuing this degree hits harder, considering I pursued a three-year law course after graduating jobless from a BA course. Plus 1 year of diploma during my job-hunting phase. I've nothing to show for in the last 7-8 years. No govt job prep experience or other valid excuse, simply nothing at all. Relatives also mock and ridicule me for wasting my education. Needless to say, my mental health has also been in the gutter.
If anyone’s been in a similar spot or has any honest advice, I’d really appreciate hearing from you. Even if it’s not a solution and just a perspective.