My Next Move: Poker vs Law School vs Trading?
Hey everyone,
I just graduated from the University of Arizona in May w/ a double major in entrepreneurship and marketing and am trying to figure out what my next move is in life. Originally my plan was to go to a top 15 law school (3.95GPA 165 LSAT) after taking a year off to grind poker full time, but now I am starting to reevaluate everything. Let me break down each option a little more to clarify where my head is at:
Poker: I have earned my income throughout college playing MSNL and HSNL poker online. As of today (based on a very good sample size), I would expect to make anywhere from 200-500k (maybe more) playing poker for the next 12 months. The range is so wide to account for the fact that I very easily could lose motivation and only get 20-30k hands a month in. My hourly rate is about $500 an hour. The main problem w/ poker for me is that day to day, I have mixed feelings about how happy I am doing this as a living. I know this is talked about endlessly on the forums, but I just can't see myself playing poker as a career for more than another 1-2 years at most for a variety of reasons. More than anything, I feel like I am standing still playing poker and in a lot of ways am ready to enter the "real world" and begin a more socially accepted career path (I know this shouldn't matter to me, but it does).
Law school: As I mentioned, my scores are probably good enough to get me into USC/UCLA which are like 14th and 15th as far as rankings go (My GPA is way above their average, my LSAT is 1 point under their average). The obvious problem here is I am now having serious doubts about going. Even though I am good at school and it has always come very easy to me, I hate it. Like I absolutely hate studying, and obviously at a good law school that would consume my life. The other obvious thing is that it will eat away like 200k of my bankroll. Furthermore, I have heard that if I get into big law which is pretty likely, I only start at 135k a year working ridiculous hours in a job that most despise from what I have read (like 60-80 hours week). From there, I am unsure of the upside in terms of salary. It also is noteworthy that ideally I would want to have my law school apps in by 11/1, but 12/1 is the latest before my chances go down significantly. Of all thesee options, i feel like law school is in a way the least "risky" in that i will likely get into a good law school and will likely do well enough to get into big law. On the other hand, I am risking 3 years of my life and like $200k+
by going to law school if i am not happy being a lawyer.
Trading: This is something that has always interested me but I never really pursued it for no reason in particular. Jason Strasser's post in HSNL about his life as an options trader really inspired me and what what I have read about trading since then makes it sound like something that is a perfect fit for me, although I admittedly still know very, very little about trading in general or the quality of life for those who trade.
In terms of my chances of getting a job like this, I honestly don't know. Aside from my academic performance which admittedly comes from a weak undergrad school( ranking 96th, 45th among publics), I feel like my talent level is extremely high. I say this not to brag, but to give people a chance to let me know about my chances realistically. I honestly put in very little effort to get a 3.95 in college and valedictorian of my high school graduating class of over 500. I also consider myself to be very charismatic and just good at knowing what to say (again, sorry if I sound arrogant). I guess that's sort of the problem I have w/ poker: I feel like I am underachieving given my natural abilities.
I guess one other thing worth mentioning are my goals/values. Obviously money isn't everything, but it is very important to me. If I was going to quit poker here in the next 12-24 months, I would need to be making at least 6 figures. The exception to this would be trading or any other job for that matter if I made some lame salary for a year assuming the upside is ridiculously high. I have no problem busting my ass for a year on little pay if that's what it would take.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Particularly anyone who has information on my chances of getting a job as a trader and the steps I should take would be awesome.
Thanks in advance for your help guys,
Garrett
7 Replies
great thread bump.
i did law school 2010-13. 1L kinda sucked but was still fun. 2L/3L were fun. being a lawyer sucked. i stopped practicing in 2017.
great thread bump.
i did law school 2010-13. 1L kinda sucked but was still fun. 2L/3L were fun. being a lawyer sucked. i stopped practicing in 2017.
why did you stop? do you think it was the form of law you practiced and how were you prepared to pivot out of it?
why did you stop? do you think it was the form of law you practiced and how were you prepared to pivot out of it?
I didn't love the practice area (general litigation - mostly PI and construction matters), the grind wasn't fun, I felt my time was worth more than the pay, and btc/eth afforded me some time to take a break....which turned into a longer and longer break to the point where I had zero motivation, incentive or reason to return to the practice of law.
Still very happy I went to law school.
Do not even consider going to law school if you have any doubt about whether you want to be a lawyer.
Seconded, from 12 years' bitter experience. Also, it's the only one of the three where the world isn't your oyster. Good luck trying to mastermind a leveraged buyout in Des Moines while sat on a Thai beach.
Hey all:
I went to law school a number of years ago now, so perhaps it is a bit different today?
I suspect that it is largely the same.
WANTING to be an attorney is certainly important....BUT there are some much larger issues:
1). DO NOT, under any circumstance borrow any substantial amount to go to law skool. Also, think twice about spending ANY substantial amount of your own savings to go to skool. Back in my day, the figures being put out for graduates earnings were simply silly (once you got into skool and learned the real deal).
2). DO NOT go to a low or mid ranked law skool. Their graduates generally do not get positions that are adequate to pay/provide a return of capital on your tuition AND the time/effort you spent to get the degree. When I graduated, well more than HALF the class simply could NOT get a law related position. A good portion of those that did, got positions with LOW pay, high stress.
Of course, there are always exceptions....but for most people outside of the TOP ranked skools, it simply is not worth it.
I got a degree in Computer science and currently work fulltime in Cybersecurity but I have wfh since covid. I was a horse bettor, poker player and sports bettor. Didn't see myself making more than low 6 figs in any of these unless I relocated. Always wanted to learn how to day trader. Got the change when covid lockdown came in. I found an easier day job that allowed me to trade march of 2021. Paid for a chatroom with a legit trader to learn from, Started with a $20K broker account, down to $6K, sized down, broke even by month 6, paid for a mentor for 6 months, Proceeded to slowly improve. Takes about 3 to 4 years to learn from someone legit. made 7 figs in 2024 and should clear 7 figs in 2025. Can trade form home, big learning curve but not that difficult after 3 to 4 years. I still wfh fulltime in cybersecurity, probably spend 3-4 hours trading per day though that will likely go to 2 hrs or less a day trading as I automate my setups with an algo to trade for me. 90% fail trading but that stat is is based on traders who think they can make money by just starting to trade. Someone with a mentor or coach probably has a 50% chance of success. Someon who has a profitable gambling background probably has a higher success rate since alot of it is psychology, risk mgt, finding plus EV situations. Lots of fake gurus on youtube though trying to sell you some courses. You don't need a course, you need someone who trades like you trade every day and explain what he is doing.
