Should I (currently a high school teacher) go to law school at 32 (almost 33)?
I am beginning my 10th year as a public high school teacher in the Houston area and I am not sure if I want to continue being a teacher. I work at a good school; for the most part I enjoy the kids and my coworkers, but I am tired of the micromanaging, general lack of respect, and not being treated like an educated professional. However, I do enjoy the time off and I take advantage of it. I traveled almost this entire summer, and being in the Houston area, the pay for teachers is pretty decent (I make about $74K). My husband is in an even better district, and with his coaching stipend and other stipends, will be making close to $90K this year.
I am just so fed up with the idiocracy that is education; I can't let it go anymore. I feel this sense of dread thinking about how this is going to be the next 30-something years of my life. Part of my motivation to go to law school would be to help other teachers in Texas. We are a massively underrepresented group, unable to unionize, and I feel like our time is egregiously taken advantage of, with very little compensation to show for it. Additionally, districts are doubling down on protecting themselves from litigious parents (with valid complaints or otherwise), and districts and schools will have no issues throwing teachers under the bus.
My mom is a lawyer and has often pushed me towards law school, and now I am finally considering it. Assuming I would be accepted, University of Houston has a part time JD program that would take about 4 years, putting me at close to 37/38 when I would finish. Is that too late of a start?
I have a masters degree in Education and an additional 18 graduate hours in Literature (for a Dual-Credit certification) from Rice University and I feel guilty that I will have wasted my time and money.
By the time I theoretically finish law school, I would have completed about 15 years in education, with approximately 23 more years to go towards full retirement (I would be retiring around 62 or 63 to receive full benefits from TRS). I do not have a 403B (IYKYK), I have a RothIRA instead.
Should I ride it out, enjoy what I do have, ignore the shitty parts? Fill my time with hobbies and traveling? Or do I make the switch? Has anyone done it? Do you regret it?
Posted Aug 5, 2025, 10:02 PM UTC