Should I quit being a lawyer to become a counselor?

Have you heard of http://thepeoplestherapist.com/ the BigLaw attorney cum therapist who was featured on Above the Law? I don't know if he still writes there (I went in house, praise Zeus, and am no longer a reader of ATL), but you might look over his blog or drop him a line.

I know a lawyer who did this and says it's the best thing she's ever done. She has many lawyers among her clients. YMMV.

I think it’s something I would enjoy because I really enjoy listening to and helping others...I think I would like it, getting to work with people and help them gain new insights to experience a more fulfilling life. Since you have a background in law, but you would like to join a more 'helping' profession, have you considered mediation? If you have an empathic mind, an interest in helping people with problems, and a tolerance for conflict, it might be a way to help people gain insights and come to peaceful conclusions while building on your existing skills.

One consideration is that as a lawyer you may be used to people coming to you with a problem with expectations of a decision or course of action. Some clients in counseling will want this as well, but many will need considerable time to talk through their feelings and some will never want you to advise them. If you enjoy law because you are a subject expert or trusted adviser you may not find counseling satisfying, but if you are genuinely a good listener and know how to guide people to reflect differently on their situation it could be a great career change.

Many years ago, I got married, and we saw a lawyer to talk about his debt, my business, his business, etc. The lawyer was in transition from lawyering to counseling, and was terrific. He explained the legal approach to marriage, and helped us talk about how to deal with our financial issues, legally and as part of a relationship. He now works for a legal aid group as a lawyer/counselor/IT guy. Before you get too far down any new road, take some vocational tests, and get a good reference librarian help you research job outlooks for various occupations. And go do information interviews with people who do counseling. You could put out a shingle and do divorce, custody and other issues that require a mix of legal and personal counsel.

Have you thought about doing something like being a Guardian Ad Litem? In Illinois (and I'm presuming most other states), GALs are lawyers who work in the best interest of children during custody cases. It might make you feel less bored, or like you are making a difference, but it's probably heartbreaking at times too.

If you do decide to get a degree in counseling consider getting a Masters in Social Work from a properly accredited school like UCLA. More generic counseling masters degrees can be limiting, especially if you ever move to another state.

You should look at the job prospects for new graduates of the programs you're considering. The unemployment rate for new social work graduates, for example, is about as bad as for lawyers right now. If even part of your consideration is that you haven't been able to find a job in law, you should know that your prospects in a counseling field might not be much better. Additionally, what do you actually want to do with your degree? "Counselor" can mean a lot of different things. Do you want to be a social worker, or a psychologist, or something else? Are you planning to start your own business? Are you going to try to get hired by a nonprofit or a hospital or a school? Before you take on debt and spend years of your life on this degree, you should make sure you have a plan that will allow you to actually support yourself in your new career. Figure out what sorts of jobs actually interest you, and then look at the credentials required for those jobs, as well as whether those jobs are actually hiring. I realize that you're unhappy right now, and so it's tempting to jump into something that sounds as though it will make you happier. But you're actually trying to make a decision that has ramifications for your entire life, so I think that the first thing is to be practical about this. Figure out what you actually want, then figure out what it will take to get there. Then you'll be able to decide whether you want to take this risk.

(1) I transitioned into counseling after doing other random things. Several of my cohort in school had done the same. Employers don't seem to find it that strange... counseling seems to be a common enough second career. (2) The day to day of being an intern or an entry level therapist is likely very different than your perception based on being in therapy. Either way, you're seeing clients and writing case notes, but the positions for therapists working toward a license often involve working with clients who are under-resourced, mandated, and/or dealing with more severe mental health challenges. They are good people, deserving of help, and needful of it, but they can be extremely challenging to work with and may make only incremental progress. You can lead them (or any client, for that matter) toward insight, but it may not be sufficient for change. There are triumphs along the way, but there will be days where it's just tear-your-hair-out frustrating. Also, one commonly held idea about being a therapist is that you get to give your clients advice... and, it kinda doesn't work like that. You help people find their own answers that are right for them, which sometimes has you sitting on your hands and biting your tongue in an effort not to say "JUST DO THIS." The first few years of getting adjusted to all of this, and also sort decoupling your self-worth and confidence from your clients' every up or down, can be kind of emotionally brutal (this is a high burnout field). I have seen starting therapists start/grow a family on top of all that, but I'm not sure I could have. (3) Cost and convenience are major, huge factors (they were honestly my only factors when I applied... just so happens my most convenient state university also has an excellent counseling program). Think about whatever public universities are close by. Make sure it's a program accredited by CACREP. Other than that, try to see what the professors have published and what they do research in as a way to get a read on what the department values or specializes in. Definitely talk to some current students and get their feelings about the program. (4) I would strongly, strongly advise not going into much, if any, debt for a counseling degree... employment is hardly certain, and you will likely spend the first few to several years out of school working very hard for ramen-level income. You want to try to find a graduate assistant position that offers partial or full tuition reimbursement. That's probably your best bet. This is also a way the large public research university helps... you're more likely to find grad assistant positions there than at most private programs. Keep in mind, as you're considering financial impact, that most counseling programs expect you not to have any other job the second year of the program, as that is your (unpaid!) internship year. During the second semester of that year, you're apt to be working full-time at your internship site on top of taking classes and trying to pass comprehensive/licensing exams. I don't mean to be super negative about it... it's a field I'm glad I've gone into, overall. I love my clients, and there are days when it is very rewarding. But, I know I went into it with a much rosier, more pollyanna view of what it was going to be like, and (while it may not have changed my decision) I wish someone had given me a more realistic picture so I might have been a little more prepared for some of the pitfalls. Think carefully before you decide to do this, try to maybe do some volunteering or working as a mediator or guardian ad litem (or even a CASA) - something with a heavier emotional load - and figure out whether you love working in that direction or whether it shreds your soul. Also, the point made upstream about social work degrees being more portable is very true... consider that as an alternative to counseling... you'll have the same job opportunities, in general, but you'll be trained from a slightly different perspective (more systemic than individual).