MBA versus Law school: thoughts?

[JanusthePhoenix]

Thanks again, to all of you participating in this little brainstorm.:p

Ever thought about a medical profession?

I hadn't actually. I have several problems with that one, not least of which is my lack of interest. Don't you also need an undergrad in some kind of biology or health-related major?

More thinking out loud...I'm warming to the idea of a J.D. more as I think about it. The notion of a potentially lucrative (or at least life-sustaining) summer internship occurred to me, and that helps. U of I is supposed to be the best law school in the northwest, why wouldn't regional firms pick up interns there? As far as age goes...I guess I am still relatively young, and in fact would be right on par for entry law students (24). Not exactly lagging the power curve too much. If I wanted more business training I could always take a few more classes and get an A.S. in Accounting or something, (yuck) and that would be much easier if I had a lucrative legal job to sponsor that...

I think I am publicly convincing myself to do this.

Soupbone, I wish you the best in your J.D. endeavors!

And 15%Luck..."a guy" sounds shady. Who is "a guy"? Personally I plan on first taking the FREE practice tests on the Peterson's DoD site, then we will see what kind of prep I need. I've read that the LSAT is kind of like A&I Lit in that you're either good at it or you're not, and any kind of intensive cramming is probably not going to help much.

[soupbone]

Thanks again, to all of you participating in this little brainstorm.


I hadn't actually. I have several problems with that one, not least of which is my lack of interest. Don't you also need an undergrad in some kind of biology or health-related major?

More thinking out loud...I'm warming to the idea of a J.D. more as I think about it. The notion of a potentially lucrative (or at least life-sustaining) summer internship occurred to me, and that helps. U of I is supposed to be the best law school in the northwest, why wouldn't regional firms pick up interns there? As far as age goes...I guess I am still relatively young, and in fact would be right on par for entry law students (24). Not exactly lagging the power curve too much. If I wanted more business training I could always take a few more classes and get an A.S. in Accounting or something, (yuck) and that would be much easier if I had a lucrative legal job to sponsor that...

I think I am publicly convincing myself to do this.

Soupbone, I wish you the best in your J.D. endeavors!

And 15%Luck..."a guy" sounds shady. Who is "a guy"? Personally I plan on first taking the FREE practice tests on the Peterson's DoD site, then we will see what kind of prep I need. I've read that the LSAT is kind of like A&I Lit in that you're either good at it or you're not, and any kind of intensive cramming is probably not going to help much.

Thanks and good luck to you as well! People can say age is an issue but I wholeheartedly disagree. I think maturity will help you excel. Many times we haven't settled down in life such as in our early years of college, and it doesn't make any sense to take on the responsibility until you feel ready. I'm in my early thirties and I can say that I was not ready for law school until my late twenties which is when I started thinking about it. Your mileage may vary and only you know that answer. From reading your posts in this thread you seem very level headed and seem to understand the complexities of making such a decision. I say go for it!

BTW listen to Jennifer (Cookderosa). She is a wealth of support and knowledge for indecisive people (like me).

[daniellevine]

Motivation and passion are the two most important factors. The ultimate goal for most people is to have flexibility and and self-employment, or employment with a great salary and benefits. Both professions require hard work and good people skills. I will share my experience.

I got laid off in April and decided to improve my education. I had always been interested in law and found that in California, you do not even need a bachelor's degree, but just three CLEP scores to get into an affordable school. Also, in CA you do not need an ABA approved school to sit for the bar. The school does need to be California Bar approved, and my school was. I thought it would be a great investment and thought I would really like the subject. Additionally I could get my degree online, and this was another CA benefit.

A JD will open a lot of professional doors. The problem was I began to really hate the content. I do like puzzles, logic, and reasoning, but this was just too dry. Too much emphasis on previous cases and definitions. Extremely thick arguments that ended with opinions, which are then dissented by other opinions. This just wasn't what I expected when I imagined law school. Very formal and rigid. Not exciting at all. Lacked the type of creativity and innovation that I like. I dropped out in November. First-year low students have a high dropout rate, so I would make sure there is a refund policy in case you don't like your career. Better to swallow your pride now than ten years down the line if you don't like your profession.

That same month I ditched law school, I re-explored the Excelsior option that I had briefly looked at from this website when studying for my CLEP admissions. I had only 51 credits when I started. With about 6 weeks of DSST/CLEP mania, I'm now over 100 and expect to graduate with a B.S.L.A. in Literature and Pyschology in a few months. I have also researched some MBA backgrounds.

I haven't experienced the MBA curriculum so I can't comment on that, although it does seem challenging and requiring more personal creativity and flexibility. The MBA degree can be completed in 18 months and Amberton, a reasonably well regarded RA school, will cost under 10K for the total program. For an MBA the accrediting is more lenient than the JD. RA accreditation is acceptable almost anywhere. There are some "gold standard" accreditations that may help your job prospects, but most are expensive and not online. An RA MBA, even if not gold-standard accredited, will still be infinitely more valuable than a non-ABA law school, where you are basically paying for a degree and not a licensed career as an attorney (except in a few states.)

Back to the law school option. Just be aware that if you want to sit for the bar, and you do not live in California, Massachusetts, or a couple of southern states, you will NEED an ABA accredited school. There are ZERO online ABA schools, and you should expect to pay close to 50,000, for a reasonable and non-elite school for the entire three year curriculum. Plan to pay double that if you want a name brand law school. A high price tag and inflexible three year program are mandatory for ABA, and mandatory for your career which begins after the BAR exam. The legal industry can be swayed by your school's reputation when considering your resume. The legal education industry has been both praised and criticized for being inflexible by not allowing JDs from online schools in most states. Additionally, if you do not have an ABA Juris Doctorate, and even if you pass the California exam, you will not be able to practice law in other states. Just be aware of this. In other words, you need ABA, and therefore you need three years of brick and mortar. You'll probably have a lot of debt. Just be careful about online "accreditation" because DETC, etc. don't mean squat on Bar licensing. ABA is all that matters. Also note that JD programs are considered professional degrees and do not have any RA accreditation, no matter which school. Sorry to keep hammering home the point, but its all about ABA accreditation.

In terms of career and salary, I agree that a Juris Doctorate will give you more security by being a licensed attorney. You might have to work in a law firm for years, but eventually the idea of a private practice is appealing. You could have a flexible career. An MBA is much more of a wild card and does not guarantee a professional security, but it is flexible and allows you to branch out into different business related occupations. I'm not sure I agree with the salaries listed in this thread. Of course, most salaries depend on your local job market and the demand for your expertise. A few websites that compare salaries (google them) do not show a huge difference in the salaries between MBA or JD graduates. It seems that 100K is around the norm after a few years, but experience is the key to advancing.

Talk to attorneys and ask them if they like their career. I got some negative feedback which made me hesitant to try law school. I tried it anyway and was glad I did because now I know what I don't want to do. That's just me. Many attorneys enjoy their profession. It's empowering to know the law and have the ability to protect your rights.

If you are thinking about a JD, you might want to try some sample classes or find forums online for feedback. Same with MBA. I am still researching heavily the idea of an MBA. I like that it is faster more cost-effective, accessible online (flexible), with much less emphasis on how much you paid for a household name degree.

To me the biggest appeal of a JD, if that is your passion, is your professional degree and more stability, as long as your area is not overly-saturated with attorneys. Business is a very broad subject with a higher ceiling, if you have the talent. Also, the MBA allows you to figure out which area of business or management you like the most, whereas the J.D. does limit you to attorney work, albeit in a somewhat flexible specialties.

Good luck to you whichever one you choose... with dedication and passion either degree is something to proud of. Don't be discouraged by my bad experience in law school... that is just a subjective preference, and there are plenty of attorneys who enjoy their work. Personally, I like the career goal of starting a business with an unlimited ceiling someday.

Message me if I can help you anymore. I have done a lot of research on both graduate options.

Daniel

[Tasman]

That is some really informative feedback

[94steve]

Hmmmmm... I don't know if three years of opportunity cost (lost wages) + a huge debt burden is worth it to become a lawyer. I know a girl who is at St. John's Law school in NYC with $150,000 in law school debt plus her undergraduate debt of an undisclosed amount. She wants to defer her debt, yet again, incur more new debt, yet again, to earn another degree, yet again so she can become a law librarian, a 50k/yr gig on average (http://www.aallnet.org/committee/rllc/Numbers.pdf). I find it to be pointless and mean spirited to shoot her dreams down as Sallie Mae and company will take care of that at some point after her eventual graduation.

Lately career prospects aren't so hot for non-tier one law school grads as is. Many of them are engaged in "temporary document review."

Temporary Attorney: The Sweatshop Edition

Attorney at Blah - Cover Story - Washington City Paper

I used to want to become an attorney, argue in front of the court, drive a Ferrari, live in a castle, and have a harem. Then reality sank in.

I currently exsist in a situation reminiscent of the the old welfare trap. I work as a stationary engineer on the graveyard shift. My shift includes both Saturday and Sunday, earning me a 20% bump in pay over a Monday thru Friday shift. If I were to change careers to a white collar job on wall st., madison avenue, public sector, teaching, whatever, I'd have to take a 30-40% pay cut, loose my union representation, defined benefit pension, etc. So the $64,000 dollar question is why bother "rising" up the career ladder to white collar status to take a step down?

Wow, now I've gotten myself on a rant.

Alright, I wrote about another halfa graph on this topic but deleted it. I'm taking western europe sine 1945 tomorrow, took care of all my work early so I could get some flash cards in on company time, and now I'm procrastinating. Time to get down to business, my umpteen page treatise on the NWO college-industrial complex can wait until another day.