Prestige of Lawyer vs Physician

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess- the OP is a preteen whose parents are lawyers and somehow the lawyer/doctor debate came up at swim team practice and now she's feeling a little defensive.

Well done PP.

[Anonymous]

either that, or a very bored and mentally ill aspiring med student

[Anonymous]

And yet, no one has answered the OP examples.

I think that lawyers are overall more prestigious at the higher levels.

On the average levels, doctors win.

See, was that so hard, everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yet, no one has answered the OP examples.

I think that lawyers are overall more prestigious at the higher levels.

On the average levels, doctors win.

See, was that so hard, everyone?

Depends on specialty of physician versus type of law.

Slip and fall solo = ER physician in prestige, both the lowest
Judge = neurosurgeon, until you hit supremes

Rest are in between

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Been arguing this with a colleague -

I believe lawyers are more prestigious than physicians, as a whole. Big law lawyers are more prestigious than almost any physician.

My colleague believes certain specialties in medicine are more prestigious than big law, including anesthesiology, radiology, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

Any dcum opinions?

Doctors can bring life into the world. They can also save lives.
Signed I'm a lawyers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yet, no one has answered the OP examples.

I think that lawyers are overall more prestigious at the higher levels.

On the average levels, doctors win.

See, was that so hard, everyone?

Yes people have answered the's OP's examples. Your just a terrible lawyer who thinks if repeat something enough times it will eventually be believed as true.

Lowest level lawyer < Family Practice doctor

"Big Law" < Neurosurgeon

To respond to your "overall prestige" crap- Overall, everyone in the world knows what a doctor is and what they do and needs doctors in their lives. Not everyone in the world knows what "Big Law" is, knows what "Big Law" does and needs "Big Law" in their lives.

Your trying to make a differentiation between at higher levels and at average levels, and yet you still fail. Don't you get that's not what overall means?


Please go crawl under your big law desk now, your an embarrassment to the field of Law.

[Anonymous]

The reality is that most people do not think biglaw lawyers are prestigious or people to be admired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if you are comparing profession to profession, doctors win hands down. as others have pointed out, any jackass with a pulse can get into an ABA-accredited law school. you can't throw a rock without hitting some washed-up 110 IQ rumped suit shitlawyer scraping by on 30-40k. not so with doctors.

sure, you can compare a pediatrician making 100k with a partner at cravath who makes 5 million, but if we are talking about which profession as a whole is more prestigious, medicine by a mile.

(if it matters, i am a lawyer).

Do some pediatricians really only make 100K? That's kind of depressing after all of the schooling/residency they have to go through...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that most people do not think biglaw lawyers are prestigious or people to be admired.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a former BigLaw lawyer, from a top ranked law school. My good friend is an ER doctor, from a middle-ranked school.

I am blown out with respect for her. She actually can make a real difference--a life and death difference, and does all the time.

I'm almost 50 and so are many of my friends, so a common theme is: "I am entering into the second half of my life. I want to leave the planet a better place. (Besides raising good kids) What can I do to make difference?"

My doctor friend does not have to mull over this one.

I vote doctor.

You mean she is great at consults? ER docs don't deal with life and death. They exist to turf patients.

Hey hey now this is getting personal! Don't tell me an ER doc doesn't deal with life and death until you'be manually pumped someone's heart (as in with your own hands) as a desperate last measure to save their life.

[Anonymous]

Board-certified doctors any day of the week and twice on Tuesday. I've got nothing but respect and admiration for those folks - and I was a Big Law lawyer. Of course, I have career-envy - really wish that neuropsychiatry was a thing when I went to college. Fascinating field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that most people do not think biglaw lawyers are prestigious or people to be admired.

+1 OP keeps touting money as evidence of prestige. I guess big name actors/actresses are the most prestigious in society? (Joseph Gordon-Levitt had earnings of 82 million between 2014 and 2015).

[Anonymous]

It depends on how far they are in their career. I have a family member that is a partner at a well known law firm and another who is a chief over his department at a hospital. I think both have equally prestigious careers in my opinion. They certainly make a lot of money and have the lifestyle to match it seems.

Also, I've met a lot of mediocre doctors so I'm not as impressed by the medical field anymore.

[Anonymous]

You mean she is great at consults? ER docs don't deal with life and death. They exist to turf patients.


If you have a car wreck and are bleeding out, the ER doctor will try to save your life. You are an idiot.

No, the trauma surgeon will stop the bleeding , the anesthesiologist will obtain the airway and resuscitate, the radiologist will read the films, and the intensivist (often the surgeon or anesthesiologist) will take care of you post op.

You haven't spent much time in a hospital, have you

The ER doc will screw up all of the above before he consults the experts listed above.


The ER doc will stabilize ten patient first.

My 8 yo DD fell onto an object while she was playing outside. Externally, here were no visible signs of trauma - not a bruise, not a scratch. We later learned that over 50% of her liver was crushed and she was bleeding internally. She would have died had it not been for the prompt and astute actions of an ER doctor (and nurse) that my DD's life was saved. Yes, the trauma surgeon was the attending physician but it was that ER doctor who recognized the danger and started treating her before she went into shock. She spent 5 days in the pediatric ICU. The trauma surgeon made the call about surgery but it was the ER doctor that saved her life. Bash them all you want but I know what they can do.

[Anonymous]

medical doctor >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> lawyer.

unless its not a real doctor like an eye doctor or a foot doctor.