Lawyers- Help a mom out- son wants a JD and a MBA
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Anonymous
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I am sure if you work in capital markets a law degree may come in useful in structuring certain deals. However it is not necessary. There is a route to follow for undergrads going into finance. It's called joining an analyst class. My friend was an analyst in capital markets as an undergrad, she worked with he lawyers to structure deals. Many finance jobs will never use a law degre. My previous boss was a sales guy, because law is not the usual route to finance he had to network his ass off, join a less elite firm and then work his way up. If you are in sales and trading or equity research or I banking why will you use your law degree? Straight from undergrad, get an internship, join an analyst class work your way up.
Finance firms recruit from elite undergrads and mba schools. They don't make a special trip to the law school, you have to go to them If you want a finance job. Undergrads who go straight to mba/jd also do not know what the working world is like and may get more disillusioned. They don't have the luxury of grad school as a do over. If you go to finance you will find t hard to use that law degree as elite law firms recruit in year three of law schools . If a lawyer trying to join finance you will have to start from scratch over the mbas and the finance undergrads. |
Anonymous
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There is a well-trod route from the college to Wall Street - the 2 year analyst program after graduation. You work like a dog, drink all night with clients/colleagues, rinse and repeat. If he survives that then he has a fast track to B school and the bank pays for his MBA.
An MBA without any work experience is not great since the value of the program has as much to do with studying as partying with your classmates - they are your network of future investors and clients. It is enormously useful to have your own play money and network to start at B school. And play at B school can be super expensive. The downside of a JD/MBA is that it is one more year lost income (and tuition) than B school and you get paid the same as any other B school grad. And if you go to a law firm, you are paid the same as any other first year associate who isn't expected to understand anything about the client's business. Doing both is theoretically useful because law school offers lawyers almost no training in how business works and bankers could use legal training since everything in finance is highly regulated. But, on the job training tends to be more focused and applicable. |
Anonymous
This isn't true. Harvard has a joint program between the law school and the business school. So does Wharton/Penn. |
Anonymous
| Don't graduate early if he wants to do law school. Law schools are looking for post-undergrad work experience. Unless he gets >175 on the LSAT, he should work for a few years and then apply. |
Anonymous
This is all true, but the one thing my law degree gave me was more options and I was more insulated from lay offs. |
Anonymous
Having been involved with a number of layoffs, its not a science or an art who gets laid off and who does not. We don't look at the number of degrees a person had. You had slightly more options in your job..whoop dee doo. Does this means OP's son should spend the extra money and time on opportunity cost for both Jd/MBA when there is a much shorter efficient path to finance/law? probably not. |
Anonymous
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Agreed pp and the rules of the game have changed. A law degree used to be the ticket for success. Now, it just might be the ticket to Starbucks. I am glad I got a law degree but mine was cheap (state school). I know too many law grads who can't get a job. And, I know a lot of MBAs w/o work experience who can't get jobs easier.
The best thing OP is for your kid to get a job after college and then worry about grad school a few years down the line. |