is a J.D. considered a master's degree or a doctoral degree?

[Anonymous]

Only lawyers think it is a doctoral degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are judges in CA who appear to have only HS and then the JD degree. JD doubles as a college degree.

No, it doesn't. I know Californians who got their JDs by night school after high school. Once they got their JDs they couldn't find jobs so went back and got their bachelor's degrees. So the years would simply read, B.A. 1998; J.D. 1992.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The Juris Doctor (or Juris Doctorate) is a law degree that originally surfaced in the United States during the 1960s. This "new" law degree was designed as a replacement or alternative to its academic equivalent, the LLB or Bachelor of Laws degree. The degree quickly gained popularity as it afforded the holder the professional recognition of a doctoral degree in law. From an academic perspective, above the Juris Doctor (JD) is the LLM degree (Master of Laws) and then the SJD, JSD, LLD, etc., the true research based doctor of Laws terminal degrees.
Notwithstanding, the official word, according to Merriam Webster's Dictionary, the Juris Doctor is “a degree equivalent to bachelor of laws”.

It's not a doctoral degree.

So you're saying it's the equivalent of a bachelors degree? No one thinks that. OP definitely should not check bachelors degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any scientist will attest to how easy obtaining a JD is in comparison to their PhD. I am a scientist in a field where everyone has both--PhD & JDs. The JD was a relative joke. It could be because we are engineers and molecular biologists to begin with vs poly sci, English and communications majors.. Who knows?

That really wasn't OP's question. Also, while a JD may be a joke, it tends to pay a lot more on average than a PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any scientist will attest to how easy obtaining a JD is in comparison to their PhD. I am a scientist in a field where everyone has both--PhD & JDs. The JD was a relative joke. It could be because we are engineers and molecular biologists to begin with vs poly sci, English and communications majors.. Who knows?

Is it really necessary to denigrate the JD degree in order to make your point about your degree?

This thread makes me want to move to a rural area where most people finished high school and think that's just dandy.

since I have one I have the right to say what I want about it. I just am so tired of all the lawyers in this area thinking they are absolute geniuses when in reality obtaining a JD and passing the bar--while time consuming us not very difficult.

I'm not sure why you're so bitter. While PhDs are time consuming, it doesn't make all people with PhDs intellectually superior to those with JDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha, I went to a top 25 law school at night ("part time"), worked full time during the day (at a top law firm with billable hour requirements) and finished one semester later than the full time students. I graduated 3rd in my class. I'm not bragging, I'm saying that law school is not that hard. I have an undergraduate degree in engineering -- now that is hard.

Touche! My BS in engineering was 100x more difficulty than Law School. Before anyone quips in comparing Georgetown to Catholic, yes, I went to a top tier law school.

I'm pp with a law degree and engineering undergrad degree. How could anyone dispute that engineering/hard science degrees are harder than any other degree? And to those whining about how hard law school is, I have to say: Really?

So people with PhDs in history shouldn't call their degrees doctorates either?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a JD is considered a waste of time dime-a-dozen degree. Not that different from many doctorates unfortunately (but much less work).

My bank account says otherwise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JD and LLB are undergraduate degrees - they may also be professional degrees, but they are definitely undergraduate. Just because you may need an undergraduate degree to get into a JD program - and by the way I'm not aware of any country other than the US that has that requirement (and don't pretend that US programs are vastly superior to Canada, England, etc.) - it doesn't make it anything more. Just like an MD.

I don't think OP is asking what it's considered to be in England. In the US, it's not an undergraduate degree.

[Anonymous]

A JD is a professional degree; one that specifically helps one to meet specific qualifications for career. It is to prepare you to take a qualifying exam (the bar). Similarly, an MD is a professional degree and a prerequisite to practicing medicine.

A PhD is an academic degree. It is a credential that is not help one get a job, but rather an honor for completing a particular level of research. A PhD + $5 will get you a cup of coffee. No one gets a PhD for money.

-- PhD Physicist, and I have no regrets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:.

A PhD is an academic degree. It is a credential that will not help one get a job, but rather an honor for completing a particular level of research. A PhD + $5 will get you a cup of coffee. No one gets a PhD for money.

-- PhD Physicist, and I have no regrets

This is not true in all fields. To be a real economist, one needs to have a PhD.
(That said, not all folks with Econ PhDs are real economists.)

[Anonymous]

Oh boy. A JD is a "Juris Doctor" degree. It is the "terminal degree" in the field. (SJD degrees are basically a scam for foreign applicants - American lawyers rarely get them). It is the sole degree needed to become a tenured law professor. (Some law profs also have other degrees in other fields, but most have JDs). It is considered an "advanced" degree. If your choices on a form are "doctorate" or "masters" you can check whichever one you like better, or flip a coin. Neither is "right" and neither is "wrong."

- a law professor who has a JD and a PhD and a masters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are judges in CA who appear to have only HS and then the JD degree. JD doubles as a college degree.

No, it doesn't. I know Californians who got their JDs by night school after high school. Once they got their JDs they couldn't find jobs so went back and got their bachelor's degrees. So the years would simply read, B.A. 1998; J.D. 1992.

Check out this old gal Sherri Horner in CA. It seems like a HS degree, then a certificate program that turned into a JD degree. Try telling everyone she has a legitimate college degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are judges in CA who appear to have only HS and then the JD degree. JD doubles as a college degree.

No, it doesn't. I know Californians who got their JDs by night school after high school. Once they got their JDs they couldn't find jobs so went back and got their bachelor's degrees. So the years would simply read, B.A. 1998; J.D. 1992.

Check out this old gal Sherri Horner in CA. It seems like a HS degree, then a certificate program that turned into a JD degree. Try telling everyone she has a legitimate college degree.

+1

The only people who suffer are the tax-paying citizens.

[Anonymous]

The OP of this thread asked this question so she would know which box to check on a job application 9 YEARS AGO! She has either gotten the job or not gotten the job by now. She's probably quit and moved on to two other jobs since then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A JD is a professional degree; one that specifically helps one to meet specific qualifications for career. It is to prepare you to take a qualifying exam (the bar). Similarly, an MD is a professional degree and a prerequisite to practicing medicine.

A PhD is an academic degree. It is a credential that is not help one get a job, but rather an honor for completing a particular level of research. A PhD + $5 will get you a cup of coffee. No one gets a PhD for money.

-- PhD Physicist, and I have no regrets

The same can be said about a JD. There are so many people who thought that getting a JD and passing the bar would be an easy ticket to a high salary. Instead you have thousands who got a JD and a huge load of debt and have not passed the bar. You have thousands who passed the bar (some in more than one state) and aren't getting jobs. You have tons who got a JD, passed the bar and are working in low salary jobs for non-profits, as public defenders, for small corporations with low pay, and as ambulance chasers getting clients wherever and however they can.

Those who succeed are much more visible, but there are many, many more people who come out with a JD who never actually go to practice law or if/when they do, do so for very mundane salaries and not the touted big law firm or corporate law salaries.