Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the program and, to some extent, the Ph.D. concentration. You will read and write significantly more in a history PhD program or political theory PhD than a quantitative-focused Poli Sci program. All will likely be more reading than a JD. Plus, the goal of a PhD is to generate new knowledge with your dissertation (either as 3 peer-reviewed journal articles or a draft book manuscript) compared to mastering/applying existing knowledge for a JD. There are obvious differences in the career trajectories and prospects after graduation as well. It’s good to get clarification on the differences in degrees, but you should base your decision on the path you ultimately want to pursue after graduation. And talk to as many current students and recent grads as possible IRL, so that you don’t apply with a romanticized picture of either path.

Yes! This is a big difference that I didn't think to talk about above. You're supposed to bring new knowledge or perspective, whereas law is all about applying precedent.

Not really. I use precedents to argue for new perspectives all the time. To convince people to go along with a radical new idea, you have to be able to show how the idea isn’t really as crazy as it first seems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the program and, to some extent, the Ph.D. concentration. You will read and write significantly more in a history PhD program or political theory PhD than a quantitative-focused Poli Sci program. All will likely be more reading than a JD. Plus, the goal of a PhD is to generate new knowledge with your dissertation (either as 3 peer-reviewed journal articles or a draft book manuscript) compared to mastering/applying existing knowledge for a JD. There are obvious differences in the career trajectories and prospects after graduation as well. It’s good to get clarification on the differences in degrees, but you should base your decision on the path you ultimately want to pursue after graduation. And talk to as many current students and recent grads as possible IRL, so that you don’t apply with a romanticized picture of either path.

Yes! This is a big difference that I didn't think to talk about above. You're supposed to bring new knowledge or perspective, whereas law is all about applying precedent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the program and, to some extent, the Ph.D. concentration. You will read and write significantly more in a history PhD program or political theory PhD than a quantitative-focused Poli Sci program. All will likely be more reading than a JD. Plus, the goal of a PhD is to generate new knowledge with your dissertation (either as 3 peer-reviewed journal articles or a draft book manuscript) compared to mastering/applying existing knowledge for a JD. There are obvious differences in the career trajectories and prospects after graduation as well. It’s good to get clarification on the differences in degrees, but you should base your decision on the path you ultimately want to pursue after graduation. And talk to as many current students and recent grads as possible IRL, so that you don’t apply with a romanticized picture of either path.

Yes! This is a big difference that I didn't think to talk about above. You're supposed to bring new knowledge or perspective, whereas law is all about applying precedent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BUT, do you want to be a lawyer? There are many skills involved with "success" in law that do not necessarily involve being an intellectual or the most academic curious person in the room. Law firms are essentually businesses that have to attract potential clients and convince clients to hire and pay them.

Half of law school graduates go work at law firms. You're leaving out the other half that end up with the government, in-house, clerkships, academia, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Law school is a completely different animal than grad school. You learn the law almost exclusively through reading and dissecting court cases and judicial opinions.

I don’t recommend it if you have aspirations besides practicing law (though I know many people obtain a JD and end up with careers outside the law but I wouldn’t suggest it if that’s your ultimate goal).

+1. Non-practicing lawyer here with a JD from a T3 law school. Law school was an unpleasant, competitive grind and a much different atmosphere from grad school. I do not recommend law school, particularly top law schools, unless you really want to be a practicing lawyer for the next 20+ years and understand what that entails. Though I suspect OP is comparing their degree with someone else's and not actually deciding between law and grad school.

Anonymous wrote:BUT, do you want to be a lawyer? There are many skills involved with "success" in law that do not necessarily involve being an intellectual or the most academic curious person in the room. Law firms are essentually businesses that have to attract potential clients and convince clients to hire and pay them.

Anonymous wrote:They aren't really the same thing.

I have a JD and an MFA in creative writing which is a terminal degree. So my grad degree was in English with an emphasis on writing fiction -- it was 3 years of coursework, and included a thesis. I would say my reading load was about the same in both programs -- in grad school I read about 3 novels a week plus a few essays and stories. It was a lot. Obviously in law school you are reading cases instead, but I'd say the amount of reading was about the same -- just verging on too much to do, lol. In law school I was able to read less my second and third year and rely on study aids instead, but there was no way to do that with grad school -- I had to read it all (but my degree was English, of course, so that might vary with history or poli sci). Law school was far more social, I had a lot of extracurricular activities like Moot Court Board that took up at least as much time as my regular studies.

Conceptually, I found law school easier -- I naturally think like a lawyer and I'm a good test taker. As far as my MFA goes I hadn't majored in English in undergrad so there was a bit of a learning curve for me there. But that is definitely not going to be the case for everyone -- lots of folks who don't naturally "think like a lawyer" struggle a lot with law school.

As far as the bar exam and PhD qualifying exams ... I didn't do a Phd, so I don't know how that compares, but it seems like you are probably comparing apples to oranges. FWIW, I took the CA bar and found it pretty easy. But agin, the thinking like a lawyer thing comes naturally to me, I just have an analytical brain, so YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the program and, to some extent, the Ph.D. concentration. You will read and write significantly more in a history PhD program or political theory PhD than a quantitative-focused Poli Sci program. All will likely be more reading than a JD. Plus, the goal of a PhD is to generate new knowledge with your dissertation (either as 3 peer-reviewed journal articles or a draft book manuscript) compared to mastering/applying existing knowledge for a JD. There are obvious differences in the career trajectories and prospects after graduation as well. It’s good to get clarification on the differences in degrees, but you should base your decision on the path you ultimately want to pursue after graduation. And talk to as many current students and recent grads as possible IRL, so that you don’t apply with a romanticized picture of either path.

Anonymous wrote:I do not recommend law school, particularly top law schools, unless you really want to be a practicing lawyer for the next 20+ years and understand what that entails.

Anonymous wrote:Law school is a completely different animal than grad school. You learn the law almost exclusively through reading and dissecting court cases and judicial opinions.

I don’t recommend it if you have aspirations besides practicing law (though I know many people obtain a JD and end up with careers outside the law but I wouldn’t suggest it if that’s your ultimate goal).