Law School

[SdK]

Go to med school, be an ER doc.  My bro-in-law did this.  He works a random schedule, but it averages out to 36 hours per week.  Often has streches where he's off 4-5 days in a row.  Makes a pretty decent living.

I am kind of a narcissist, and every Dr I've talked to looks down upon ER docs. I mean no disrespect by that, seriously.

I can see that.  It's a pretty standard job of people come in, get them comfortable, and if they need more help pass them on.  However, it's a good living.  Work ~40 hours per week to earn $200K+.  Plus if you ever want some extra $$$, just pick up a couple extra shifts.   

That is very true, I originally wanted to be a trauma surgeon and deal with gun shots etc. So ER would being a less dramatic vein of that same thought.

[Rage Against the McKee]

I am neither but if had to redo, I would pick something in health care.  Ppl are unhealthy as hell and only getting worse.  Also ppl are living longer than ever.  Put that together and doctors have a pretty solid sounding future. 

Also, every doctor I have ever had all seem very low stress and are rolling in money.  Put those two things together and it seems doctors have a pretty solid sounding future.

Go be a doc.  Don't short circuit crap because you want out a few yrs earlier.  A couple years isn't crap.

I would agree, but it sounds like he's not as concerned with the money as he is the challenge and putting his skills to good use. I think he should go for lawyer.

I would also say that it might not be a bad idea to try to focus on something more specialized, like water or patent law.

[SdK]

top-law-schools.com is a pretty great resource to use if you're looking for a bunch of current and prospective law student opinions.  tons of information about the application process, schools, the legal market, etc.  they're going to echo the caution about law school of most of the people in this thread.

I'll check it out, thank you.

[ChiComCat]

What do you want to do with your law degree?  I think that question has been overlooked.  If I were going into law school at this point, I would need to have a more specific goal than "be a lawyer."

[chum1]

I wish I would have been a pharmacist.  Super pud.  Great money right out of school.  Plenty of jobs not in retail, too, if that's a concern.

[SdK]

I wish I would have been a pharmacist.  Super pud.  Great money right out of school.  Plenty of jobs not in retail, too, if that's a concern.

I'll add this to my possible career choices.

[SdK]

What do you want to do with your law degree?  I think that question has been overlooked.  If I were going into law school at this point, I would need to have a more specific goal than "be a lawyer."

I just want to be presented with challenges everyday and argue for them being solved. That may be naive and maybe it is, but that's my line of thinking. Just to be up against the gun, having to be prepared and well versed, having someone trying to make me lose, etc.

For the record, at dinner last night while I was talking with my friend, she said that her first case she was handed 90 documents some of them 400 pages long and had two days to prepare before she was in court. That gave me a huge brain boner. Stuff like that excites me.

[chum1]

I wish I would have been a pharmacist.  Super pud.  Great money right out of school.  Plenty of jobs not in retail, too, if that's a concern.

I'll add this to my possible career choices.

Downside:  it's sort of a dead end job and probably not considered challenging.  They make so much money right away, though, you could save plenty and change careers later on if you wanted to.

[SdK]

The people warning against law school definitely have points.  It's a huge financial risk.  Especially for some one with aspirations for med school.  Having said that, there are ways to minimize the risk.  Getting into a kickass school is one of them.  Going to school on the cheap (through scholarships or otherwise) is another. 

There's certainly no harm in studying hard for the LSAT for a couple months and seeing if you get a great score that could do one of those two things.  If you get a 167ish and want to pay tons of money to chill at Cornell for a few years and have a ~40% chance at 160k out of law school, then go for it.  Obviously if you score higher, the risk is further minimized.  Worst case scenario, you don't get the score you want and opt for med school.

All things being equal, "doctor" seems like a much safer bet.  But hell, do whatever you think will make you happy.

Somehow I missed this earlier, very solid points and advice. I plan on taking both tests as I mentioned. I actually excited about having a choice to make and not putting all of my eggs in one basket. I've thought about the MD thing for a long time and recently thought about the lawyer thing. So law school is much less vetted, hence this thread. I know what my goals are and what I want out of a career. Just not sure what that career is going to be yet.

[asava]

What do you want to do with your law degree?  I think that question has been overlooked.  If I were going into law school at this point, I would need to have a more specific goal than "be a lawyer."

I just want to be presented with challenges everyday and argue for them being solved. That may be naive and maybe it is, but that's my line of thinking. Just to be up against the gun, having to be prepared and well versed, having someone trying to make me lose, etc.

For the record, at dinner last night while I was talking with my friend, she said that her first case she was handed 90 documents some of them 400 pages long and had two days to prepare before she was in court. That gave me a huge brain boner. Stuff like that excites me.

something had to have gone horribly wrong for this to happen or she works for a firm that is irresponsible. or she is lying to you about how prepared she needed to be for court that day.

[SdK]

I wish I would have been a pharmacist.  Super pud.  Great money right out of school.  Plenty of jobs not in retail, too, if that's a concern.

I'll add this to my possible career choices.

Downside:  it's sort of a dead end job and probably not considered challenging.  They make so much money right away, though, you could save plenty and change careers later on if you wanted to.

Yeah, I do want a career that I have to work my way up in and not start out as "top dog"

I'm not really after money, my main goal is to get to a point to where I don't have to worry about money, but I would like to have to work for that spot.

[Emo EMAW]

Hey guys, your friends who are lawyers, how hot are their wives?  Also, same for friends who are doctors.  Let's try to get a good sample size here for SK.

[SdK]

What do you want to do with your law degree?  I think that question has been overlooked.  If I were going into law school at this point, I would need to have a more specific goal than "be a lawyer."

I just want to be presented with challenges everyday and argue for them being solved. That may be naive and maybe it is, but that's my line of thinking. Just to be up against the gun, having to be prepared and well versed, having someone trying to make me lose, etc.

For the record, at dinner last night while I was talking with my friend, she said that her first case she was handed 90 documents some of them 400 pages long and had two days to prepare before she was in court. That gave me a huge brain boner. Stuff like that excites me.

something had to have gone horribly wrong for this to happen or she works for a firm that is irresponsible. or she is lying to you about how prepared she needed to be for court that day.

the guy whose spot she took left suddenly to take a job with his father back home in Great Bend. And I know her and believe her. She was asked if she wanted the case knowing the challenge and took it anyway, and given her background as an all conference soccer player, her competitiveness is well proven.

[SdK]

Hey guys, your friends who are lawyers, how hot are their wives?  Also, same for friends who are doctors.  Let's try to get a good sample size here for SK.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA probably the best point/post in this thread so far.

[kostakio]

Stick with the med it's just a more rewarding profession.  At some point as you get older that kind of stuff will mean more to you.  Right now you just want to do cool stuff and make money that is normal for someone your age.  That will change over time at least it has for me. 

I have a good job that pays well and honestly it all seems kind of pointless.  If I could go back and do it again I would try to be a doctor.  I'm not an attorney but I work with a lot of them and what they do seems like the same boring kind of crap I do.  I also think learning about the human body and how it works it just way more interesting then learning a bunch of pointless laws mostly written by idiots. 

[ChiComCat]

Lawyers in small/mid-size towns are tricky.  A large portion of the populace will know you, thus a somewhat large portion will hate you and you will be a de facto public figure.  I wouldn't want to live in a crappy town anyways, but being a lawyer there would suck worse.  Small townfolk take a lot super personally.

[The Tonya Harding of Twitter Users Creep]

Switch to engineering? 

[Kat Kid]

Hey guys, your friends who are lawyers, how hot are their wives?  Also, same for friends who are doctors.  Let's try to get a good sample size here for SK.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA probably the best point/post in this thread so far.

My limited sample says this:

doctors tend to get married younger to other docs they meet in med school (lots of power couples that are roughly equivalent in looks)
lawyers tend to get married later to younger women (lots of upgrades in the attractiveness dept.)

[michigancat]

I don't like sundance kid's attitude or perspective on...well, anything, really.

[Bloodfart]

This one time at the graduation ceremony all the Med grads whipped out newspapers and acted like they were reading them while all the law grads were receiving their awards. 

[SdK]

Stick with the med it's just a more rewarding profession.  At some point as you get older that kind of stuff will mean more to you.  Right now you just want to do cool stuff and make money that is normal for someone your age.  That will change over time at least it has for me. 

I have a good job that pays well and honestly it all seems kind of pointless.  If I could go back and do it again I would try to be a doctor.  I'm not an attorney but I work with a lot of them and what they do seems like the same boring kind of crap I do.  I also think learning about the human body and how it works it just way more interesting then learning a bunch of pointless laws mostly written by idiots.

First off, you have my favorite screen name on this board. Secondly, what you said about the human body is exactly why I want to be a doctor.

[Emo EMAW]

This one time at the graduation ceremony all the Med grads whipped out newspapers and acted like they were reading them while all the law grads were receiving their awards. 

That's adorable! 

[Mikeyis4dcats]

my aunt is a lawyer (University of South Dakota grad) and just bought a 2013 Lexus RX 

Oh yeah, well Mrs. Bf is a MD and drives a 2001 Chevy Malibu. Paid for it with cash money.

Oh yeah, well Mr. SK is a student and drives a 1998 Honda Prelude. Paid for it with cash money.

Mr. Mikey is a college grad and drives a truck he didn't pay a penny for.   

[SdK]

Hey guys, your friends who are lawyers, how hot are their wives?  Also, same for friends who are doctors.  Let's try to get a good sample size here for SK.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA probably the best point/post in this thread so far.

My limited sample says this:

doctors tend to get married younger to other docs they meet in med school (lots of power couples that are roughly equivalent in looks)
lawyers tend to get married later to younger women (lots of upgrades in the attractiveness dept.)

Both are attractive options. Thanks for the input, but can't say I'd be able to choose between marrying a doctor and being able to go younger. 

[Mikeyis4dcats]

Hey guys, your friends who are lawyers, how hot are their wives?  Also, same for friends who are doctors.  Let's try to get a good sample size here for SK.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA probably the best point/post in this thread so far.

My limited sample says this:

doctors tend to get married younger to other docs they meet in med school (lots of power couples that are roughly equivalent in looks)
lawyers tend to get divorced and re-married later to younger women (lots of upgrades in the attractiveness dept.)

FYP



Also, seconded on pharm school.      More money, less hours.