<p>Hey guys. I am a freshman at a community college right now, because of my inability to pinpoint a certain career path. I know I have time, but I would like to have some sort of central focus. I had always wanted to go into law, but I think my views of lawyers had been skewed from television dramas. I still think my skills could be somewhat useful in the law field, but I have done research and realized that law school is a very risky investment and the job market is not good;verall it is not as glamourous as I thought. I have considered another focus which is accounting. I am good with numbers and find working in a Big 4 accounting firm very appealing. However, I feel like going toward accounting would be like "the easy way out;" not suggesting that accounting is iany way easy, but I do not wan't to look back and regret not pursuing law. Given this current economy, which would be the smarter investment? I plan to transfer to University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign very soon and major in Economics if I am pursuing the law route. Thanks guys</p>
<p>woops, *overall</p>
<p>Well, to be frank, no one has many skills as a college freshman that would be useful in the law field. If that were so, you probably wouldn’t have to get an undergrad degree or go to college. You could just waltz into a law firm at 18 and hand them your resume.</p>
<p>Very true. Correction, I mean that Im a good writer, speaker, and I think logically. Of course to the extent that one would need in the law field, but I feel like there’s potential</p>
<p>*not to the extent.</p>
<p>Do you want to be a lawyer or an accountant?</p>
<p>I honestly wouldn’t mind either. I feel like i have a stronger passion for law, but the job market and high risk makes it a little less appealing.</p>
<p>What do you imagine these jobs are like such that you wouldn’t mind either?</p>
<p>I imagine them both to be careers that could tailor to my interests; one with numbers/business and another with speaking/thinking/writing. I just feel like accounting would be a more stable route to a good amount of money, whereas law is one with a higher risk and less certainty, but could lead to a higher payoff.</p>
<p>Since you are just starting college, I recommend you take some entry-level accounting courses and see how you like them. I would not recommend pursuing either field as a way to make money. The higher salary jobs in each demand substantial amounts of your time, and there’s not much use for money when you have no time to spend it. Spend some time figuring out what it is you want to do, lawyer, accountant, or whatever, then develop a specific plan. If you do like accounting and still want to be a lawyer, there’s always tax law.</p>
<p>That’s good advice. I’ve only gotten a taste of accounting by reading a few old textbooks at my house (my mom used to be one). Ill definitley look into tax law, thanks</p>
<p>One of the lawyers in my Fortune 500 company has an accounting degree (he worked as an accountant and went to night school for his J.D.). His accounting degree comes in very handy for everything from establishing litigation reserves, due diligence for acquisitions, and negotiating payment/tax terms in large contracts. It distinguished him from other candidates for the job. His skill set makes him one of our more useful lawyers.</p>
<p>Accounting is very useful in law, no doubt about it. There is always money to be dealt with, litigation budgets, forensic accounting of produced documents. Also, there is the career path of law firm management. Top executives in law firms make a lot of money, garner great respect and have much more stable careers than lawyers. Every law firm has an accounting department and they pay very, very well.</p>
<p>That said, it’s much harder to get a job as a lawyer with a top firm than it is to get a job with an excellent accounting firm. Which is not easy, either. Personally, I think accounting is completely the way to go if you are good at it. Then you can work for a while at a good career to pay for law school. The other benefit to taking the law firm management path is that you don’t have to go to a tippy-top law school to be a very desirable hire. Or you can just be a great accountant, make lots of money, be less impacted by variables in the economic climate, and have a completely portable skill.</p>
<p>Wow Accounting seems like a good median for my current situation then. Ill definitley look into majoring in accounting rather than economics, then going to law school. Thanks everybody.</p>