Looking for any opinions on choosing what I should major in! I plan to go to law school, but in case things don’t work as planned I ideally would also like to major in something that will stand on its own. I’m a non-traditional adult going back to school after 20+ years.
I have a background in I.T., working at a very high-level of computer networking. But am so far removed from doing any math, I know I will be starting at the very bottom in math, so I believe that pretty much rules out Computer Science for sure, seeing as how the beginning math req. for that is Calculus (which I’ve never done).
My passion isn’t with computers, though it is a great career demand and money-wise, but I really want to do something where I can help people. I also love to read and write.
Why do you want to go to law school? That is not a challenge question; I can’t give any guidance without knowing more. If your desire is to make money, I’m not sure that @twoinanddone is correct in steering you toward Spanish. A passion to help people, however: well, that could be a good fit. Law and IT/intellectual properties is still a profitable area. What’s your motivation?
My main motivation is being able to help people, and I really enjoy what I know about being a lawyer and working in the legal system. I’m always intrigued with any and everything law related I come across. I have been told repeatedly over the years I would make a great lawyer by people (including lawyers) whom had no idea I ever thought about going into law. A few of the college classes I took many years ago were law classes (Business Law), and I aced them. Those along with history classes, I REALLY enjoyed…Math not so much, Accounting hated, Writing loved, Pol-Sci/Gov’t enjoyed.
I believe I have a type of mind that would go along good in law. Very good at problem-solving, excellent interpersonal skills, enjoy reading and writing, persuasive, detail-oriented, can fit in with down-and-out addicts and ‘street people’ one minute and button down C-Level execs the next, think critically, analytical, etc.
Highest on the list is the opportunity to help people. Which is why for a backup plan I would like to go into another field where I can help, if law school doesn’t pan out.
At the same time money is also important. I cannot say I am 100% sold on an area of law where I’m living on a McDonald’s managers salary (one of the reasons I ruled out Social Worker as a career or backup plan)! I’ve known lawyers in the past; one did social justice/pro-bono type work and the other was a criminal lawyer and neither made squat. The pro-bono guy was at the end of his rope because he was tired of the financial struggles and the criminal lawyer just basically accepted he would never make a lot but loved the thrill of criminal law and had no intention of doing anything else.
Isn’t English the best law major? Knowing proper English would be critical, it seems. You made many grammar mistakes that would not be tolerated in law briefs.
If you have a good career in IT with a good salary, I would think long and hard before heading down the law school path. There are plenty of ways you can help people that won’t take up seven years of your life and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars between tuition bills and lost opportunity costs. As far as OP’s question - major isn’t really important so long as it’s something that lets you graduate with a high GPA. Your GPA and LSAT score will determine what law schools you can get into and what kind of scholarship money you get expect.
English does not necessarily give practice for logical thinking that is tested on the LSAT and used in law school and law. Also, reading and writing about fictional literature may not necessarily be the same as reading and writing about law.
“What is the best “pre-law” curriculum? How does one prepare for law school?
Harvard Law School considers applications from all undergraduate majors. There are no fixed requirements with respect to the content of pre-legal education. The nature of a candidate’s college work, as well as the quality of academic performance, are reviewed in the selection process. However, in preparing for law school, a broad college education is usually preferable to one that is narrowly specialized. The Admissions Committee looks for a showing of thorough learning in a field of your choice, such as history, economics, government, philosophy, mathematics, science, literature or the classics (and many others), rather than a concentration in courses given primarily as vocational training.” https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/the-application-process/admissions-faq/#faq-1-9
But then wouldn’t reading and writing about anything be similar in this respect? If so, then it would not appear that English has any particular advantage over many other majors for pre-law students.
It appears money is also important to you. If you are looking at a plum law job (starting salary at $150K+) with a large law firm, generally, you have to graduate from a top 10 to 12 law school (i.e., mostly private such as Chicago, Stanford, Duke, NWU, Ivies, and public schools like Michigan, Virginia and UCB). Otherwise, you need to graduate in the top 10 or maybe up to the top 25 percentile of your class in the law schools outside the T10 to T12, to be hired by large law firms. To be admitted to T10 to T12 law schools, generally you’ll need a high GPA and very high LSAT score. Also, add to the fact that you will forego your salary for 3 years to pay the high cost of attending law school.
I am not a lawyer, but information is from recent law graduates who graduated from UC Davis Law or UC Hastings Law, both very respectable and regarded law schools. Same for other law schools like Santa Clara University or USF (Univ. of San Fran.).
Perhaps, but then any good prof in lit/hume will require good grammar and spelling on papers/reports. Moreover, English/Creative Writing don’t necessarily improve critical thinking skills.
btw: legal writing in LS is rather stilted writing. Someone could be an A+ English honors major and published poet and they would easily struggle in L1 writing.
If I’ve read your post correctly, you’ve got a long road ahead-undergraduate and then law school, so you’ll be paying-potentially-for seven years of higher ed. The Received Wisdom is to go to the best law school possible, so major in something you like so you’ll get a high GPA, which is one of two very important law school application numbers-LSAT being the other.
And you don’t want to major in CS. I’d suggest you reconsider that, but how about business as your major? With a CS background, that would be a good fallback position. And if fallback isn’t important, you can pretty much major in anything. My LS had everything from BSNs to engineers to Art History majors.
However, as pointed out above, it’s pretty tough to mix a good salary and helping people. Those two rarely go together, and if you have a ton of debt for either or both undergrad/law school, you’ll need to follow the money, if possible.
You may want to stay where you are; if you’re well paid now, why start over? There are all sorts of volunteer opportunities for CS experts in underserved communities.
The good news about law school is that you can major in anything. Business and technical degrees are very useful in many fields of law, but it’s not required. I had a cousin who got a degree in electrical engineering and worked for a few years before going into law school. He eventually used his degree to become a patent lawyer. As long as you have top grades and you score high on the LSAT, you’ll be fine.
I would consider information systems if IT is your strength. It’s very similar to computer science but it is normally offered in either the business school or the arts and science school at universities (as opposed to comp sci which is usually in the engineering school). Because of this, the math level is normally not as high, although you may still have to take some math courses.