<p>I very much want to go to law school in four years. I've been passionate about this goal for a very, very long time. However, if employment prospects for lawyers are as bleak in four years as they are today, I acknowledge that I may need a back-up and investing in law school might not be a wise idea. </p>
<p>I would love to major in something like English or Philosophy because they are most interesting to me and I feel I would excel in those areas. English has always come easily to me, and my AP Lit teacher this year even told me it would be a shame if I didn't major in something that would involve literature. My verbal skills have always far outweighed my quantitative skills, and I feel a liberal arts degree would be easier, more engaging, and more relevant to my interests than a degree in math or science. </p>
<p>However, I know that math and science degrees come with some degree of job security, and liberal arts degrees are generally worthless. So I've also been thinking about a B.S. in Psychology as I already have a few of the credits needed from taking AP classes in high school. Then, if I decide not to go to law school because the investment is too much, I could go to graduate school for Psychology and pursue a career in research (the B.S. at UNC is statistics and research-based). This I could at least see myself doing (unlike engineering, tech, etc) even though I'm in no way as passionate about it as I am about being a lawyer.</p>
<p>The problem is, I don't want to close any doors to law school by earning a subpar GPA in a science field (what scares me most is the Calculus and Computer Science credit requirement for the B.S. in Psychology). I know numbers are everything in law school admissions, and I know a degree in something like English would result in a better GPA for me. Of course, I would also enjoy classes a lot more and have the time for a more complete college experience. </p>
<p>I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions. Are there any majors you all can think of that would be the best of both worlds?</p>
<p>Uh… do you not know what the academic market is like these days? A research career is not at all something secure which you could fall back on. The number of Ph.D holders is significantly higher than the number of available professorships, so it’s mathematically impossible for more than about 1/2 of people who want a tenure track position to get one. Basically, it’s the structural problems of law school, except worse.</p>
<p>Anyway, my answer to you depends on your answer to a very important question. For what reasons do you want to be a lawyer? What do you think the job is like, and which parts of it sound attractive to you?</p>
<p>1/2 odds doesn’t sound so bad to me…especially considering the fact that I live in a highly research-intensive college town, and that most adults I know (family or otherwise) work in research at either Duke or Carolina. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. Perhaps “secure” was the wrong word. But it definitely seems less unpredictable than law school.</p>
<p>I’d really love to be a defense attorney. As cliche as this will sound, I believe it’s better to have 10 guilty people set free than one innocent person convicted. I believe a harsh justice system involving quick and rash decisions is the defining characteristic of an uncivilized society. I believe that situations are never black and white, and that people are generally good. I believe there needs to be calm, level-headed rationality in a society that loves to point fingers, condemn, and jump to conclusions that are easy and clear-cut.</p>
<p>That isn’t 1/2 odds of getting a good professorship. That’s 1/2 odds that you get any professorship, from tenure-track at Harvard down to adjunct at Podunk State.</p>
<p>You don’t get to philosophize about justice as a lawyer, so your opinions on the justice system aren’t really relevant. Like I said, what do you think that defense attorneys do, and which specific parts of it make you want to do it for a living?</p>
<p>I’m currently a part of an internship program at my local DA’s office and part of this program includes various workshops/panels to hear from ADAs and Defense attornies about their experiences prior and post law school.</p>
<p>Although I know that the job market in 2004 and 2012 are extremely different, I had the opportunity to meet many law school students currently enrolled in Columbia Law. Many of them took a year off between their undergrad and law school to either study for LSATs or save up via a job. Most of the students who took a year off majored in their undergrad years as Comp Sci or Math to take an entry level position somewhere before going to law school. The majority of them also minored in English or something relevant to IR.</p>
<p>The moral of the story is that you should just prove that you learned how to think critically in your classes while earning high marks.</p>
<p>amarkov: Well I think I would enjoy my job if I felt I was doing something that would help society, and working towards a goal I personally believe in. If a medical student said “I want to be a doctor because I want to play a role in improving healthcare”, would you tell them “As a doctor, you don’t get to philosophize about the healthcare system”?</p>
<p>But as for specific reasons: I want to work with people and try to understand them. I want a career that’s writing-intensive. I’m detail-oriented, observational (but not in a visual way), and pretty good at detecting flaws in arguments. These are all skills I think a lawyer would need. </p>
<p>What I don’t understand is why you need this information to give me advice.</p>
<p>metrocard: Thanks for the input. The “while earning high marks” bit is the tricky part. :)</p>
<p>I need it because a lot of people, even those who’ve always dreamed of being a lawyer, have no idea what lawyers actually do. They think that they should become a lawyer because they love debate, or because they’re good at thinking on their feet, or because they’re going to make a lot of money.</p>
<p>Anyway, that doesn’t seem to be the case with you, as long as you won’t mind the fact that most of your clients are factually guilty. If you’re sure your desire for law school isn’t going to change, and you’re not a quantitative person, it’s best for you to take the humanities major and get better grades. Just be aware that you are taking a risk here; the legal job market will not be much better in four years, because many of its problems have nothing to do with the recession.</p>
<p>And yes, I absolutely would ask an aspiring doctor the same questions. Becoming a doctor requires 4 years of med school followed by 3 years of 100 hour a week residency; even more so than for law school, to get through that you need a better reason than “I think people should have good healthcare”.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, this isn’t some trivial objection. A fifth of lawyers have clinical depression. A fifth of lawyers are alcoholics. Less than half of lawyers say that they would recommend a legal career to other people. Like I said, you seem to know what you’re getting into, but if you don’t it’s a very big deal.</p>
<p>I’ve been volunteering with our county’s Teen Court for about three years now, and the judge there is a state prosecutor in real court. He’s lectured me endlessly about how there’s no back-and-forth debate at all, and it’s more about head-ache inducing prep work than thinking on your feet. I mostly get told how much it sucks lol :). Later this week I’ll be observing a jury trial, which should be interesting. It’s always good gaining more insight. </p>
<p>Yes, I’m definitely leaning towards what’ll produce better grades. Thanks!</p>