<p>I am an average 3.5 double major (Accounting and Political Science) and I want to pursue something after undergraduate, but the thing is I cannot decide between: </p>
<p>A. Law School (Tax law, estate, bankruptcy.. sound interesting to me, but I'm not entirely sure I want to practice law and I hear all kinds of horror stories about how overrated the JD is)
or
B. A Masters in Public Administration/Political Science. Political science is my true passion, but I am told that there are no careers for the most part unless you go for an MPA and work in the public sector or go for a PhD in Political science and teach/research. </p>
<p>Does anyone out there have any advice, thoughts, anything whatsoever for me? I joined this forum just to ask this one question, so please speak up! :)</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>May I ask what year you are in? Because I wonder how much time you have to intern or volunteer, etc, in some settings that can give you a taste of what it’s like to apply political science or do accounting. Also, I advise taking time off between undergrad and grad so you have time to assess your interests and research appropriate programs. </p>
<p>this is going to sound very general–I am in another field so I can’t offer you an insight that is specific to your situation–but: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I think that MAs in the social sciences/humanities tend to be very costly and more or less useless–in terms of getting you a job, versus someone with a BA who has more experience working in the same field. If poli sci is your passion, I would think about a PhD. These programs are fully funded and you can secure an academic job afterward (well, “secure” used loosely). Do you want to teach it? Do research? If not, then maybe a PhD route is not the best one for you. I’m not familiar with an MPA–look into the curriculum, do you find it interesting? You have to question what is it that you want to do with your passion. </p></li>
<li><p>some people teach law after they are done with law school–would you prefer to teach it rather than practice it? if you want to have a degree that will enable you to have a job, practice poli sci or engage with it, then look into the MPA. It sounds like a practical thing, although probably expensive.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I am also a political science and economics major. To graduate in four years unfortunately I may switch political science to a minor. Since Iam looking at law school I feel that will work as if not better like a political science degree. Possibly same for graduate programs like public relations. Though I do not see where economics can be substituted.</p>
<p>That being said you don’t have to decided now, and can work a year if still undecided. If you can afford it maybe go to school a extra year to get a better grasp of your interest.</p>
<p>There are joint JD/MPA programs; they take about 4 years to complete. If you are interested in both, there’s the opportunity to do both.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on what you want to do. Do you want to be a lawyer? Then go to law school. I know that sounds stupid, but there are a lot of undergrads who go to law school because they think they can parlay the degree into another field or because they don’t know what to do next. It’s far too expensive for that kind of nonsense, and the other thing is if you want to go into another field, there are cheaper options.</p>
<p>I think the JD is overrated if you want to “help people” and think you’ll go into prosecution or public law or something and still make money. They don’t make enough to balance out the costs. If you want to do tax law or some other sort of corporate interest, you’ll probably do well, especially if you have an accounting degree as well.</p>
<p>The MPA could also be useful combined with your accounting background - first thing that comes to mind is hospital administration, but that’s because I’m in healthcare. Any public sector firms and nonprofits will take you though, and government as well.</p>
<p>I don’t think going to school another year will help. Working is very different from taking classes in something. If you are still undecided, the best way to decide is to graduate and get a job.</p>