<p>I heard Management Consulting is too. Would a JD/MBA dual program be best? I heard it's even more gruesome than law</p>
<p>What is more gruesome than law? A JD/MBA program? Investment banking? Management consulting?</p>
<p>It's med school that's known for being gruesome, not law school. Grueling, maybe. But at least we didn't have to cut up any cadavers.</p>
<p>If you are smart and primarily want to make big money, don't waste your time with law school. Being an attorney means good money + intellectual challenge + prestige.</p>
<p>If you want to retire by age 45 don't go to law school. Look at the world: Attorneys don't retire at age 45. Because practicing law is often fun and because (for the most part) attorneys do not hit it really big. </p>
<p>As an attorney you may end up serving people who are younger and far wealthier than you. Some people have a hard time dealing with this.</p>
<p>JMHO</p>
<p>^^^^Most Attorneys don't retire at 45 simply because they can't afford to do so. Look, there is law school debt and if you look at the average salary of a lawyer--it's not that great. The elite lawyers (who make the big bucks) are usually too used to their lawyer lifestyle to retire, move to FL and eat at dennys for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>And yes, the bottom line is that IB is way more lucrative--and more selective. If you can make it to VP, the going gets easier and the money better. Keep in mind, however, that IB=math; and most lawyer types are smart people who 1)dislike math, but are decent at it 2) simply can't do math. IB is also about looks, personality and presence--you can't go to school for that.</p>
<p>I think that's ridculous. The median salary for attorneys is over $140k, so what are you talking about?</p>
<p>IB=math...wait, are you serious?</p>
<p>That's a huge overstatement.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The median salary for attorneys is over $140k, so what are you talking about?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Where did you get that from? What are you talking about? </p>
<p>"In May 2004, the median annual earnings of all lawyers were $94,930."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings</a></p>
<p>At least, hiring for IB is often heavily weighted towards evaluation of the math performance on your transcript and your quantitative skills. I don't know about the job itself.</p>
<p>"so what are you talking about?"</p>
<p>---whoa...hold your horses kid. learn to read data (and do research) and then, perhaps, seek to be confrontational. I was about to give you the link Sakky provided. Notice that the $94k includes senior attorneys and partners. the harsh truth is that unless you go to a top law school, your chances of making good money are slim--you'll also probably have to pay debt, which further reduces your income. Ask the lawyers in the forum; this has been discussed previously. Heck, the WSJ posted an article on it and how attending an "average" law school was not worth it, financially speaking. So, what are you talking about?</p>
<p>"IB=math...wait, are you serious?"</p>
<p>Yes. I am serious. Last time I checked, Arithmetic and Algebra counted as math. Sure, it may not be advanced math, but it is math nonetheless. Fin. and Acct are math-based. And if you go into trading, you'll also need to be comfortable with doing basic math quickly, on the spot, in your head. So, yes, I am serious.</p>
<p>What lawyers lose in salary, they make up for in stability. Graduates of top law schools have a very stable degree. No?</p>
<p>It depends on what you mean by stable. In the NYC market, at least, law firms still all have the "up and out" system, where you stick around for seven or eight or ten or twelve years (whatever is allowed by that particular firm) and then either make partner or find another place to work. Some firms now do have an alternate track, sometimes called "Senior Counsel" or "Counsel", for example, where talented associates who the firm does not wish to make partner are kept around on salary without allowing them to share in the profits of the firm. For those who end up "out", it can be a tough road. If that "out" associate does not have a significant book of business (meaning clients who will follow that associate wherever he or she goes), which most do not have, it can be a challenge to find a partnership position elsewhere, though it is does happen, particularly when the associate is coming from a very prestigious law firm. </p>
<p>NYC law firms (and many other big law firms around the country) have also become much more comfortable quietly letting associates go at review-time (generally in December). Though some large law firms have been known to lay off fairly large groups of associates during down times, the fairly standard operating procedure is for an associate to be told that they have three months to find another position. That associate is usually given free use of law firm faciilties (copmuters, printers, assistant, etc.) and allowed to "come to work" and keep their office during their search so that to the rest of the world it appears that this associate just independently determined to leave that law firm. </p>
<p>Finding good, well-paying in house jobs (often the route of choice for big law firm lawyers who don't want to or simply don't make partner) is quite a challenge, as the market for these few positions is extremely competitive. </p>
<p>So is the big firm practice of law stable? It is probably more stable than investment banking, but there are certainly no guarantees.</p>