Is a law degree only good if you want to be a lawyer?

<p>I'm finishing up my nursing degree and I was just wondering what I could do with a law degree besides be a lawyer. I was thinking about maybe getting a MPH, but I don't know. I know I can be a legal nurse consultant, but are there any other careers available?</p>

<p>Politician</p>

<p>I do not think especially ITE that it is worth $200,000 and 3 years of your life to go to law school if you do not intend to be a lawyer. Don’t go in it with the mindset that if I change my mind I will do something else.</p>

<p>Well there are a number of professions that are not traditionally what you would think of as “lawyers” that people with law degrees go on to do for a career.</p>

<p>I’m a big sports guy, so I am aware that a lot of the higher ups in the league offices (David Stern for example) have law degrees. Also, sports agents do. I’m sure there are plenty of other careers people have with law degrees.</p>

<p>Do not go to law school if you do not want to be a lawyer.</p>

<p>A law degree is terribly overvalued these days. Law school graduates are oversupplied and the job market is dreadful for newly minted lawyers – many are unemployed or underemployed. Given what it costs to get a law degree, I would suggest that you look before you leap.</p>

<p>The short answer to your general question: no. Is it wise to earn a law degree if you have no intention of being a lawyer? Probably not.</p>

<p>Obviously, you can choose a different career than law after you earn your JD. For example, Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO is a Harvard Law grad with no business school experience.</p>

<p>Even most of the people who end up doing something else practice law for at least a few years (including Blankfein and Stern), so it’s a bad idea to go to law school if you have no intention of being a lawyer.</p>

<p>Do not go to law school if you don’t want to be a lawyer. If you don’t know what you want to do, work for a few years and do an MBA.</p>