Ok, so I’m still just a college freshman and a lot of u might think its too early for me to be thinking about this, nevertheless I like thinking ahead and I would also like some more information about this topic. So I am majoring in business and after I get a bachelor’s I want to work in investment banking for few years and then I am thinking of going back to school and getting a joint degree in JD/MBA, I’m not sure which career path I wanna take but I think I might be interested in being a corporate lawyer and so I think this degree will be useful for that. Does anyone have any opinions about this? Does it seem like I’ll be wasting time and money or do u think it will be worthwhile if I do end up as a corporate lawyer. Can anyone personally relate to this? I would love to hear about your experiences. Thanks in advance.
Not helpful to have an MBA at all. Just get a good summer associate job while in law school, as that is the biggest help in getting a post grad job…(and they are hard to find without stellar grades from a top school). Be prepared to work like a dog to make it.
PS: everybody wants to go into IB. IMO, the business is on the downswing. Capital is too dear, and profits are not keeping up. Costs are skyrocketing for compliance, and penalties for noncompliance are eating into meager profits. They are even cutting back in the amounts they spend on law firms.
It’s not all $$$ and roses these days. Fair warning.
As a college freshman, the right answer is to go get some experience interning at these places. There’s only one good way to figure out if a career is for you, and that’s to try it.
Most JD/MBAs who I know went into the business world and made a lot more than they would as a lawyer. I don’t see the point in an MBA if you want to work in a law firm.
I disagree with the blanket statement. A biz degree can be helpful in the tech sector/SV. Of course what little advantage it offers can be replicated by a couple of years of work in the real world.
So is someone going in the business world going to make lots more with a jd/mba than just an mba? or is the investment in the jd not worth the returns?
@cosgirl, as I’ve been told (by a dean of a law school), business school focuses on interpersonal skills rather than analytical skills, but law school focuses on analytical skills rather than interpersonal skills. In short- to put it rudely- lawyers are sharp geeks, and businesspeople are the cool kids, but not bright.
So someone with a JD/MBA has the best of both: brains plus interpersonal skills. That combination will pay off big time.
Someone with an MBA alone, or even no MBA, can certainly do just as well. Probably being the type who can get into a top law school and a top business school but turns down law school will do amazingly well, too.
Some firms grant a year of class credit for an MBA. Otherwise I don’t know of any particular advantages.
Thank u all for your input. Really appreciate it. I guess one of the most important factors that will influence my decision for getting a jd/mba would be the economy and job market after 6-8 years and the demand of that degree.
Again, if you want to be a corporate lwyer, skip the MBA. I actually am a corporate lawyer, so I can make the blanket statement that it is a waste in a lawfirm. By waste, I mean of time and tuition.
You may want to consider taking a minor in finance. An understanding of business is a good thing to have.
PS, good corporate lawyers are also cool kids, that is how they get their clients…Some business people are not too bright, but that is changing in today’s marketplace. Brains are catching up. So if you have both brains and beauty (meaning personality), you are special.
If you want to do business, do an MBA. If you want to work in a lawfirm, target the best lawschool you can get into and do as well as you possibly can there.