Which is better in terms of career outlook? I feel like economics or businesses will be useful, but i really love learning about law and justice-except I don’t wanna end up in a coffeeshop. What’s the best route in your opinion?
I think you are talking about what a graduate degree in law or business would help you in terms of professional development.
If so, this is my 2 cents. Overall, it depends on the quality of education and your ability. Both are large job sectors with many opportunities. The supplies of JD and MBA/MS in business are also large, thus subject to fierce competition. Having a terminal degree with a big name university will surely help, holding other factors constant.
Now, in terms of cost, a JD is generally more expensive because it usually takes 3 years, whereas MBA/MS takes 1-2 years.
The law profession today is tougher for young incomers. Their average starting pay has been suppressed from many years. Many argue that it is due to online competition and oversupply. The oversupply has spilled over into academic job market as well. Today a new assistant law professor probably does not earn as much as a new assistant business professor. But this was not the case 30 years ago. In good old days, law professors earn substantially more than business professors.
The growth in MBA has not been good either in recent years. This is particularly so for lower-tier schools. Pretty much all schools have been thinking about in what new or revised way MBA can better add value to their students. In recent years, the growth in graduate business education is largely due to increase in MS business degree (particularly in accounting and finance if my memory serves me correct).
At very top level, both law and MBA continue to produce very good placement records. So it is about what you love and what you can do well. Hope this helps.
bump
Another option is to find a career where you can blend your interests. I am in the field of human resource management, and I am always reading into various employment laws and proposals and applying them to day-to-day business decisions (ADA, EEOC, NLRB, harassment, discrimination, etc.), coaching management on appropriate behaviors, considering ethical dilemmas, and “justice” in the sense of fair employment and accommodations practices for employees. I am also a business partner and very involved in business operations and strategy.
I agree that where you get your degree and the networking/recruitment outcomes there will have a strong influence on which area you would find success in down the road.