Hello, I am currently about halfway through my undergrad in structural engineering but have a strong interest in graduate school (I’m not too interested in pure engineering after graduating). I wanted to know if an MBA or law degree would have better job prospects upon graduating. If I went into law, I would most likely try to break into patent law. Does anyone know what the job prospects for patent attorneys are these days? I’ve heard that law school in general is a waste of money unless you graduate from an elite school but would having a background in engineering help with my job prospects? Having a hard time finding this information through online research. Also, I am currently at Ohio State University. While I understand that basing a career decision purely on salary and job prospects is a bad decision, I’m just trying to get a better idea of the markets to ensure I do not waste a ton of money on grad school. Thanks!
Patent attorneys do extremely well. That said, to maximize your job prospects in Law, you need to score near a 170 on the LSAT and have a high undergrad GPAto break into the top schools (called the T14). You can go directly from undergrad to law school (although usually people work a few years prior). Engineers are well suited for patent law, so it is a pretty good option if you enjoy that type of work.
For the MBA - most selective colleges require some work experience for your application to be considered competitive. You will also need to do very well on the GMAT and have a high undergrad GPA.
Let’s put it in another way. Patent attorneys do extremely well if they can find a good job in a good law firm. Some can engineers …can do also extremely well… Are there a lot of patents in structural engineering that will need a lawyer?
Financial success depends on the individual and luck.
There are both MBA and law school forums on here that can discuss these questions with far better reliability than the crowd here, who are mostly focused on research-based grad programs. I suggest moving this to one or both of those forums.
A family member studied engineering then went to work for a major semiconductor company in a management track rotation (1 or 2 year program, can’t remember.) Did extremely well after being placed into a department, I think was a member of a technical sales team, traveled all over the world. Ended up getting a lot of promotions and after 5 years was admitted to a top business school that was paid by the company. When he went to business school he had a lot to contribute to the cohort having been in the field and run a business unit and he was able to get a lot out of it. An MBA with no business experience can be a liability–be careful.
There are mba and law forums here you might like to consult, this one mainly deals with the MS/PhD
I would agree with cbreeze. While it is a general notion that “attorneys do extremely well,” it is nearly impossible to acquire a job in the field that would justify expenses of law school. I dreamed of going to law school for years, but after doing a thorough research, decided to stick with my undergrad field.
Yes, certainly patent law is a lucrative and growing field within the legal field. A couple of caveats: the best paying jobs ($150k per yr starting salaries) go mostly to the graduates of the top schools or the best students in the second tier schools). To be a good patent lawyer, you have to have good communication skills, to be able to distill and explain complex problems in an understandable manner. That’s why good patent lawyers are in high demand and also why there are not many people who can fulfill both roles–scientist and communicator–especially if you are going to be a litigator. Also, most patent and intellectual property disputes are now in the computer, software, and biotech fields. Do your engineering talents translate to these areas? Finally, I don’t think you’re the only one who thinks this way. Twenty years ago, maybe only 5% of law students had a BS or technical background. That’s at least doubled or tripled today. On the positive side, I think the depression in the legal employment market and law school enrollment is overdone, and five years from now we’re going to experience whiplash and a shortage of lawyers. Just when the market for lawyers is starting to firm up this year, the decline in interest in being a lawyer is still proceeding.
Well, I think the important question is - what do you want to do?
You’re not really supposed to have a “strong interest in graduate school.” It’s like having a strong interest in a screwdriver or a light bulb - graduate school is a means to an end. You do a specific degree because you want the career that comes after that degree - so you choose the career first, and then decide what you need to do to get there.
So do you want to be a patent attorney? Or do you want to do some sort of business management? If you are a current undergraduate you will need some years of work experience (at least 2; ideally 3-5+) before you will be competitive for an MBA program that will be worth the cost anyway. And these days, most new law students at top law schools have a couple of years of work experience (most have at least 1-2, and a significant proportion have 2-4). Besides, having some technical work experience before law school would only add to your cachet as a patent lawyer.
So if you aren’t sure what to do yet, you should probably go work as an engineer for a few years while you make the decision and shadow some people doing jobs that you think you’re interested in.
Yeah I definitely agree that career interest is important, however I also want to move in a direction that will lead to a high salary and solid job prospects. Despite what people say about following your passion, these are very important things to consider. I am currently in a manufacturing engineering internship that involves a lot of design in CAD (it’s more of a mechanical engineering internship than anything), so I will have a couple of years of design engineering experience when I graduate. I also sell real estate on the side so I will have some business/consulting experience as well. I want to eventually end up in a high position at a corporation and I am wondering whether law or MBA would give me the best chance of doing this. Thanks for the responses!