<p>heard one can pursue many different careers with a JD; still however, most of them are attorneys in the public or private sector. What are my other options? Guys like Jim Crammer (Mad Money) went to Harvard Law and then worked at GS, before the hedge fund deal. I would really like to do something like that, is it a possibility? </p>
<p>P.S. Some of you may be wondering why I would not go for an MBA rather than a JD, if I prefer a career that is business oriented. I am obtaining the JD because the top programs in the country don't require prior full time work experience, while the MBA programs do. I wouldn't mind going out into the real world for some work experience, but I go to a state school in Montana that doesn't exactly attract top recruits. Even with good grades, I will most likely wind up somewhere in the Northwest and at a firm that lacks prestige. I fear that this will not help my case when I apply for the big boy schools in the northeast that get kids that work at GS or Morgan Stanley. I know that many top law schools don't really care what school youre from, as long as you have a great GPA and knock out the LSATs. Both of those are within my reach, but the school I will graduate from, is pretty much out of control (unless I transfer). The JD path seems like my best bet. I appreciate your input. Thanks.</p>
<p>My advice is to not attend law school unless you are planning to become a lawyer. It's a three-year program that aims to teach one a new way of thinking, and it's not easy at any school. If you don't like studying law you will be putting yourself into a stressful three years.</p>
<p>And by the way, what's wrong with working at a firm that's not the most prestigious? Most lawyers and investment bankers do that. And most people who have a J.D. degree and work in other fields do so because they changed their plans or careers somewhere during their life. </p>
<p>Now, there's nothing wrong with being ambitious, either. But if your ambition is to aim for an investment banking position with a top firm, then going to law school will put you out of that market for at least three years. What you need to do is to take a deep breath, and then concentrate on finding out, with some solid research, how to improve your chances on going from a school in Montana into a spot at one of the top banking firms. Maybe you have to first work at a regional investment banking firm to build up experience to add to your school record. Maybe you have to get involved in professional associotions to make some contacts, with that aim. Note that I said "improve your chances", not "get a job". Nobody is guaranteed that, except for top graduates of top schools, and that's a small number of people.</p>
<p>Don't go to law school unless you are planning to become a lawyer (for good). Yes, sometimes lawyers branch into other things, but for the most part that's because they were very smart, hard working and versitile people to begin with, not because they learned something magical in law school. An MBA is much better if you don't want to be a practicing lawyer or are not sure.</p>
<p>Fred Thompson is a very good actor, but I don't recommend three years of law school if you want to go into the theatre.</p>
<p>Everyone loves to tell people that you can do all kinds of things with a law degree but very few people actually come up with these things. Most of those with law degrees doing other things didn't plan it that way - they just hated being lawyers and got out of it. I agree - a waste of a lot of time and lot of money if you don't plan to be a lawyer.</p>
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they just hated being lawyers and got out of it
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<p>While that is true in some cases, it is hardly true for everyone. Today, many of my classmates from law school work "on the business side" in investment banking, in private equity, at hedge funds, at corporations, as consultants and pursuing their own entrepreneurial dreams. Plenty are still practicing lawyers. Others are writers, teachers, housewives, actors and professors -- and these are just the classmates that I know about. Now, while it is certainly possible that some of them left the practice of law because they simply couldn't stand it, the majority of them left because other opportunities presented themselves or they had other dreams they wanted to follow. My colleagues from through the years also include many who took jobs on the business side and in education. Moreover, just because one no longer practices law it is not a safe assumption that they left because they hated practicing. Sometimes, particularly if one does take that very visible, biglaw, front page of the Wall Street Journal transaction kind of job, other very attractive opportunities present themselves.</p>
<p>All of that said, I wouldn't go to law school because I wanted to be a writer or work at a hedge fund. In my opinion, that would be a waste of time.</p>
<p>business schools look for diversity and you might be just the candidate they need. The classes are more discussion oriented than than a lecture style (correct me if i'm wrong). The fact that you're from the Midwest will help you. Just like it's easier to get into top schools if you're from an underrepresented area of the country (midwest,alaska, hawaii, west coast in some cases). Plus schools like to boast about having students from different states and or countries. "Work experience" does not mean u have to work at a big IB/consulting firm. Rapid advancement through the ranks will do the trick (leadership, problem solving).</p>