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Thread: Business School vs Law School

  1. #1
    Senior Member pemberly's Avatar
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    Default Business School vs Law School

    I've been asking everybody for advice, so I might as well ask my spcnet peeps, too.

    I'm at a point in my life where I've hit a wall. I realize that I need a higher degree to take the next step in my career. I had always planned on going back to school and was just waiting to save up some money and get some work experience.

    I took my GMAT and got a 700, which won't get me into Harvard, but would probably get me into a pretty good school. Well, I've been sitting on this for a while and haven't applied anywhere because I'm having serious thoughts about abandoning my business school plans all together.

    I've wanted to be a lawyer since elementary school. In my senior year of high school I worked for a lawyer and he was a complete dill hole, pretty much scarring me and ruining my ideals of the profession. Now that I'm older, I realize there are dill holes in every career track.

    As some of you know, I've worked in Marketing for the past several years. I like it. I have no real complaints. And if I do become an attorney, I would most likely stay in business law, possibly international business law or advertising law.

    Another major argument for going to law school is that I'm very good at taking standardized tests. It doesn't mean I'm smarter than the average bear or anything. It's just a random skill I have. I got that 700 after studying just the day before at starbucks for a couple of hours. If I take the LSAT, I would probably do very well, as the only thing bringing my GMAT score down was math. And my best area is logical reasoning. I have confidence that I'd get into a top law school; better than the business schools I could get into.

    I know several people on spcnet have gotten their mbas or are in the process, and I wanted to know if anybody has any advice for me either way. I tried making one of those pros/cons lists, and they came out tied. -_-
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    Seriously, ask yourself these question before deciding on anything.

    What do you envisage yourself doing 5 years from now?
    What about 10 years from now?
    How are you going to work towards that goal?
    How are you going to pay for that goal (time, money, commitment)?

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    Quote Originally Posted by pemberly View Post
    I've been asking everybody for advice, so I might as well ask my spcnet peeps, too.

    I'm at a point in my life where I've hit a wall. I realize that I need a higher degree to take the next step in my career. I had always planned on going back to school and was just waiting to save up some money and get some work experience.

    I took my GMAT and got a 700, which won't get me into Harvard, but would probably get me into a pretty good school. Well, I've been sitting on this for a while and haven't applied anywhere because I'm having serious thoughts about abandoning my business school plans all together.

    I've wanted to be a lawyer since elementary school. In my senior year of high school I worked for a lawyer and he was a complete dill hole, pretty much scarring me and ruining my ideals of the profession. Now that I'm older, I realize there are dill holes in every career track.

    As some of you know, I've worked in Marketing for the past several years. I like it. I have no real complaints. And if I do become an attorney, I would most likely stay in business law, possibly international business law or advertising law.

    Another major argument for going to law school is that I'm very good at taking standardized tests. It doesn't mean I'm smarter than the average bear or anything. It's just a random skill I have. I got that 700 after studying just the day before at starbucks for a couple of hours. If I take the LSAT, I would probably do very well, as the only thing bringing my GMAT score down was math. And my best area is logical reasoning. I have confidence that I'd get into a top law school; better than the business schools I could get into.

    I know several people on spcnet have gotten their mbas or are in the process, and I wanted to know if anybody has any advice for me either way. I tried making one of those pros/cons lists, and they came out tied. -_-
    if you notice, alot of higher lvl degree holder are drill holes. it's probably something they pick up along the way. it's unavoidable. just go with w/e u feel like you want to do. both are good, although i don't see the point of getting bussiness school if you're not gonna do any bussiness afterward.

  4. #4
    Senior Member yittz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by warlock110 View Post
    if you notice, alot of higher lvl degree holder are drill holes. it's probably something they pick up along the way. it's unavoidable. just go with w/e u feel like you want to do. both are good, although i don't see the point of getting bussiness school if you're not gonna do any bussiness afterward.
    No I am pretty sure you have to be a drill hole first before you can get in. If you look at the LCAT exam there's a psychological section that tests drill hole worthiness.

    Pemberly, go with what you feel is right. If the pros and cons come out equal it means you are nothing willing to put more weighting into certain categories and holding yourself back from pursueing what you really want.
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    Quote Originally Posted by yittz View Post
    No I am pretty sure you have to be a drill hole first before you can get in. If you look at the LCAT exam there's a psychological section that tests drill hole worthiness.

    Pemberly, go with what you feel is right. If the pros and cons come out equal it means you are nothing willing to put more weighting into certain categories and holding yourself back from pursueing what you really want.
    lol, i always thought it's something you picked up, i guess not... I've never seen an LCAT exam so I don't really know.

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    International business attorney is a combo of business and law. Sounds good to me. Do what you want to do.

    I am kinda in the same boat. Right now I'm in the process of applying to business school. My reason for pursuing an MBA is not a good one but I'm going for it anyway. Heh.

  7. #7
    Senior Member pemberly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Han Solo View Post
    Seriously, ask yourself these question before deciding on anything.

    What do you envisage yourself doing 5 years from now?
    What about 10 years from now?
    How are you going to work towards that goal?
    How are you going to pay for that goal (time, money, commitment)?

    Han Solo
    5 years or 10 years from now, i'd like to be working in a large international company. that's the kind of place i work at now. i can see myself doing marketing and business development for them, or as an international business lawyer, helping with business development. i know i have to go to grad school, and cost to me is a non issue. i'm very willing to amass large amounts of debt, haha.

    Quote Originally Posted by warlock
    if you notice, alot of higher lvl degree holder are drill holes. it's probably something they pick up along the way. it's unavoidable. just go with w/e u feel like you want to do. both are good, although i don't see the point of getting bussiness school if you're not gonna do any bussiness afterward.
    either way, i think i could be happy. and i'll probably always stay in the corporate world. i won't be a trial lawyer, though. i actually enjoy going over contracts, as i enjoy drawing up advertising plans.

    Quote Originally Posted by yittz
    Pemberly, go with what you feel is right. If the pros and cons come out equal it means you are nothing willing to put more weighting into certain categories and holding yourself back from pursueing what you really want.
    it's just that i think both tracks are quite similar. so i focus on details like likelihood of getting a job after graduation and earning potential to try to differentiate them.

    Quote Originally Posted by dictionary
    International business attorney is a combo of business and law. Sounds good to me. Do what you want to do.
    i thought about doing a combo degree, but it kinda seems like overkill.

    i think i probably prefer getting an mba 60/ law 40, but i perceive law as a safer track. i'm more likely to get into a better school, and have a high and steady income. with an mba, there are so many more variants, so success might be not as easy to attain.

    my friend actually gave me a good suggestion. she said to go sit in on some classes and see what i'm really interested in. and it's pretty convenient for me, since i live 12 minutes from harvard.

    either way, schools don't start taking applications until september so i have time to decide.
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  8. #8
    Senior Member KeongJai's Avatar
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    do the law course. most of the IB's take lawyers (unless you got experience already) you can do the mba later if you need it to move up.

    ps: I hope you like reading because you'll be doing a lot of if you do law

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    Coming from a business background, I suggest taking law. The reason is that law is a profession, whereas business is more a general degree. Many finance related positions require law knowledge. e.g CFO, private banker. After a law degree, you could also consider taking a MBA/CFA to broaden your perspectives if you will like to remain in the corporate world.

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    on that note,i'm currently doing my a-lvls n am confused as to which undergrad degree i shuld pursue.........uni apps r starting n i'm well,freaking out........i tink the main prob is me not having a natural calling....i mean,i'm good in my sciences(bio,chem,phy) n ok ok in math........but i dun particularly like any of it....i like discovering new things in bio but i hate memorising d details of it,chem can be pretty dull sometimes n i just don't connect with physics.....as for math,yeah well,not exactly my cup of tea....so i'm pretty lost cuz i'm like the jack of all trades,master of none.....it's pretty frustrating realli....i've sat for tonnes of aptitudes tests n well,can ye trust them with such varying results?but among the courses that i've tot of are law,econs,any science-related stuff(oh such wide range...)........i'm interested in law n econs but have never studied it so i'm slightly worried that my love for law stems from watching too much of "Boston Legal" n dat my interest in econs is due to our current eco situation........i'm worried tat these r temporary interest n that when the going gets tough,i won't have enough drive in me to see it thru.....n i def do not have the luxury of being able to change my course....so i've onli got one shot n i gotta get it rite.......what do u guys think?anyone here who's studied law/econs n can brief me about it?!

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    Senior Member jiang bao's Avatar
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    If you want to get into management, then an MBA would be helpful. Since you seem to have a lot of experience in marketing, getting the MBA can only help. Switching careers into law... I dunno about that right now in this economic environment.

    I was sort of in a similar situation. I got my MBA to switch careers into finance. Turned out the timing was horrible and I certainly didn't envision myself doing my current job, which does give me very good experience but pays literally next to nothing. Everyone (including myself) thinks I'm being taken advantage of, but there's no alternative. Even though I have good experience on my resume now, there just aren't many opportunities. I am competing with people with way more experience for the same positions.

    So without knowing your personality situation, I would say first of all definitely hang on to your job and only go part time. Secondly, it might be better to go for the MBA unless you really really wanna get into law.
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    ohh i look up to you pemberly <3
    good luck!
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    Traditionally, law school coursework has focused on the nuts and bolts of law and regulation with little regard for the more practical knowledge students need once they enter the profession. Now students are increasingly able to hone their business acumen during law school, either through joint degrees or, like Fowler, through a special concentration. This focus on business courses is part of a broader shift in the law school curriculum to include more specialized and practical training.
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    Quote Originally Posted by jiang bao View Post
    If you want to get into management, then an MBA would be helpful. Since you seem to have a lot of experience in marketing, getting the MBA can only help. Switching careers into law... I dunno about that right now in this economic environment.

    I was sort of in a similar situation. I got my MBA to switch careers into finance. Turned out the timing was horrible and I certainly didn't envision myself doing my current job, which does give me very good experience but pays literally next to nothing. Everyone (including myself) thinks I'm being taken advantage of, but there's no alternative. Even though I have good experience on my resume now, there just aren't many opportunities. I am competing with people with way more experience for the same positions.

    So without knowing your personality situation, I would say first of all definitely hang on to your job and only go part time. Secondly, it might be better to go for the MBA unless you really really wanna get into law.
    We just had a guy come in for an interview for a late-shift (2pm-10pm) operations position (that's basically tech support) who had a MBA from Suffolk in 2006. Oddly enough all 3 candidates that came in had Masters of one form or another (one in MIS, the other in CS).
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    Senior Member pemberly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by darkcser View Post
    We just had a guy come in for an interview for a late-shift (2pm-10pm) operations position (that's basically tech support) who had a MBA from Suffolk in 2006. Oddly enough all 3 candidates that came in had Masters of one form or another (one in MIS, the other in CS).
    errr...yeah, i wouldn't go to suffolk to get my mba. call me elitist or whatever, but i'm going to try for the best school i can possibly get into. i have some friends who are going to umass amherst satellite school for their mba, just to save money. i think if i'm able to get into a better school, i wouldn't mind going into debt. it'll pay off in the long run.....right?
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