Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female Forum

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Needdirection

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Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Needdirection » Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:43 am

I am 3.5 years out of college and I have recently been admitted to a top 5 MBA program on a full scholarship. I am so happy and grateful.

However, from my circle and online, I have been reading that people consider the JD a better degree than an MBA.
I never wanted to truly be a lawyer but now i am wondering if I should just practice lawyer vs pursuing a career in business. This is due to my introverted personality. I hear that law is better for introverts. However, I also wouldnt mind a career focused on finance and maybe real estate development. Sometimes I see law as a safer bet... you practice at a big firm, can be introverted, and if that doesnt work out, you go in house.

Because people are saying an MBA is a flimsy degree that doesnt give you a solid profession, I was wondering if I should pursue a dual JD/MBA at my university. I would apply during my first year of MBA program and it would take 4 years in total to pursue

My conundrum is I am not sure if I would like practicing law and I would hate if I added on the degree, graduated at 30 when I could have graduated with a top MBA at 28.

I'm afraid if I dont get a JD, I would feel inadequate for the rest of my life since it seems like so many people have one and they think they are better than MBAs

I am also a female and I see there are many more female JDs

should I just shoot for the JD while I'm in my 20s?

BrainsyK

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by BrainsyK » Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:00 am

Being afraid that someone somewhere thinks that they're better than you is no way to live life.

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cavalier1138

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by cavalier1138 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:26 am

Needdirection wrote:I never wanted to truly be a lawyer
Then don't go to law school.

Suits47

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Suits47 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:44 am

Needdirection wrote:I am 3.5 years out of college and I have recently been admitted to a top 5 MBA program on a full scholarship. I am so happy and grateful.

However, from my circle and online, I have been reading that people consider the JD a better degree than an MBA.
I never wanted to truly be a lawyer but now i am wondering if I should just practice lawyer vs pursuing a career in business. This is due to my introverted personality. I hear that law is better for introverts. However, I also wouldnt mind a career focused on finance and maybe real estate development. Sometimes I see law as a safer bet... you practice at a big firm, can be introverted, and if that doesnt work out, you go in house.

Because people are saying an MBA is a flimsy degree that doesnt give you a solid profession, I was wondering if I should pursue a dual JD/MBA at my university. I would apply during my first year of MBA program and it would take 4 years in total to pursue

My conundrum is I am not sure if I would like practicing law and I would hate if I added on the degree, graduated at 30 when I could have graduated with a top MBA at 28.

I'm afraid if I dont get a JD, I would feel inadequate for the rest of my life since it seems like so many people have one and they think they are better than MBAs

I am also a female and I see there are many more female JDs

should I just shoot for the JD while I'm in my 20s?
I am a current JD/MHA (Master of Health Administration) student and I will be graduating this May. It was four years for both degrees for me and I’m an AA woman. A JD/MBA is a very popular dual degree program and provides not only flexibility but also marketability as well as an extra summer for internship purposes. I don’t think you should focus on the age you will be when you graduated. What’s more important is that you decide if you want to be an actual lawyer and understand what that entails or working in the business world. Doing a dual degree will provide you, I think, with more employment opportunities and allow for more flexibility. Feel free to PM if you have any further questions.

Needdirection

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Needdirection » Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:06 pm

BrainsyK wrote:Being afraid that someone somewhere thinks that they're better than you is no way to live life.
Yea it gets kinda hard lol

nixy

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by nixy » Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:23 pm

Are the people who are talking about JDs being better than MBAs actually lawyers or MBAs? There’s no one better degree in the abstract - if you want to do business, get an MBA, if you want to practice law, get a JD. Saying that an MBA is a flimsy degree that doesn’t get you a profession doesn’t make any sense to me, to be honest - people who are informed about both degrees would know the point isn’t comparing them in a vacuum but figuring out what you want to do and which would help you do that.

And yeah, it doesn’t matter what other people think is better, it matters what is better for your goals. I don’t think law is necessarily better for an introvert, at all - again, it depends on what you want to do. A degree is a means to an end, not the end itself (and it sounds like you’re in an MBA program that really will make a difference and help move you ahead).

I agree that age isn’t really an issue, though.

If you’re curious about whether law would be a good fit for you, you could consider doing as much informational interviewing with lawyers as you can, and with JD/MBAs to see what they think of the combo.

But really I don’t see any reason to change the plans you presumably had good reason to pursue just because some people you know think a JD is better? You could talk to an entirely different group of people who’d say that an MBA is better.

dabigchina

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by dabigchina » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:09 pm

Echoing others I'm not sure where you read online that a JD is objectively better than than an MBA, but I don't see how anyone could speak to that authoritatively.

If you can get a top (like top 10ish) MBA, and you are not absolutely, completely sure that you want to be a lawyer, don't get a JD and be a lawyer.

Also, if it makes you feel better, I am a JD and I wish I had an MBA because of the range of exit opportunities that it gives. Sure, it may seem like everyone either goes into banking or consulting, but the exit ops from those jobs are much more flexible than from biglaw/midlaw/PI

Needdirection

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Needdirection » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:22 pm

dabigchina wrote:Echoing others I'm not sure where you read online that a JD is objectively better than than an MBA, but I don't see how anyone could speak to that authoritatively.

If you can get a top (like top 10ish) MBA, and you are not absolutely, completely sure that you want to be a lawyer, don't get a JD and be a lawyer.

Also, if it makes you feel better, I am a JD and I wish I had an MBA because of the range of exit opportunities that it gives. Sure, it may seem like everyone either goes into banking or consulting, but the exit ops from those jobs are much more flexible than from biglaw/midlaw/PI
nixy wrote:Are the people who are talking about JDs being better than MBAs actually lawyers or MBAs? There’s no one better degree in the abstract - if you want to do business, get an MBA, if you want to practice law, get a JD. Saying that an MBA is a flimsy degree that doesn’t get you a profession doesn’t make any sense to me, to be honest - people who are informed about both degrees would know the point isn’t comparing them in a vacuum but figuring out what you want to do and which would help you do that.

And yeah, it doesn’t matter what other people think is better, it matters what is better for your goals. I don’t think law is necessarily better for an introvert, at all - again, it depends on what you want to do. A degree is a means to an end, not the end itself (and it sounds like you’re in an MBA program that really will make a difference and help move you ahead).

I agree that age isn’t really an issue, though.

If you’re curious about whether law would be a good fit for you, you could consider doing as much informational interviewing with lawyers as you can, and with JD/MBAs to see what they think of the combo.

But really I don’t see any reason to change the plans you presumably had good reason to pursue just because some people you know think a JD is better? You could talk to an entirely different group of people who’d say that an MBA is better.
Thank you for your responses and providing much needed perspective. What's funny is that back in 2016, I had a round on info interviews with in house lawyers and decided it wasnt for me after speaking with three people. This was after seeing that biglaw wasnt something I was interested in. And I interned at a law firm in high school. I guess I'm wondering if I might like it later on. But I dint think taking on three years and extra debt would be worth trying to find out

I also have an interest in the public sector later in life and kinda feel some type of way that it's dominated by JDs. But then there are many government leaders who dont even have advanced degrees at all.

Carl Carlson

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Carl Carlson » Fri Apr 26, 2019 3:38 pm

Definitely sounds like you should stick with the MBA. There are plenty of high paying MBA-type jobs that don't require much client interaction or any public speaking. This is especially true in fed government.

Needdirection

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Re: Conundrum: JD vs MBA , AA female

Post by Needdirection » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:33 am

Carl Carlson wrote:Definitely sounds like you should stick with the MBA. There are plenty of high paying MBA-type jobs that don't require much client interaction or any public speaking. This is especially true in fed government.
Good to know! Thank you

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