High paying fields Forum

[los blancos]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Teach me, r_m. I know nothing. I'm an ignorant 0L who still thinks that getting median at a T10 is going to get me a market-paying job in CA.

[T14_Scholly]

The most important criterion in deciding one's graduate course of study and subsequent career path is how quickly one will be able to make large amounts of money. That's what my high school guidance counselor told me, anyway.

[therealfp]

The most important criterion in deciding one's graduate course of study and subsequent career path is how quickly one will be able to make large amounts of money. That's what my high school guidance counselor told me, anyway.

That's actually not very far off--but the ability to make large amounts of money is dictated by the individual, not the path.

Based on my experience, a masters degree in a technical field (engineering, most sciences) will get you a 0-$15k salary boost during your first out of school, depending on your negotiating skills. After that, it doesn't really matter. A PhD can get you more, but not a whole lot more, unless you're a leader in your field.

A law degree is a different beast altogether, predominately (IMO), due to the diversity of the law graduates' prior experience.

Getting the job/salary you want has a lot to do with how you market yourself to prospective employers, and someone with a BA in philosophy with zero work experience is going to have a hard time convincing any employer that they are a more promising candidate than the person with a BS in mechanical engineering that worked projects for a major industrial corporation.

A law degree guarantees success for no one. It's up to you to leverage your experience to ensure success.

[Xiaolong]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

[MTal]

The investment consultants at the brokerage I work for easily make over 100k. It's a pretty heavy sales job though.

[GATORTIM]

It's a pretty heavy sales job though.

what is it with you kids these days...heavy? is there something wrong with the earths gravitational pull?

[nicdmx]

High-end: these jobs pay six figures, but tend to require great talent and an even greater work ethic. I'm talking about physicians, scientific researchers (once they pull in grants), high-end lawyers, and businessmen.

Mid-level: these jobs can crack six figures and tend to be a bit more formulaic than the high-end jobs. I'm talking about engineers, pharmacists, physicians assistants, and specialized nurses (e.g. nurse anaesthetists). Veterinarians could be included in this group, despite the demanding education, solely due to the fact that they're typically underpaid.

Other: for good pay ($60k ish) with shockingly little formal education, it seems hard to beat nursing. If you're willing to work weekends and nights, you can get paid a fortune in overtime. Computer scientists might also be lumped into this category (only bachelors is required and is very portable).

Scientific researchers don't generally make 100k+.
Most "businessmen" don't make 100k+

edit: this post also wreaks of somebody with no out of school work experience.

Wreaks? Dictionary.com. Technically, I don't have much out of school work experience, considering I've been a faculty member at my university for a few years now.

Next time you try to dump on my post, learn to read what I actually wrote. Scientific researchers, when they pull in grants, can earn well into the six figures. Base pay is often ~$70k. Pull in an R01 and you're already pushing $100k. Hit it big time with program project grants, and you can hit a quarter million. If you were involved in this line of work, you might have known this.

I base my post on facts and you base yours on things you know nothing about, like what line of work I'm in. Nice one. I know plenty of people involved in academia and I don't know many of them who use the grants they get to fund high salaries. They use it to fund research for the university or lab that they work at. They also spend considerable time chasing money and grants just to keep research going.....often finding they need to spend more time chasing money than performing actual research. Do you think the institutions providing grant money want their money going to fund 250k salaries for professors / researchers? Get a job in the real world and then let me know when you figure it out. Nice jab at spelling.....I used to poke at people's spelling when I was in high school, but I've since found more substantive things to deal with.

The bottom line is this, your foolish post appears to reflect an extremely limited knowledge of working conditions and salaries outside of the small bubble you apparently live in and needed to be refuted.

I suppose your next tactic would be to cite an example or two of somebody you know who pulls in 250k as a research, the problem is, it doesn't represent what anyone can reasonably expect to make as a researcher and as such, is completely misleading.

[MTal]

It's a pretty heavy sales job though.

what is it with you kids these days...heavy? is there something wrong with the earths gravitational pull?

What happened to you dude...you used to be Cool.

[MTal]

My own take is that unless you're in an extremely technical field (physics, engineering, chem) the fastest way to money is to be good at sales. If you can bring money into your company you are worth your weight in gold to them.

[englawyer]

My own take is that unless you're in an extremely technical field (physics, engineering, chem) the fastest way to money is to be good at sales. If you can bring money into your company you are worth your weight in gold to them.

actually, that is the fastest way to make money even if you ARE in an extremely technical field. For example, IBM Sales people make a killing peddling software/computer products, and have much better career prospects than the straight technical programming folks.

Most of them are engineering majors because they need to be able to explain tech concepts to lay people and have a thorough understanding of the product.

[Renzo]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

So you don't believe a practicing attorney who had to bust their ass to make it without the benefit of an ultra-prestigious degree, and you won't believe an above-median T6 student, and you won't believe an association of law schools and law firms created for the sole purpose of facilitating new lawyer employment? What would it take to convince you that the job market isn't what you think it is; I'm curious? If the deans of every law school in the country together wrote you a personal letter, would that do it? What about if Jesus, the Dalai Lama, Confucius, and Chuck Norris all came to your house and said it? Seriously, what would it take for you to reconsider your opinion?

[los blancos]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

And the douchiest post of the year goes to....





[QFP]

[kittenmittons]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

Which was a bigger ego boost: the UMN acceptance or the WUSTL?

[los blancos]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

Which was a bigger ego boost: the UMN acceptance or the WUSTL?

[Borhas]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

edit: don't want to pile on, but couldn't help it

[T14_Scholly]

The above argument is really just a testament to the dubiousness of the advice one can expect to receive when asking for it from random TLS users.

[Renzo]

The above argument is really just a testament to the dubiousness of the advice one can expect to receive when asking for it from random TLS users.

How have you not been banned yet? You've way outlived my prediction; kudos for that, I guess.

[flyingpanda]

The above argument is really just a testament to the dubiousness of the advice one can expect to receive when asking for it from random TLS users.

Exactly, I mean in another thread, a TLS user told somebody with a 173 LSAT score and 2.7 GPA that he would not be getting into any law schools. Interesting huh?

[JazzOne]

The above argument is really just a testament to the dubiousness of the advice one can expect to receive when asking for it from random TLS users.

Exactly, I mean in another thread, a TLS user told somebody with a 173 LSAT score and 2.7 GPA that he would not be getting into any law schools. Interesting huh?

Lol

[Xiaolong]

You won't be serving me starbucks; I have much higher standards for my baristas.

Instead of dismissing what is being said as 'doom and gloom;' why not ask some probative questions on the issue?

No offense, but as compared to some of the older posters on this site (myself included), you know absolutely nothing about the legal employment market and the way numbers released by NALP and LSs are fudged. This is evidenced by the fact that you lend anything more than a passing bit of credibility to the numbers released by the NALP. But ya know what... If you ask some questions, you might learn something, instead of simply assuming that you know better.

Alright, you convinced me, I am not going to LS anymore. Phew thanks dude, I was about to make a huge mistake.


Edit: This is rich ! I just found out that you attended a TTT and are now making some lowly salary in shitlaw. Well, you are obviously not my competition since I already have several T20 acceptances and thus I am not taking your experience as an representative example. It's like you only have one arm and try to convince everyone that its really almost impossible to hit a home run.

In all honesty, your post really had me thinking for a moment about whether I am being too optimistic about job prospects. Now however I can brush all that aside and go to LS because the advice from some TTT grad is meanigless to me.

Lastly, the fact that someone with a JD, a job, maybe even a family feels the need to hang out on some internet message board and "educate" the people here about how it really is, and in the process of doing so accumulates over 2000 posts, is really a statment about what a sorry individual you are.

And the douchiest post of the year goes to....





[QFP]

Poor reasonable man. But hey, he was asking for it!

[JazzOne]

The above argument is really just a testament to the dubiousness of the advice one can expect to receive when asking for it from random TLS users.

What's the matter? You can't figure out the picture riddle?

[jengaroo]

I wouldn't just think about the monetary earnings right after school. I would be thinking more long-term and more holistically. What do you want to be doing in 5 years, in 10 years, what makes you happy? (e.g. drive you to wake up every morning and want to go to work), what lifestyle requirements will you have after school, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years? Family? I don't know you but I am guessing that you don't need to live in a mansion or drive three porches right after school.

Start focusing on YOU in the long-term rather than the short-term and start thinking more strategically and frugally and you will have more money than you ever need in the future - and then you will realize that you don't need much more to achieve what you really want.

[tstack22]

Aside from law, what other high paying fields are there that pay very nicely (lets say 100K+) fairly quickly after a degree?

Rigzone.com. Run a search for MWD/LWD. You'll make $100k your first year. No degree required.

[reasonable_man]

My law firm has 80 lawyers in NYC and occupies the top 3 floors of a pretty nice high rise. I get a nice steady 10K a year bump and my practices include commercial litigation, mass tort defense, products liability, civil rights litigation and construction litigation. I'm not sure when those practice areas became indicative of shitlaw; but frankly, until you land a biglaw job earning 160k, I'd shut the fuck up If I were you, as there is a pretty good chance that coming out of a big bad T20 will land you in the same manner of firm I am currently employed or even less of a 'prestigious' firm, depending on the way things shake out for you. This may come as a bit of a shock, but there are quite a few T20 and even T14 lawyers that are either currently associated or were associated with my firm. Just because they hire the occasional TTT grad with some demonstrated abilities, does not mean that the firm occupies the realm of shit-law.

But then again, I'm just a TTT grad that passed two bar exams at the same time, with an MBE score in the upper 95th percentile, that has been working in a mid-sized NYC law firm for 2 years, so what would I know about the practice of law? Boy, it would be a shame if you fell into that bottom 84.5% at your school thats going to get fucking obliterated at OCI in the next few years. But its ok. With your obviously superior people skills, I'm sure you'll land right on your feet.

Someone have a few more starbucks applications handy; I think we have a few more future employees lurking in this thread..

[therealfp]

My law firm has 80 lawyers in NYC and occupies the top 3 floors of a pretty nice high rise. I get a nice steady 10K a year bump and my practices include commercial litigation, mass tort defense, products liability, civil rights litigation and construction litigation. I'm not sure when those practice areas became indicative of shitlaw; but frankly, until you land a biglaw job earning 160k, I'd shut the fuck up If I were you, as there is a pretty good chance that coming out of a big bad T20 will land you in the same manner of firm I am currently employed or even less of a 'prestigious' firm, depending on the way things shake out for you. This may come as a bit of a shock, but there are quite a few T20 and even T14 lawyers that are either currently associated or were associated with my firm. Just because they hire the occasional TTT grad with some demonstrated abilities, does not mean that the firm occupies the realm of shit-law.

But then again, I'm just a TTT grad that passed two bar exams at the same time, with an MBE score in the upper 95th percentile, that has been working in a mid-sized NYC law firm for 2 years, so what would I know about the practice of law? Boy, it would be a shame if you fell into that bottom 84.5% at your school thats going to get fucking obliterated at OCI in the next few years. But its ok. With your obviously superior people skills, I'm sure you'll land right on your feet.

Someone have a few more starbucks applications handy; I think we have a few more future employees lurking in this thread..

living up to your moniker...

...I can't stop laughing about the stubborn speculation these kids throw around regarding their 'job prospects' after law school, and I can't wait to watch them sob uncontrollably 3 years from now when they realize that some kid from Roger Williams (random example) just swooped on the job they were after.