Top Law Schools

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

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

Medicine after residency?
B-school?
I don't really think I understand what you are looking for here.

A way of earning money. An earlier thread was saying how it takes a long time for CPAs to earn nice money. So that leads me to wonder: How can one make nice money without having to wait till they are a grandparent.

edit: never mind

thesealocust wrote:After bonus, consulting and I-banking either start there or get pretty close. Obviously those fields have their issues in this economy.

Keep in mind that while it is POSSIBLE to obtain 6-figures after graduation from law school, every year there are 4-6 thousand such jobs and 45 thousand or so law school graduates. Most new lawyers make substantially less than six figures (40-50K is probably the mode).

That's on average. But if someone comes out of a top 14, or top of his class at a top 30, he/she should be one of those making the 6 figures.

Docs, Vets, Pharms will all get close, as will nurse anesthesoligists (sp-no clue)

Of course, there's always dealing drugs.

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If you want easy money: dental hygienist, pharmacist, or actuary.

TipTravHoot wrote: Of course, there's always dealing drugs.

This. I would think a field of marijuana plants could be quite high-paying.

edit: never mind

More or less correct. Keep in mind that the better the school you go to, the more ferocious the competition. Especially given the limited resources mindset imposed by this economy

So you are saying that it might be better to go to a lower ranked one so that you can be higher in the class?

edit: never mind

thesealocust wrote:

liplaw wrote:

More or less correct. Keep in mind that the better the school you go to, the more ferocious the competition. Especially given the limited resources mindset imposed by this economy

So you are saying that it might be better to go to a lower ranked one so that you can be higher in the class?

No, that's actually probably a terrible idea. Doing well in law school is very difficult given the limited feedback and single exam at the end of each class, so you can't reliably predict how well you'll do your first semester just based on your #s versus those at your schools.

The point I'm trying to make is that you can never rely on it. While 50%+ at top school will likely have the possibility of getting that big starting salary, you can't assume that you'll be top half at a T14. It's not an especially profound warning or a plea to change your behavior, just an observation that law school fucking sucks from somebody who's in the process of living through it

Ouch

thesealocust wrote:

liplaw wrote:

More or less correct. Keep in mind that the better the school you go to, the more ferocious the competition. Especially given the limited resources mindset imposed by this economy

So you are saying that it might be better to go to a lower ranked one so that you can be higher in the class?

No, that's actually probably a terrible idea. Doing well in law school is very difficult given the limited feedback and single exam at the end of each class, so you can't reliably predict how well you'll do your first semester just based on your #s versus those at your schools.

The point I'm trying to make is that you can never rely on it. While 50%+ at top school will likely have the possibility of getting that big starting salary, you can't assume that you'll be top half at a T14. It's not an especially profound warning or a plea to change your behavior, just an observation that law school fucking sucks from somebody who's in the process of living through it

I agree with the advice here, but not the sentiment. I love law school. Last semester was the hardest I've ever worked in my life, and now that some of the benefits are starting to trickle in (i.e., biglaw interviews), I feel like it was well worth the effort. I'm pumped. I look forward to class. I enjoy the reading. I read a case yesterday about the use of stun belts in the courtroom as a restraint device on defendants. The belt can deliver a 50,000V shock! I mean, I never know what craziness I'll read about in the next case. These real-life stories are fascinating to me. What about Hawkins v. McGee, the Hairy Hand Case? lol Or Garrett v. Daily? Those stories are funny! My girlfriend and I are going to dress up as George Hawkins and Dr. McGee for Halloween next year.

JazzOne wrote:

thesealocust wrote:

liplaw wrote:

More or less correct. Keep in mind that the better the school you go to, the more ferocious the competition. Especially given the limited resources mindset imposed by this economy

So you are saying that it might be better to go to a lower ranked one so that you can be higher in the class?

No, that's actually probably a terrible idea. Doing well in law school is very difficult given the limited feedback and single exam at the end of each class, so you can't reliably predict how well you'll do your first semester just based on your #s versus those at your schools.

The point I'm trying to make is that you can never rely on it. While 50%+ at top school will likely have the possibility of getting that big starting salary, you can't assume that you'll be top half at a T14. It's not an especially profound warning or a plea to change your behavior, just an observation that law school fucking sucks from somebody who's in the process of living through it

I agree with the advice here, but not the sentiment. I love law school. Last semester was the hardest I've ever worked in my life, and now that some of the benefits are starting to trickle in (i.e., biglaw interviews), I feel like it was well worth the effort. I'm pumped. I look forward to class. I enjoy the reading. I read a case yesterday about the use of stun belts in the courtroom as a restraint device on defendants. The belt can deliver a 50,000V shock! I mean, I never know what craziness I'll read about in the next case. These real-life stories are fascinating to me. What about Hawkins v. McGee, the Hairy Hand Case? lol Or Garrett v. Daily? Those stories are funny! My girlfriend and I are going to dress up as George Hawkins and Dr. McGee for Halloween next year.

This type of thing doesn't usually go over well, hth.

High end prostitution.

thesealocust wrote:After bonus, consulting and I-banking either start there or get pretty close. Obviously those fields have their issues in this economy.

Keep in mind that while it is POSSIBLE to obtain 6-figures after graduation from law school, every year there are 4-6 thousand such jobs and 45 thousand or so law school graduates. Most new lawyers make substantially less than six figures (40-50K is probably the mode).

Oh really? How do you know this?

patrickd139 wrote:[This type of thing doesn't usually go over well, hth.

I hang out with townies, not law students. My friends have an annual Halloween party with a homemade costume theme. I won't be going to a party with law students.

OP: there is no free lunch. there are a few major categories of jobs:

#1. Sell your soul jobs. This includes Doctor, Lawyer, Investment Banker, Management Consultant, Wall St Quant, Top MBA-> General Management, etc. You are going to get paid a ton of money in any of these fields (assuming you went to the right school etc). All of those jobs start well over 100k upon graduation. You also get plenty of respect in society, and realistically have a chance at major power/prestige positions like upper-management, major deal-broking, etc.

#2. "Good" jobs. These jobs will pay you well eventually (say low 100's-> mid 100's), and in general have a good work/life balance. 40-50 hrs/week. This includes engineering, computer programming, actuary, accountant, pharmacist, etc. The downside of these careers is that you are not on the fast track. You most likely will never be a high level manager, or a politician, or whatever else you can think up. You will also be exposed to "The Office" type situations at work constantly, and will probably end up just punching the clock eventually.

#3 Sales jobs. I put these in a separate category because its a very unique field. Sales is very accessible to almost anyone with a college degree, and you in general "reap what you sow". Thus with the requisite personality and ambition, you can make a killing.

#4. "College grad" jobs Jobs for college grads not in the above three categories. Teacher, librarian, etc. Usually lower paying than the good jobs but certainly livable, and tend to be more interesting (in at least some cases).

#5. Other Of course there are the other jobs. Blue collar, police, manufacturing, etc.

Of course, folks in #1 can usually transition to #2 once they get sick of the crazy lifestyle (for example, biglaw-> in house). In general, it is easier to transition from the fast track than to the fast track. If you are unsure of your career path, you should start off in something other than #1 and then make the transition if you want to via a professional degree.

edit: never mind

thesealocust wrote:

Xiaolong wrote:

thesealocust wrote:After bonus, consulting and I-banking either start there or get pretty close. Obviously those fields have their issues in this economy.

Keep in mind that while it is POSSIBLE to obtain 6-figures after graduation from law school, every year there are 4-6 thousand such jobs and 45 thousand or so law school graduates. Most new lawyers make substantially less than six figures (40-50K is probably the mode).

Oh really? How do you know this?

Careful and exhaustive research from several sources. Want me to dig it up? Do you doubt some portion of what I said, or are you just curious?

This is 100% true. Just think about it. The best jobs go to either people at the best schools or the top people from the rest of the schools. But what happens to everyone else? Someone at the median at a t2 is prob going to be looking at a 10 person firm. That would prob pay like 70k... but they are not going to get 160k for being average at a non-top school. That is just how it is, and the numbers do back this up.

gwuorbust wrote:

thesealocust wrote:

Xiaolong wrote:

thesealocust wrote:After bonus, consulting and I-banking either start there or get pretty close. Obviously those fields have their issues in this economy.

Keep in mind that while it is POSSIBLE to obtain 6-figures after graduation from law school, every year there are 4-6 thousand such jobs and 45 thousand or so law school graduates. Most new lawyers make substantially less than six figures (40-50K is probably the mode).

Oh really? How do you know this?

Careful and exhaustive research from several sources. Want me to dig it up? Do you doubt some portion of what I said, or are you just curious?

This is 100% true. Just think about it. The best jobs go to either people at the best schools or the top people from the rest of the schools. But what happens to everyone else? Someone at the median at a t2 is prob going to be looking at a 10 person firm. That would prob pay like 70k... but they are not going to get 160k for being average at a non-top school. That is just how it is, and the numbers do back this up.

+1 very true

Xiaolong wrote:

thesealocust wrote:After bonus, consulting and I-banking either start there or get pretty close. Obviously those fields have their issues in this economy.

Keep in mind that while it is POSSIBLE to obtain 6-figures after graduation from law school, every year there are 4-6 thousand such jobs and 45 thousand or so law school graduates. Most new lawyers make substantially less than six figures (40-50K is probably the mode).

Oh really? How do you know this?

Well, here's the source I quoted you last time you doubted this: http://www.nalp.org/08saldistribution

It is important for anyone considering a legal education to understand that half of all starting lawyer salaries are less than $72,000 and in fact 42% of them are between only $40,000 and $65,000.

Since NALP exists only to aid in the legal hiring process, I'm not sure why you keep ignoring their data.

Pharmacist has to be the worst job ever... go to school for 4 years just to count pills at a CVS for the rest of your life

of course it's probably better than going to school for 3 years and ending up with no job

Borhas wrote:Pharmacist has to be the worst job ever... go to school for 4 years just to count pills at a CVS for the rest of your life

of course it's probably better than going to school for 3 years and ending up with no job

You mean go to school for four years to work 35 hours a week and make $110k a year to do basically the same work the cashier at CVS is doing for $8/hr? Yeah. That sounds terrible. And that's the worst case scenario; you could end up at an in-hospital pharmacy, never having to see a retail patient, and working yet less for even more money.