What CAN you do with a JD/MBA? Forum

[El_Bee_Oh]

I've seen a couple threads asking about JD/MBAs and the consensus is that it's not super helpful unless you're on a very specific career path because the MBA won't help you get a legal job and the JD won't help you get a business job. Are there any cases where having both degrees is actually helpful or will give you a tangible advantage that may make the extra time/cost worth it? Specifically at top programs e.g. Harvard, Stanford, Penn/Wharton, Chicago/Booth etc.?

[fats provolone]

nothing you couldn't do with just the JD or just the MBA.

[bk1]

You can put off deciding whether you want to do business or want to do law for another few years.

[sparty99]

I've seen a couple threads asking about JD/MBAs and the consensus is that it's not super helpful unless you're on a very specific career path because the MBA won't help you get a legal job and the JD won't help you get a business job. Are there any cases where having both degrees is actually helpful or will give you a tangible advantage that may make the extra time/cost worth it? Specifically at top programs e.g. Harvard, Stanford, Penn/Wharton, Chicago/Booth etc.?

No. A JD/MBA is a scam for colleges to get you to PAY MORE MONEY on the guise that you will be MORE MARKETABLE and have AN ADDITIONAL UNNEEDED CREDENTIAL. It ONLY MAKES SENSE if you strike out 2L year and go to an above named school and your chances of legal employment are less than 10%. But even then its not necessairly worth it if you don't have prior business experience. You will once again be desperate and will want either consulting or I-banking so you can pay off your MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DEBT. And if you could get into an above named school then you probably already have the credentials to do consulting i-banking out of undergrad.

[Dr. Review]

Personally, I think that there are benefits to the joint degree, but that they will not be realized in a job-seeking context. At a certain point, you will either be assisting with the management of a firm or of a corporation. You will also be developing and maintaining a book of business. The MBA can be a value-add in those situations, but not one that will result in higher pay or increased job prospects. You just have to decide if it is worth it to you to go after more intangible benefits at great financial cost. For most, it isn't.

[fats provolone]

explain what the MBA does in that context

[Dr. Review]

Taking a look at coursework for an MBA (at Columbia), you get classes with titles like (brief course description in parentheses):

Marketing: Innovation through Customer Centricity (This course focuses on decisions that managers make and the tools that they use to successfully implement marketing strategies.)

Financial Planning & Analysis (This course introduces students to modern tools and techniques designed to generate performance measures used for decision-making, management, and control purposes.)

Managing the Growing Company (The course is structured around a series of case studies involving real companies, and some of the cases have several segments that follow the company through multiple stages of growth and changing circumstances.)

Managerial Negotiations (This course involves students in actual negotiating experiences to enhance their skills as negotiators.)

Strategy Formulation (Students will learn to analyze firms' competitive environments and to design a strategy that specifies appropriate long-term goals for a corporation, the businesses in which it will compete, how it will serve customers better than its competitors, and the capabilities that will be required in the service of these objectives.)

[sparty99]

Taking a look at coursework for an MBA (at Columbia), you get classes with titles like (brief course description in parentheses):

Marketing: Innovation through Customer Centricity (This course focuses on decisions that managers make and the tools that they use to successfully implement marketing strategies.)

Financial Planning & Analysis (This course introduces students to modern tools and techniques designed to generate performance measures used for decision-making, management, and control purposes.)

Managing the Growing Company (The course is structured around a series of case studies involving real companies, and some of the cases have several segments that follow the company through multiple stages of growth and changing circumstances.)

Managerial Negotiations (This course involves students in actual negotiating experiences to enhance their skills as negotiators.)

Strategy Formulation (Students will learn to analyze firms' competitive environments and to design a strategy that specifies appropriate long-term goals for a corporation, the businesses in which it will compete, how it will serve customers better than its competitors, and the capabilities that will be required in the service of these objectives.)

its all fluff.....

[Ron Don Volante]

I AGREE SPARTY IT IS *ALL* *FLUFF* BIZ SCHOOLS DON'T EVEN GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ADDENDUMS

I AM DONE WITH YOU BIZ SCHOOL AND WILL *NOT* BE RESPONDING MORE TO THIS POST

[nlee10]

Taking a look at coursework for an MBA (at Columbia), you get classes with titles like (brief course description in parentheses):

Marketing: Innovation through Customer Centricity (This course focuses on decisions that managers make and the tools that they use to successfully implement marketing strategies.)

Financial Planning & Analysis (This course introduces students to modern tools and techniques designed to generate performance measures used for decision-making, management, and control purposes.)

Managing the Growing Company (The course is structured around a series of case studies involving real companies, and some of the cases have several segments that follow the company through multiple stages of growth and changing circumstances.)

Managerial Negotiations (This course involves students in actual negotiating experiences to enhance their skills as negotiators.)

Strategy Formulation (Students will learn to analyze firms' competitive environments and to design a strategy that specifies appropriate long-term goals for a corporation, the businesses in which it will compete, how it will serve customers better than its competitors, and the capabilities that will be required in the service of these objectives.)

its all fluff.....

I agree. MBA-level courses aren't that much harder than undergrad business classes. I majored in business during undergrad and was able to recognize a lot of the concepts from a friend's MBA class. You just pay for the networking.

[sparty99]

I AGREE SPARTY IT IS *ALL* *FLUFF* BIZ SCHOOLS DON'T EVEN GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ADDENDUMS

I AM DONE WITH YOU BIZ SCHOOL AND WILL *NOT* BE RESPONDING MORE TO THIS POST

You must think you are funny. That you would take the time to respond in such a manner exemplifies your sorryness. I'm not sure why you are so obsessed with me. Again, bye Felicia.

[transferror]

Are there any cases where having both degrees is actually helpful or will give you a tangible advantage that may make the extra time/cost worth it? Specifically at top programs e.g. Harvard, Stanford, Penn/Wharton, Chicago/Booth etc.?

The extra time itself can be an advantage. For example: strike out at OCI, enroll in the MBA program and take all business classes during the spring, you're still considered a 2L next fall, do OCI again. But SOL + added debt if you strike out twice.

[Ron Don Volante]

LOL. PM from sparty

Subject: What CAN you do with a JD/MBA?

I AGREE SPARTY IT IS *ALL* *FLUFF* BIZ SCHOOLS DON'T EVEN GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ADDENDUMS

I AM DONE WITH YOU BIZ SCHOOL AND WILL *NOT* BE RESPONDING MORE TO THIS POST

You need to backdafuckup with your bull-shit.

I mean no offense Sparty. You're just a raging moron and I think that threads needs to follow you for a while.

[sparty99]

LOL. PM from sparty

Subject: What CAN you do with a JD/MBA?

I AGREE SPARTY IT IS *ALL* *FLUFF* BIZ SCHOOLS DON'T EVEN GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ADDENDUMS

I AM DONE WITH YOU BIZ SCHOOL AND WILL *NOT* BE RESPONDING MORE TO THIS POST

You need to backdafuckup with your bull-shit.

I mean no offense Sparty. You're just a raging moron and I think that threads needs to follow you for a while.

The only moron is you.

[Ron Don Volante]

Good one.

Michigan State sucks and has terrible academics, by the way.

[sparty99]

Good one.

Michigan State sucks and has terrible academics, by the way.

Oh okay. Do you feel better now? Because no one even said anything about that university.

[Ron Don Volante]

Yes. Very glad I don't have to have that shit stain on my resume.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I've told Ron Don Volante not to derail on-topic threads by continuing his fight with sparty, so he's taking a time out. His comments to sparty here didn't have anything to do with the topic of the thread or anything sparty posted here. If sparty says something in this thread that a poster wants to disagree with that's totally fine, and I know people bring up post histories regularly (especially in the lounge) but don't just use unrelated post history to ambush a user when they post in an unrelated on-topic thread.

(In this case, all sparty did was respond, so no issues on that end. But any further bickering unrelated to the content of this thread will result in further bans.)

[crazycanuck]

MBA at a top program (Havard, Wharton, etc) will be filled with people who will likely go on to be key decision makers at big companies. Being a member of the class gives you access to this network to build your law book of business.

[baal hadad]

You can do law or business

[tennactitans]

Any thoughts on people earning their JD at a TT then getting the MBA in hopes of being more marketable to M&A biglaw recruiters? (full rides all around, btw)

[baal hadad]

Any thoughts on people earning their JD at a TT then getting the MBA in hopes of being more marketable to M&A biglaw recruiters? (full rides all around, btw)

No

[tennactitans]

Any thoughts on people earning their JD at a TT then getting the MBA in hopes of being more marketable to M&A biglaw recruiters? (full rides all around, btw)

No

As in "no comment," or "no, the opportunity cost of two extra years in school will outweigh the benefit?"

[sparty99]

Any thoughts on people earning their JD at a TT then getting the MBA in hopes of being more marketable to M&A biglaw recruiters? (full rides all around, btw)

No

As in "no comment," or "no, the opportunity cost of two extra years in school will outweigh the benefit?"

As in hell no, don't do it.

[paul554]

If you can do a dual degree in three years by taking a summer semester befor law school it could be worth it. For example, some public universities charge far more for law school courses then they do for graduate level courses. So, with the credits transferring towards your JD, and no extra opportunity cost for your JD taking longer, it is possible to get dual degrees for around the same price or less then just a regular JD. This of course totally depends on the dual degree requirements and tuition costs at your university and likely won't apply at all to a private school.