Can you still make big law in your early 40s or work on wall street with an MBA Forum

[lawschoolsplit2023]

If someone is in their early 40s when they graduate from a top 14 law school or from a top MBA school (should they go that route)

Is early 40s still possible for big law with excellent law school credentials, ranking, and top 14 school?

If someone does go the top MBA route instead and graduates with an MBA at 42, even though they say its hard to work in investment banking are there other positions on wall street where one can work and utilize their MBA even if IB is not plausible?

[LittleRedCorvette]

If someone is in their early 40s when they graduate from a top 14 law school or from a top MBA school (should they go that route)

Is early 40s still possible for big law with excellent law school credentials, ranking, and top 14 school?

If someone does go the top MBA route instead and graduates with an MBA at 42, even though they say its hard to work in investment banking are there other positions on wall street where one can work and utilize their MBA even if IB is not plausible?

Biglaw certainly. No idea on banking but probably so -- most of those people seem to have worked some prior to business school, so I don't think they'd scoff at someone in their early 40s.

Query whether you want to be 42 getting shit on by 26 year old dickheads, though (in either field).

[Anonymous User]

If someone is in their early 40s when they graduate from a top 14 law school or from a top MBA school (should they go that route)

Is early 40s still possible for big law with excellent law school credentials, ranking, and top 14 school?

If someone does go the top MBA route instead and graduates with an MBA at 42, even though they say its hard to work in investment banking are there other positions on wall street where one can work and utilize their MBA even if IB is not plausible?

Yes to biglaw.

I don't have personal experience with an MBA, but general wisdom holds that just going to business school and getting an MBA isn't going to get you very far without some kind of relevant work experience pre-MBA. Most people work in some kind of business-related field for a while until they need the MBA to advance, then go get the MBA. This is different from the JD (in part b/c of licensing - you literally have to have the JD to work as a lawyer, you don't have to have an MBA to work in business/finance/however you want to define it).

[trebekismyhero]

As others have said, big law definitely possible. Being older might make it a little more difficult during OCI, but I have colleagues who started in big law even older than 42. The previous poster is right about ibanking. If you don't have prior experience it is really hard to get into iBanking or PE straight from MBA. I have friends who went to HBS and couldn't get a foothold in either. Plenty of ppl do get MBAs to switch careers, but a lot of them end up in consulting or more corporate environments than investment banking.