Undergrad student choosing major for law school Forum

[stanfordxhopeful]

Hey everybody,

I've only lurked on this site once or twice but I thought this would be a good place to get some law school related advice. I'm currently in undergrad and I'm trying to decide what I want to major in with the goal of preparing myself for law school. My uncle works at a law firm in Northern California and he mentioned that getting a degree in a science-related field would make me eligible to do something called "IP" law, which he says is very popular right now.


I want to be able to get a good job when I graduate from law school, and it sounds like if I prepare myself to do IP law then I'll be a desirable candidate for employment. However, I don't really have any interest in any of the hard sciences and don't see myself using the degree other than to prepare for law school. My question to you, TLS, is whether or not I should major in a science field so that I can prepare myself for the apparently booming field of IP law (even though I am not interested in the subject) , or should I major in something I'm more interested in?

More simply, just how much of a boost employment-wise would being IP law eligible give me? Is it worth it to pursue a science degree just so I can do IP? Or is the employment boost fairly negligible?

Thanks a lot!

[ymmv]

Hey everybody,

I've only lurked on this site once or twice but I thought this would be a good place to get some law school related advice. I'm currently in undergrad and I'm trying to decide what I want to major in with the goal of preparing myself for law school. My uncle works at a law firm in Northern California and he mentioned that getting a degree in a science-related field would make me eligible to do something called "IP" law, which he says is very popular right now.


I want to be able to get a good job when I graduate from law school, and it sounds like if I prepare myself to do IP law then I'll be a desirable candidate for employment. However, I don't really have any interest in any of the hard sciences and don't see myself using the degree other than to prepare for law school. My question to you, TLS, is whether or not I should major in a science field so that I can prepare myself for the apparently booming field of IP law (even though I am not interested in the subject) , or should I major in something I'm more interested in?

More simply, just how much of a boost employment-wise would being IP law eligible give me? Is it worth it to pursue a science degree just so I can do IP? Or is the employment boost fairly negligible?

Thanks a lot!

It's 4 formative years of your life. Study whatever you're interested in and do it well. Law schools don't give a shit about what you majored in, but they give many shits about your GPA.

Yes, there are additional employment opportunities that may be open to those with hard science backgrounds, but you shouldn't go that route unless you have a legitimate interests in one of those fields and patent law. Keep in mind that it's typically much more difficult to maintain a good GPA in many science majors, though adcoms may take take that into account (I don't know the data on this).

[kevgogators]

The best advice I've ever received in this regard is to "major in what you enjoy". If you enjoy the subject, you'll do better. Law schools don't factor care what your major is, they care about your GPA, LSAT score, and extra curricular activities.

With that said, a lot of people tend to major in fields such as History, Political Science, Sociology, Criminology or even English. These fields train you to begin thinking "analytically", and help you polish your writing skills. Good luck!

[hawk5]

It's too early to know for sure if you actually want to be a lawyer. Please major in something that would be useful both in the legal field and the normal entry level job market. Some example majors for this would be engineering (especially electrical), accounting, or finance. Those majors seem to help for careers in patent law, tax law, and corporate law, respectively. More importantly, those majors also give you the best chance at a $55k+ job at a global company right out of college, which you will want to be able to fall back on if you decide against law school or to work for a few years before law school (which is becoming much more common). If you still truly want to be a lawyer after college, law school is still very much on the table with those majors as long as you keep your grades up. Keep your options open.

[phillywc]

Pick a major you enjoy, yes, but try to pick something that makes you employable. You might not want to or be able to go to law school right out of undergrad

[The Dark Shepard]

Pick a major that you both enjoy and will actually give you job prospects out of undergrad. Don't pick a major that won't give you any job prospects because then your options will be low, and that's not a fun place to be.

[frankunderwood91]

Major doesn't matter.

[El Principe]

I didn't read anything posted but you should pick something that:

Will get you a paying job after graduation/good internship experience -> Is somewhat interesting to you -> Is relatively easy so your GPA isn't low.... in that order.

Something business related can be a good balance of difficulty and good job prospects. Engineering & CS will probably get you the best job after graduation, but your GPA may suffer, especially if you're not interested in the subject matter.

TL;DR pick something that you're interested in that will get you a good, non-legal job after 4 years of study, because honestly, it doesn't matter.

[toothbrush]

meh tbh i wish i had taken more econ classes. i took 0. if i did it again i'd major in econ, throw in some accounting, and more than 1 public speaking. some writing classes too.

if you dont like reading shit with numbers, take classes to get used to it (thats if you want corporate work)

if you dont like public speaking, take some more classes in it (even if you dont want to litigate, you will be talking to attorneys every day who are more senior...)

i hate writing, but cant get away from it. take writing classes.


and have fun. and keep your gpa up.

all of my advice is my own opinion

[DELG]

Your uncle is trying to trick you into being an engineer instead because he loves you and wants you to be happy.

[jchiles]

Even if you pick a major that is not that marketable, you can make up for that if you keep your GPA high and apply pretty broadly to corporate internship positions in undergrad. I did this and despite having two pretty fluffy, non-business/non-science majors had pretty good options for jobs after graduation.

A lot of places don't specify what exact major they want, and even if they do I think if your GPA is high and you can convey interest before and during an interview they may take a chance, especially for just an internship position for the summer or during the year.

[lhanvt13]

Your uncle is trying to trick you into being an engineer instead because he loves you and wants you to be happy.

+1

If you're sadistic like me, come to law school with an engineering degree (preferably EE or CS). Should give u a slight leg up in employment. Otherwise, don't worry about what major. You can get a degree in shooting the shit and still go to H. You're only compared via GPA and lsat

[jbagelboy]

mathematics is objectively the best undergraduate major

[stanfordxhopeful]

Thanks for the responses everyone! At this point I think I'm leaning towards getting a CS degree since it's a field I wouldn't mind working in if for some reason I decide against law school

[speedtracer]

mathematics is objectively the best undergraduate major

This is a good point. The #1 guy at my school is a math major. It gives you a lot of the analytical tools that are necessary to success in law school.

Don't do the English/history thing. Like you said, you want to leave yourself with something you'll enjoy in case you don't find that law is for you. However, you'll also want something that will give you a job. The CS major is a great idea.

[The Dark Shepard]

Thanks for the responses everyone! At this point I think I'm leaning towards getting a CS degree since it's a field I wouldn't mind working in if for some reason I decide against law school

Very good choice! Good luck!

[ScottRiqui]

Thanks for the responses everyone! At this point I think I'm leaning towards getting a CS degree since it's a field I wouldn't mind working in if for some reason I decide against law school

If you're thinking about possibly parlaying the CS degree into intellectual property law and want to take the patent bar, make sure you check the ABET/CSAB accreditation of your school's CS program. Not all CS degrees will automatically qualify you to sit for the patent bar.

[stanfordxhopeful]

Thanks for the responses everyone! At this point I think I'm leaning towards getting a CS degree since it's a field I wouldn't mind working in if for some reason I decide against law school

If you're thinking about possibly parlaying the CS degree into intellectual property law and want to take the patent bar, make sure you check the ABET/CSAB accreditation of your school's CS program. Not all CS degrees will automatically qualify you to sit for the patent bar.

Thanks for the tip, looks like my school is on the list.

[prezidentv8]

Hey everybody,

I've only lurked on this site once or twice but I thought this would be a good place to get some law school related advice. I'm currently in undergrad and I'm trying to decide what I want to major in with the goal of preparing myself for law school. My uncle works at a law firm in Northern California and he mentioned that getting a degree in a science-related field would make me eligible to do something called "IP" law, which he says is very popular right now.


I want to be able to get a good job when I graduate from law school, and it sounds like if I prepare myself to do IP law then I'll be a desirable candidate for employment. However, I don't really have any interest in any of the hard sciences and don't see myself using the degree other than to prepare for law school. My question to you, TLS, is whether or not I should major in a science field so that I can prepare myself for the apparently booming field of IP law (even though I am not interested in the subject) , or should I major in something I'm more interested in?

More simply, just how much of a boost employment-wise would being IP law eligible give me? Is it worth it to pursue a science degree just so I can do IP? Or is the employment boost fairly negligible?

Thanks a lot!

DANGER WILL ROBINSON

[stanfordxhopeful]

DANGER WILL ROBINSON

According to Wikipedia you're telling me I'm about to make a mistake / overlooking something. Care to elaborate good sir?

[PrideandGlory1776]

Basket weaving is tcr - that GPA tho

[OutCold]

Your uncle is trying to trick you into being an engineer instead because he loves you and wants you to be happy.

[prezidentv8]

My question to you, TLS, is whether or not I should major in a science field so that I can prepare myself for the apparently booming field of IP law (even though I am not interested in the subject) , or should I major in something I'm more interested in?

I'm not going to tell you not to major in a hard science, because that would be doing you a disservice, but I am going to tell you not to major in a hard science just because of some vague notion that it will help you get a legal job later on.

If you're still at the stage where you are picking a major, you're probably at least five years away from starting a legal career in the first place. I don't think there is any way to tell with much accuracy what the market will look like in five years, and there are several more important variables relating to your ability to just get a decent job as a lawyer, e.g., law school, grades, journal, connections, geography, interest in whatever job/firm you are applying for, etc.

Here's what I would advise: Major in something that opens doors/develops hard skills that a random communications degree would not; i.e., math, nursing, accounting, engineering, statistics, economics, CS, whatever, and take electives in a bunch of random shit that interests you. I'd include a couple voc ed classes at the local JC too -- those are pretty fun and extremely useful, not just professionally. You will learn lots of useful stuff and interesting stuff, enjoy life, and probably have the exact same legal job prospects as you would otherwise.

Also, this:

Your uncle is trying to trick you into being an engineer instead because he loves you and wants you to be happy.