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Do the science. Retire 5 years eRlier

unemployable wrote:Everyone on TLS says that being a lawyer is preferable to nothing except for being unemployed.

False. I firmly believe that being unemployed is preferable to being a lawyer in most cases.

You'll do both in two alternate histories so what does it matter which one you choose?

Mal Reynolds wrote:You'll do both in two alternate histories so what does it matter which one you choose?

hahaha

Cogburn87 wrote:

unemployable wrote:Everyone on TLS says that being a lawyer is preferable to nothing except for being unemployed.

False. I firmly believe that being unemployed is preferable to being a lawyer in most cases.

Agree

they don't call it funemployment for nothing

Serious answer:

You'll make more money doing BigLaw, and you'll probably be much more intellectually challenged, fulfilled, and accomplish more significant progress for humanity as a physicist.

In regards to "misery", only someone in BigLaw can accurately speak to that.

FWIW, if I were in your shoes, I'd go to law school. You're obviously intelligent and accomplished; you'll do well regardless of your choice, and neither one "sucks". You're picking between two optimal options here, neither one will be bad. Ignore the trolls.

Of course, keep in mind biglaw isn't the only door a JD opens.

If I could go back and do it all over I would be a physicist, but those jobs sound like they are few and far between. Luckily you've already passed that hurdle. I would take that job and never look back.

If you want to do quantum physics, do quantum physics. If you want to be an attorney, zero debt at a T14 is a pretty solid way to go.

Keep in mind that while 160k is certainly more than 70k, you're also losing out on three years of work experience/pay in the former.

I mean, considering you can pretty much always come back to this law school thing if you find out that quantum physics isn't your thing after all, why not at least start with that?

If he wants to do a PhD, it's 6 years of school. Yeah he'll be getting paid, but barely enough to survive. He's not gonna come out of those 6 years with any significant money in the bank.

at a preftigious national lab in a big city for slightly above $70K.

They will pay for me to go to grad school at this university to study quantum physics (the field i would choose if all jobs paid the same) if I want to.

op, pm me when you want this quote deleted.

even with zero debt the money isn't worth it. and you only last a few years in biglaw anyway.

I would rather jump out of a tall building with no parachute than go K-JD

Physicist, obviously. Law school will always be there for you. But once you've started, you'll be foreclosing opportunities in other fields for a long time, maybe forever. Take the job, and if you don't like it, your stats will be the same (but with a W/E bump) in two years.

Sounds like you want to be a physicist more.

Why don't you defer your full ride T10 for a year (or more) and take the job, then decide again a year from now?

jbagelboy wrote:Physicist, obviously. Law school will always be there for you. But once you've started, you'll be foreclosing opportunities in other fields for a long time, maybe forever. Take the job, and if you don't like it, your stats will be the same (but with a W/E bump) in two years.

This, plus:

(1) You make really like money, but do you like it enough to trade work that you care about for work that you don't? In my experience, it takes a truly enormous amount of money for most people to take that trade and feel OK about it.

(2) Big Law seems to be an assumed can opener ITT. It sounds like we're talking about Michigan or Virginia, so that's a pretty dangerous assumption (yes someone with a full ride is more likely to do well than the average student but still).

Basically the title of the thread answers the question. You want to be a quantum physicist. You don't actually want to be a lawyer.

i will cry if you choose law.

OP have you ever actually worked in a research lab? If not, then definitely take the experience first but realized being a "quantum physicist" means mostly writing applications for grants while your grad students do work that you put your name on, so long as you are in an academic setting.

Definitely work first. You have the grades and LSAT to get money, take the time off to work and see if being a researcher is something you'd actually enjoy. Having gone through the research route myself, I knew I couldn't do it long term. It is something you either magically fall in love with or absolutely hate. Even the thought of "wow, I'm the first person to ever discover/know this" isn't fulfilling sometimes for the laborious repetitive nature of the work.

Research has its drawbacks so I chose law instead!! Ljl

jbagelboy wrote:Physicist, obviously. Law school will always be there for you. But once you've started, you'll be foreclosing opportunities in other fields for a long time, maybe forever. Take the job, and if you don't like it, your stats will be the same (but with a W/E bump) in two years.

+1

Also, if money is important, I find it hard to believe that you won't be able to make good money consulting down the line with legit research experience and a PhD. Those desolate town scientists need supervisors, planners, consultants, and assistance. Additionally, There are very few hard science fields where there isn't a private sector firm invested that's willing to pay for technical assistance on their investment (only exception I can think of is infaatructure planning, and even that is getting filled with public-private ventures). Im not saying you'll make viglaw bucks, but I think you will be ok.

if you decide you like law after all you can just become an expert witness and make 100x/hr more than a biglaw associate

Its sounds like your UG work is making you miserable. But you'd be OK with a miserable job if it came attached with $160k?

I would take the job at the national lab. That will give you sometime to learn a little bit more about potential career paths in your chosen field. Assuming you're not using terms like "forefront" and "prestigious" loosely, we're probably talking about some place like Lawrence Berkeley with a vibrant graduate program and rich tech sector nearby. With a little bit of networking, you should get a good feel for what people in your field can expect to do with there degree/training.

Also, if all you want is money, why not gun for Wall Street? They hire quants out of top physics/engineering programs.

If you change your mind, you'll still able to get a full ride at T10 law school.

this sounds like flame, no one with a recognized capacity for quantum physics would be like, "i'd rather go push paper and sacrifice my social life for the betterment of some partner, yeah that's so much better than tinkering on the edge of human understanding"

Take the job. Worst case scenario, you end up in law school and have IP firms all over you.