Has anyone benefited from having a dual degree? Forum

[Mr_Chukes]

Many schools offer JD-MBA or JD-PHD degrees. I was wondering if anyone here has personally benefited from having one of these degrees. I hear that often people stick to one field. I was wondering if this route is worth it or if it is just a way for the school to get more money out of you. I welcome the feedback of anyone who knows anyone or has done this personally.

[cavalier1138]

The only clear-cut instance where I see colleagues getting benefits from a dual degree is JD/PhD students who ultimately plan on going into academia. A PhD never used to be required to teach law school, but that's been changing, and a lot of new professors need a doctorate to be competitive. The catch is, of course, that you need to already be going to a school where legal academia is a possible outcome for you.

Otherwise, most of the programs seem to be time and money sinks.

[tomwatts]

Many schools offer JD-MBA or JD-PHD degrees. I was wondering if anyone here has personally benefited from having one of these degrees. I hear that often people stick to one field. I was wondering if this route is worth it or if it is just a way for the school to get more money out of you. I welcome the feedback of anyone who knows anyone or has done this personally.

I have heard that the JD/MBA is useful for people who want to do corporate transactional work. It's not at all necessary, but it is helpful to understand what people on the business side are thinking, and it helps build a lot of connections that can eventually lead to your bringing in clients down the road. But all the JD/MBAs that I've known have gone into business, not law, so I'm not sure what the JD does for them. (Well, all have them have gone into business except for one who works for Blizzard and, as far as I can tell, now plays video games for a living.)

For that matter, JD/PhDs tend to teach at law schools, but they go into academia rather than becoming practicing lawyers. Come to think of it, nearly all of the JD/anything joint degrees that I've known have gone into the other thing, not law. The only exception is my own joint degree (JD/MPP); nearly all of the ones I've known are going into law, not policy (at least not immediately).

And because people always ask as soon as I mention it, here's one of my various posts on the JD/MPP.

[zot1]

I know a couple of folks who did a dual degree with an MBA. One of them went straight into business after graduation. The other went into biglaw hoping to transition into a business role years down the road. Both seemed happy with the decision, but both came from money and probably didn't get into a lot of debt to do the extra year.

[Mr_Chukes]

I know a couple of folks who did a dual degree with an MBA. One of them went straight into business after graduation. The other went into biglaw hoping to transition into a business role years down the road. Both seemed happy with the decision, but both came from money and probably didn't get into a lot of debt to do the extra year.

I thought about going the second route. Honestly I want to work for Google but I feel like I would need years of experience to get there. I thought also the MBA would give me and edge. I don't come from money though.

[zot1]

Honestly many JDs transition into a business role after getting a good chunk of experience and showing they're worthy of that role. I don't think you have to have an MBA, but of course it would make it a lot easier.

[cavalier1138]

I know a couple of folks who did a dual degree with an MBA. One of them went straight into business after graduation. The other went into biglaw hoping to transition into a business role years down the road. Both seemed happy with the decision, but both came from money and probably didn't get into a lot of debt to do the extra year.

I thought about going the second route. Honestly I want to work for Google but I feel like I would need years of experience to get there. I thought also the MBA would give me and edge. I don't come from money though.

In what capacity do you want to work for Google?

[Mr_Chukes]

I know a couple of folks who did a dual degree with an MBA. One of them went straight into business after graduation. The other went into biglaw hoping to transition into a business role years down the road. Both seemed happy with the decision, but both came from money and probably didn't get into a lot of debt to do the extra year.

I thought about going the second route. Honestly I want to work for Google but I feel like I would need years of experience to get there. I thought also the MBA would give me and edge. I don't come from money though.

In what capacity do you want to work for Google?

In house law. I just thought if the opportunity presented itself I would have the ability to move into another part of their operations. I am interested in practicing law though.

[cavalier1138]

I know a couple of folks who did a dual degree with an MBA. One of them went straight into business after graduation. The other went into biglaw hoping to transition into a business role years down the road. Both seemed happy with the decision, but both came from money and probably didn't get into a lot of debt to do the extra year.

I thought about going the second route. Honestly I want to work for Google but I feel like I would need years of experience to get there. I thought also the MBA would give me and edge. I don't come from money though.

In what capacity do you want to work for Google?

In house law. I just thought if the opportunity presented itself I would have the ability to move into another part of their operations. I am interested in practicing law though.

My best guess is that a company like Google favors biglaw experience over an MBA for their in-house counsel. I'm also guessing they'd want an IP background for a lot of their in-house work, so bear that in mind.

But if that's your goal job, then there's nothing stopping you from reaching out to current in-house counsel for Google. They're the best people to tell you what kind of experience is considered most valuable.

[zot1]

I have looked at job postings for google in the past. For in-house counsel, they don't require an MBA. IP background could be useful, but some of the positions don't require it (for example, labor attorneys).

[tomwatts]

There are probably vanishingly few jobs that require a joint degree. There are jobs for which some kind of joint degree will be helpful — either in landing the job or in doing the job well — but it's basically never required.

Imagine the moment at which you've been working at a tech company for a while and there's an opportunity on the business side that you want to apply for. Would having a JD/MBA be better than just having a JD when you're trying to make that transition? Probably. I've never spoken to someone who'd be in a position to do that kind of hiring, but I would be surprised if the business degree weren't a small boost. Enough of a boost to justify the extra year of school? Hard to say in general — that's a personal decision.

But — just in case it isn't obvious — by far the most important factor is going to a law school that will allow you to get a job in a firm that will give you the training, experience, and connections you need to go in-house at the sort of company you want to go to. The MBA is just a bonus.