Law school vs Medical school? Help me Forum

[nelmezzodicammin]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been thinking about medschool for long time now and I know a decent amount about the whole process ( getting accepted, passing boards, matching into a residency, etc). I was mostly interested in input about law school and legal profession.
Is it really as bleak as everyone seems to think? If you go to a top school will you still be jobless or forced into a job that you hate?
Are there realistic opportunities to work in fields where science and law intersect (e.g. health law, defending doctors from malpractice, or environmental law)?

[North]

Is it really as bleak as everyone seems to think?

Yes. A few gems to drive the point home:

• My Story.
  The Vale of Tears.
  Another suicide due to law school debt.
  One of the most depressing comments ever.
  Georgetown JD on Craigslist.

If you go to a top school will you still be jobless or forced into a job that you hate?

Even the T14 only offer a little better than a coin flip's chance at gainful employment.

Are there realistic opportunities to work in fields where science and law intersect (e.g. health law, defending doctors from malpractice, or environmental law)?

Doesn't matter. You would be FUCKING INSANE to go to law school when med school is an option.

[funnyman4]

Med School = GUARENTEED 200k+ JOB

Law School = very possible you have NO JOB

[sccjnthn]

It honestly sounds like you just enjoy school and are kind of afloat. Why don't you just spend 5 years working on an Italian literature PHD? If money doesn't matter to you then you can enjoy a few years relaxing and pursuing your intellectual interests.

[TheGreatFish]

For what it's worth, I've known a few attorneys who said they wished they would have gone to med school, but I've never met a doctor who said he wished he'd gone to law school.

Is it really as bleak as everyone seems to think? If you go to a top school will you still be jobless or forced into a job that you hate?

I was under the impression that all lawyers hate their job.

In all seriousness though, it's a common thread on these forums for people to talk about the hopelessness of pursuing a legal career, but that has not been my own experience. I know quite a few attorneys who graduated from lower tier law schools who have done very well for themselves, and most of them were not at the top of their class either.

There's definitely a couple horror stories floating around, but these seem to be the worst case scenarios, and they're fairly rare. The unemployment rate for attorneys is well below the national average, and the average salary for attorneys is well above the national average. You can pretty much figure that, on average, most attorneys will be doing alright. You may not be working in Big Law pulling in 160k+ a year for your first job, but that doesn't mean you'll be living in poverty either. Most people who go to law school will probably be much better off than if they hadn't gone to law school, so if you're passionate about being an attorney, don't let a bunch of law students who haven't even graduated yet scare you out of pursuing a legal career.


But seriously, you should probably become a doctor.

[sinfiery]

For what it's worth, I've known a few attorneys who said they wished they would have gone to med school, but I've never met a doctor who said he wished he'd gone to law school.

I disagree.

I bet there are more doctors than lawyers who wish they were in the opposite field.

Why? There are more rockstar prospects from Lawschool than Med school.


After almost each and every presidential election, I bet a fair amount of HMS graduates think just for a second, I wish that was me. If only..

[magp90]

If you really can't decide - maybe neither one is really a good fit for you.

I agree with this. I spend the vast majority of my time immersed in the medical school world (though I am attending law school next year), and if you don't have serious drive... you're going to be miserable. You're already going to have to justify to them why you're interested in medicine with such a background in the humanities, and you don't want to top that off with doubts.

Lots of people become self-hating lawyers because they went into it without a real reason to enter the profession. And THAT'S really not fun. I work with them every day, and it's depressing.

I don't want to make a suggestion either way, but I would say that it would be important for you to figure out what intrigues you about each field. There are a lot of options if you want to have a fulfilling career, and it could wind up being neither law school nor medical school.

[bchirco]

I was considering Med School for a while so I definitely understand your dilemma. However, even though some would argue otherwise, I think you came to the wrong place for advice on this. While I personally love TLS for lsat tips and camaraderie, the general overall mentality here is negative towards law school. In fact, I did some research on some people commenting in this thread and I'm not sure why they are attending law school either given their multitude of complaints about it. It's funny, 90% of this forum spends their time convincing people not to go to law school but yet spend their time in or about enter law school. Why go at all with their mentality? ...but I digress.

Here's the bottom line, you don't need to be in rocket science to know that both law and med school will put you in a crazy amount of debt. So the only real way to know is to go speak with ACTUAL attorneys and work for a law office for a while. I'm willing to guess that most of the people here are NOT attorneys....

[TheGreatFish]

For what it's worth, I've known a few attorneys who said they wished they would have gone to med school, but I've never met a doctor who said he wished he'd gone to law school.

I disagree.

I bet there are more doctors than lawyers who wish they were in the opposite field.

Why? There are more rockstar prospects from Lawschool than Med school.


After almost each and every presidential election, I bet a fair amount of HMS graduates think just for a second, I wish that was me. If only..

That could be true, but I would assume most doctors get more fulfillment out of their jobs than most lawyers. It's kind of crazy how many lawyers you meet who don't mind openly admitting that they don't like being an attorney.

[cinephile]

I was considering Med School for a while so I definitely understand your dilemma. However, even though some would argue otherwise, I think you came to the wrong place for advice on this. While I personally love TLS for lsat tips and camaraderie, the general overall mentality here is negative towards law school. In fact, I did some research on some people commenting in this thread and I'm not sure why they are attending law school either given their multitude of complaints about it. It's funny, 90% of this forum spends their time convincing people not to go to law school but yet spend their time in or about enter law school. Why go at all with their mentality? ...but I digress.

Here's the bottom line, you don't need to be in rocket science to know that both law and med school will put you in a crazy amount of debt. So the only real way to know is to go speak with ACTUAL attorneys and work for a law office for a while. I'm willing to guess that most of the people here are NOT attorneys....

There is so much wrong with your comment, but I'll start with the biggest problem. Going to law school will not make you an attorney. Talking to "actual attorneys" may give you a realistic picture of the profession and help you decide if it is something that would interest you, but that does not mean you should necessarily go to law school. About half of all law school graduates never become attorneys. Moreover, many of those who do get JD required jobs do not end up in the nice offices like the one where you shadowed a lawyer.

While you should figure out if you would enjoy the profession, that would be a moot point if you never enter the profession in the first place.

[dingbat]

I bet there are more doctors than lawyers who wish they were in the opposite field.

Why? There are more rockstar prospects from Lawschool than Med school.

But there are also a lot more underemployed JDs

[bchirco]

I was considering Med School for a while so I definitely understand your dilemma. However, even though some would argue otherwise, I think you came to the wrong place for advice on this. While I personally love TLS for lsat tips and camaraderie, the general overall mentality here is negative towards law school. In fact, I did some research on some people commenting in this thread and I'm not sure why they are attending law school either given their multitude of complaints about it. It's funny, 90% of this forum spends their time convincing people not to go to law school but yet spend their time in or about enter law school. Why go at all with their mentality? ...but I digress.

Here's the bottom line, you don't need to be in rocket science to know that both law and med school will put you in a crazy amount of debt. So the only real way to know is to go speak with ACTUAL attorneys and work for a law office for a while. I'm willing to guess that most of the people here are NOT attorneys....

There is so much wrong with your comment, but I'll start with the biggest problem. Going to law school will not make you an attorney. Talking to "actual attorneys" may give you a realistic picture of the profession and help you decide if it is something that would interest you, but that does not mean you should necessarily go to law school. About half of all law school graduates never become attorneys. Moreover, many of those who do get JD required jobs do not end up in the nice offices like the one where you shadowed a lawyer.

While you should figure out if you would enjoy the profession, that would be a moot point if you never enter the profession in the first place.

Yes, understood; going to law school does not technically make you an attorney. Good point but, respectfully, you've missed mine completely. IF you want to become an attorney THEN you should go to law school (I'm ignoring simply passing the bar of course). I never said IF you go to law school THEN you will become an Attorney. My point is that step one should be to figure out if it is honestly even a profession you deem worth pursuing. Your comment suggests that they may not even end up in anything similar to the offices they shadowed in. Again I understand your point, but that doesn't mean that shadowing has no inherit benefits and should be ignored. In fact, for all we know he could shadow for a "shit-law" job and this could further advance his understanding of the career.

[BullShitWithBravado]

It may be worthwhile to see if you have enough science courses under your belt to sit for the patent bar. If you do, then law might not be a terrible option because your job prospects will be much better if you're IP secure.

[TheWeeIceMon]

I was considering Med School for a while so I definitely understand your dilemma. However, even though some would argue otherwise, I think you came to the wrong place for advice on this. While I personally love TLS for lsat tips and camaraderie, the general overall mentality here is negative towards law school. In fact, I did some research on some people commenting in this thread and I'm not sure why they are attending law school either given their multitude of complaints about it. It's funny, 90% of this forum spends their time convincing people not to go to law school but yet spend their time in or about enter law school. Why go at all with their mentality? ...but I digress.

Here's the bottom line, you don't need to be in rocket science to know that both law and med school will put you in a crazy amount of debt. So the only real way to know is to go speak with ACTUAL attorneys and work for a law office for a while. I'm willing to guess that most of the people here are NOT attorneys....

To be fair, no one on the med boards thinks going to law school is a good idea either.

OP, I would spend some time shadowing and talking to a few doctors to see if you can live with that lifestyle. In most cases, I would caution against going to either law school or med school unless you are truly 100% behind the idea of becoming a lawyer/doctor.

Also, not sure if OP was the one to ask this but, don't go out of the country for med school. Just don't. DO schools are legit though. They have a bit less lay prestige and you won't be getting that residency at Hopkins, but they are functionally the same as MDs.

[apollo2015]

Are there realistic opportunities to work in fields where science and law intersect (e.g. health law, defending doctors from malpractice, or environmental law)?

Go to medical school at UCSF for your M.D, then look into doing the Hastings MSL program if law still appeals to you. The MSLs that I've talked to view it as a way to better manage their lawyers, ensure that their hospital isn't doing anything that would risk litigation, and enhance their health advocacy abilities.

[J-e-L-L-o]

Are there realistic opportunities to work in fields where science and law intersect (e.g. health law, defending doctors from malpractice, or environmental law)?

Go to medical school at UCSF for your M.D, then look into doing the Hastings MSL program if law still appeals to you. The MSLs that I've talked to view it as a way to better manage their lawyers, ensure that their hospital isn't doing anything that would risk litigation, and enhance their health advocacy abilities.

Might as well do a dual JD/MD instead of a Masters in Law. At least that way you can sit for the bar exam.

The main thing, find out what do you want to do. Then you can tailor your school around your plans. Whatever you do, don't do it for prestige or money.

[collegebum1989]

Medical career may offer you a more stable career but people on this forum forget what the cost of that stability is. Medical school is vastly different than law school in terms of training. You have to take 8-hour STEP exams after second and third year to qualify for residency, where you coincidentally are underpaid and working as much (if not more) than a first-year biglaw associate. You also have to do clinical rotations for 2 years where you are a slave to resident and attending physicians. Then, after graduation and finishing your 3-7 year residency, if you want to really want to earn top salary, you need to spend another 3-5 years of a mediocre salary pursuing a post-graduate medical fellowship.

Career stability in medicine definitely beats law. But that doesn't mean it's a better option. Most of my friends that went to med school either did it because they didn't have the creativity to succeed in other ways or had the grades to get in and surcumbed to parental pressures.

OP, make a decision based on what you feel you'd be better in. If you are good at what you do, you won't become one of the examples of failure that people usually cite on this forum. Don't decide based on an anonymous Internet forum because chances are the feedback is distorted and biased. TLS represents a small percentage of the law school community, and even less than that of the legal community.

[redmessengerbag]

It seems like you have so much hesitation about medical school. If you truly lack the passion, and is most interested in the money and prestige as you had mentioned, don't go to medical school. I tell my friends who are in and have graduated med school if they ever become a self-assuming aholes doctors (I've seen one too many), I'll punch them in the face. If you are in it for the prestige and don't care about the patients, be a lawyer. It takes passion to be a good doctor, our broken medical system does not need another money/prestige hungry wannabe doctor.

I'm not trying to criticize anyone, but really, seriously think about this.