Friday, October 14, 2016

Post College Risk Evaluation

In all likelihood, my career path will lead me to pursue a graduate degree. I hope to earn a law degree following my graduation from the U of I. I am still a junior, but the process of testing and applying to law school is quickly approaching. Evaluating the cost of earning a law degree is tricky and has several aspects to it. Firstly, the mental dedication and determination required to earn the degree is no small task. Consulting with family friends and other acquaintances in the field, I have found that many do not recommend partaking on such a arduous journey. Despite doubts from some individuals, I have also received advice that earning a law degree can be very rewarding. In addition, they stated that I would have to be passionate, focused, and willing to sacrifice pleasure for work on a daily basis. Similarly, they stated that making money should not be my main goal in earning a law degree. They also explained that salaries can be lucrative and that I would be more likely to have a stable job for a least 15 years if I graduated in the top 15% of my class.  For me, this is the most important aspect of my decision: am I passionate enough about this educational opportunity to make all the costs that come with worthwhile.

I believe that my decision to choose Economics as a major was a very practical one. Originally, I had hoped to transfer into the College of Business from Division of General Studies. As the deadline approached, I realized twofold the difference in earning potential between Business and Econ is very slim and I would not enjoy the work in the College of Business. Thus, I decided to apply to the Economics program. The College of Business has many great career opportunities and there is high earning potential, but I feel that Economics offers opportunities equivalent to or greater than those offered by the Business school. Similarly, I know a couple of Economics graduates from the U of I that are earning more than their peers in finance or accounting. I also felt that picking a major in Liberal Arts and Sciences would be more relevant to my career path. In the case I did not choose law school, I wanted to strengthen my resume so I picked up a Business minor.

My older sister graduated from the U of I in 2013 and subsequently entered the workforce. As she explained to me, graduating from college does not mean your entire career path is laid out before you. More plainly, she was happy to be earning salary in the professional world but hated the actual work she was doing. She stayed at her first job for two years until she found another job more aligned with her personal tastes. Unfortunately, her new jobs salary is less than her original one. Even at this new job, she understands that she will not be with the company for the rest of her career. While I feel there is value in exploring different jobs and companies, it also poses great risk towards earning more income. Constantly switching jobs forfeits the raises in income she may have received if she stayed put. I believe her advice is very valuable especially at this point in my life. It only reinforces that working towards something you are passionate for and want to excel at is much more rewarding than doing a job because it has a high salary.

Although I am unsure of where my career path will lead, I certainly hope that the decisions I have made in the past will help me reduce income risk.

4 comments:

  1. It seems that when I was in college (a different era, I know) many of the people I went to high school with were either pre-med or pre-law. For what it is worth, I took the LSATs when I was in college. But I didn't do very well on them while I did do quite well on the GREs. I think the world is better off with me not having become a lawyer.

    How that is for you, I can't say. But I believe the market is quite different now. Since the financial crisis, a law degree has represented a far more risky path than it used to be, and I believe applications to law schools are way down since. So, on the one hand, you face far less competition regarding getting admitted to law school than you might have faced fifteen years ago if you were trying for that then. On the other hand, the path to a job in a big law firm is much harder now, because they aren't hiring as many new law grads. Those things should matter to you, apart from how much work it is to be a lawyer.

    On a related note, I occasionally read the novels of John Grisham, which if you haven't done you might enjoy. He is a lawyer turned novelist and has had many books become featured motion pictures. He tends to have a black and white view of lawyer ethics, which then gets tied into his stories in an important way. Many of his characters are quite low lifes - ambulance chasers, if you will. Apart from it being a fun read, some of those stories might alert you to what you are likely to face in real life as a lawyer - sometimes it would be very pretty at all other times it might be quite rewarding, as much for doing the just thing as for the income it provides.

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    1. Another factor that is important to consider is how saturated the market is. To my knowledge, Chicago's market (my ideal destination of cities to work in) can be difficult to obtain a job and wages can fall as a result. This certainly will play a role in my decision of where to study following undergrad.

      My grandfather (also a lawyer) recommended Grisham's writing and films to me as well. His advice to me was especially helpful as he explained not only the process of earning a degree but the path a law degree can take you on. Many members of his graduating class went on to political, financial and real estate fields. I believe that the field of law I choose will have an impact on my potential income as well.

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  2. Going off of Professor Arvan's posts, I too have a strong interest in law school and I will be applying at the end of this month to schools for next Fall. A law degree has gone down in value, but only from schools that are not prestigious. A law degree from Northwestern, or any schools in the top 15 is going to get you a nice job in a large law firm. Of course this is based on my research and what I have discovered about law schools and the value of their degrees.

    You mentioned that your sister left for a new job, was this strictly due to her enjoying the job that much more that she sacrificed a portion of her old job's salary? Were there any other factors such as where the two jobs are located?

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  3. as you mentioned in your post, you are not sure how your job path will end up. are you planning for things not going the way that you hope they will? i know that i am trying to get a job, and have been planning for that, but i have not planned for not getting a job, and i am not sure how to do that. the closer we get to graduation it becomes more and more real.

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