If you had to do it all over again, or advise a youngster of today: -Would you go pre-Law before going to Law school, or would you choose another major and try to get into Law school without the rigor of pre-Law? -Tell me about Missouri Law school. Carson has started receiving stuff for football and wrestling. He received a big packet from Missouri and since his interests are Law/Communications, he received a small bible from Missou Law.
I have no idea exactly what is part of the pre-law curriculum. Law school is quite a different adventure than undergrad. I was a liberal arts student majoring in history. I was always interested in history and in some ways it touches on the evolution of the law. I know business majors that became tax lawyers and engineers who became patent lawyers. I'd recommend that he concentrate in an area he has an interest to make undergrad as enjoyable as possible. I don't think I know any really successful lawyers who majored in pre-law in undergrad.
Corey, I would advise any young person to do some really really vigorous research on the subjects of the cost of law school and the job market for recent law school grads before applying to law school. Right now, the job market for young attorneys is poor. There are simply too few job openings for the multitude of grads churned out by law schools and horror stories are abundant of recent grads with huge debt being only able to find temp employment. Re your question, my undergrad background is similar to Mike's and I agree totally with his comments. Like him, I do not recall any attorney or anyone at the law school I attended who majored in pre law but do recall those who had a business, accounting, science, financial, or engineering background being able to combine their undergrad and law school education to transition into a specialized area of law practice. It is essential that an attorney be able to communicate well so undergrad courses that would aid Carson in writing well and speaking in public would be an asset to him in law school
I agree with what Bob said about how tight the job market is in the law these days. Working for a large firm and "working your way up" is almost impossible these days. It's always possible to hand out a shingle in a community and try to make it as a sole practitioner. It's not an easy road but can be very rewarding. Give him the facts and if he has his heart set on the law, more power to him.
thanks for the input guys. I think his other areas of interest were History, Communications and Journalism. I know the school of Journalism at Missou is outstanding. I have told him that most attorneys don't go the 'pre-law' route (at least that I've known), and I really appreciate your feedback on the matter.
My son is finishing night law school He majored in Music Recording Business but is employed as a project manager for a construction company. (How's that for a background?) He has really loved law school but is not sure what he is going to do as he likes his job right now. He is looking at the Law degree as being another tool in his toolbox. If anything he will use it, I think, in business rather than hang out his own shingle or become a trial attorney. He may just stay with his current company and be more of an asset to them with his degree. Good luck to Carson!
My brother who is a lawyer, and just retired, worked for the State Attny General and in one of his jobs was hiring lawyers. He said when ever he posted a job, entry level for 45K/year, that he always was flooded with applications. Many had graduated from very good law schools, even has had some from Notre Dame. Never a shortage of candidates.
That 45K/ per year surprises me, I expected more.. I just hired a foreman starting at $37,500/year, company pays 100% of the health insurance and we supply a 4WD truck for him to drive in and we pay the fuel... His 2 years of college was a bonus but not a requirement
Here's an interesting perspective on the lifetime earnings/costs for doctors. I imagine it's kind of the same for attorneys. http://news.doximity.com/entries/4762485?user_id=1672230