Too Many Degrees

[jc99]

I am 27 years old, and I have a BA and a JD and I now, after having worked for a couple of years and not liked working in the legal field, I am thinking of getting an MA in International Relations although an MBA could also be worth it, since I am heavily into corporate affairs, or at least my job is. Anyway, this is not the point, I am just wondering whether it is wise to go back to school, it would most likely be when I am 29. I wonder whether adcomms will look at me as a professional student or whether I can overcome this label. I did not enter law school with the right mindset and even during law school should have quit but never did and I really feel like I wasted my time there. My other option was to open up a solo practice, but I quickly dismissed that since I don't like being a lawyer...my own boss I like being but ultimately the risk versus reward was too skewed.

Does anyone here have a similar story of essentially back to back grad degrees?

[amlobo]

Well, I am basically in the same position as you. I'm almost 28, have a BA and JD, have practiced law for 3 years, and I'm applying to PhD programs in the fall. I think no one would think anything of you going back for an MBA. After all, there are a ton of JD/MBA programs. Getting an MA after a JD sounds a little "backwards", but I don't think it would work against you if you made a good case as to why you want/need the MA. I would just caution you to figure out what it is that you DO want to do before deciding to go back to school. For me, I want to work in academia, so a PhD is how I get there. Only go back to school if it will get you to the job you want... not simply to escape the law. There are so many jobs you can get without going back to school if it's just that you want to do something besides be a lawyer. But, I would think that adcomms would not see you as a "professional student" if you can sufficiently articulate your interest in the topic, beyond simply stating why you didn't like the legal field. Basically, you need to be able to say "I left the law because this is what I want to do"... not "I hated being a lawyer and couldn't think of anything else to do." Whatever you decide, good luck! Seems a lot of lawyers are leaving the field...

[jc99]

You make a good point and yeah I do have to figure out what it is that I want. I am not originally from the US, and went to law school not because I wanted to, but because I got in and did not know what else to do right after undergrad, so I ended up doing the safe thing. I will however figure out what I want in the next two months, and study for the GRE in the mean time. Good luck with your pHD, now that sounds intense. The market is too saturated for lawyers these days, so either you open up your shop and most don't succeed with that, or you do doc review until you decide to leave the field and pretty much take anything that doesn't involve you clicking for 10 hours.

[amlobo]

Yeah, you still have time before you have to start working on applications in earnest. It took me a while to figure out what area of study I wanted to pursue, as my interests could fall in multiple fields. It takes a little research and thought, but I'm sure you will figure it out. And, once you take the GRE, you'll have a better idea of what programs you can get into.